NEPatriot

Football games have been played in harsh conditions such as rain and snow. In these situations, we clearly separate a good QB from a OK QB or the greatest one from a good one. Unfortunately, we don't see it in Cassel.

We dominated the division for 5 years and can't hold on to the title this year.

When facing a 'good' team such as Steeler, Colts, and Chargers, Cassel failed miserably.

As a GM, you have to ask yourself these questions:

1-Do I really need a QB whom I can't depend on in the most important games?
2-Do I really need a QB who can't perform well under pressure and bad weather?

NEPatriot

Hopefully, we will stop talking about 'franchised' Cassel and trading TB.

ctpatsfan77

And, somehow, this is solely Cassel's fault.

The Colts game is also wondering what game you were watching. Cassel didn't lose that game, the rest of the team did.

I'll give you the Chargers and Steelers, to an extent, but, as I wrote above, Cassel isn't supposed to catch passes, return kickoffs, make tackles, or block defenders--and all of those played just as big a role in the loss today.

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PatsFan37

3 - Do I really need to analyze the technique, arm strength, accuracy, leadership, mobility and pocket presence he's shown through most of the season, or should I react in a knee-jerk fashion to his very first NFL game played in bad conditions against a top-rated defense?

Box_O_Rocks

Well I won't. NE loses and a chronic Cassel hater comes out from under his rock to spank his monkey and proclaim his greatness as a prognosticator, sheesh.

Yep, Cassel threw a couple clunkers tonight - big whoop, like we've never seen Brady do that. The turning point in tonight's game was Special Teams and injuries. ST's penalties, a turnover, and at least two long returns after losing contain allowed Pittsburgh to stay in the game and then take a lead.

The Pats ran well on the Steelers, they moved the ball well up until some ugly drops took affect to kill drives. The defense, with three key starters missing, and some subs for subs playing, held Pittsburgh in check until Special Teams hosed them up.

Yeh, Matt Light gave up a couple sacks - except pass blocking is also a team sport - it would have been nice if Sammy Morris had chipped on the first strip sack instead of just running out into his pass pattern. On the second one Pit created an overload on the right side and drew Kevin Faulk over there to pick up the blitz, leaving Light one-on-one with a top pass rusher who didn't have to honor the run with a huge lead.

Pit's "great" D was being carved up until Special Teams set them up with a 13 point lead, after that it was bad old "blitzburgh" because NE wasn't running the ball. Pit won by playing smart and taking advantage of NE mistakes - blaming that on Cassel just goes to show us who checks the stat line before they check the scores.

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MassPats38

Throw in two blatant Moss drops, one in the end zone and one en route to the end zone that could have spotted the Pats 14 points to weather the storm rather than leaving them trailing by 2 scores. Add blind side strips/hits Light's side that maybe only Brady of all NFL QBs could have avoided. Throw in a drop by Gaffney and special team gift wrap of a TD to the Steelers.

Frankly, I will not join the Cassel for Brady cult, but I will not be putting the emphasis of the blame on him for this. He was the least of the concerns. Certainly some bad throws, but not so many that he cost the Pats a shot at winning the game.

This game was reminiscent of the 2005 playoff loss in Denver, bad weather, turnovers and including Watson running down the interception return at the goal line. Brady couldn't stop the bleeding then, either. This was not a QB loss, it was a legitimate team loss in all three phases of the game. I still believe Cassel gets a big payday if the Pats make the playoffs, more if he can win a playoff game. I hope he makes his money.

alamo

The polar-opposite standards you use to judge Cassel vs. Jackson would be hilariously funny if they weren't so patheticly misguided. Cassel has set a franchise passing record for consecutive games. As far as I can tell, Jackson has yet to have even a single very good game in his entire career. Yet, Cassel is a "scrub" and we'll be sorry for letting Jackson go.

Just goes to show that brains aren't distributed equally.

PJM

Actually I have been really impressed by him. Most teams are in trouble if the backup takes over (given that several NFL teams don't have a competent starter, backups are usually poor). Sometimes a team has a top backup in storage (Steve Young, Aaron Rogers etc) and once in a blue moon a miracle happens (Brady). Cassel has been none of the above but he has been much better than I expected. I said in week 1 that the rest of the team had to raise their game and unfortunately they haven't but we have a good shot at a 10-6 or 11-5 record and may yet make the playoffs. I can't understand why the bar has been set so high for Cassel - it's as if some people think Brady is a normal QB and everyone should be able to equal him every week. Who could we have had at backup QB who would have done better?

ctpatsfan77

To be fair to the team, injuries have also taken a huge toll. But I agree that the rest of the team has let Cassel down far more often than Cassel has let the team down.

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JSn

Cassel had the average amount of sucky passes in that game. Overall, I don't think the blame is his. At the outset he made good decisions, read the D well, etc. I think he got nervous after realizing his blindside wasn't protected and that made things worse. I really doubt this game has dropped his stock with the folks that matter.

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