I just don't see it happening... at least, not for any meaningful games this season. Cassel will have to be absolutely abysmal this season for O'Connell to get the start. The Vikings and Rams bench starters based on 1-2 games of poor performances, but the Patriots do not... they always have a vision, a plan, whatever -- and like it or not, Cassel is a part of it. The Pats simply do not do things that don't involve carefully calculated decisions, and benching a starting QB for a rookie isn't one of them. My guess is that if Cassel truly, truly demonstrates that he is a below-average NFL QB, by the time the organization is ready to come to grips with this, we will already be out of contention. If the Pats are eliminated from the playoffs with a couple of games to go, I can see O'Connell getting the starts to see what he can do. But if it counts, absolutely no way he's in.