NFP: Don't speculate on Brady's knee

[SVN]

The National Football Post | Don’t Speculate On Brady’s Knee

 

[363839]

Re: NFPont speculate on brady's knee

This guy doesn't want to realize that the rigors of QB are not the same
as a defensive lineman. Though, he did bring up some points about situational throws, I'm not so sure it will be as hard for TB.
And we all realize that Tom will not be 100% for a few games but he'll still be better than most.
Thanks for the link SVN.

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: NFPont speculate on brady's knee

The whole article is about his speculation - amusing. His experience is moot when we've seem the recent timeline for QB and Brady is right on that timeline.

 

[Willie55]

Patriots paid him to write that article to keep the league guessing about Brady's readiness for a couple more weeks giving them the ability to franchise Cassel without Goodell trying to dock draft picks from them.

 

[billdog3484]

you guys dont understand. hes not saying Brady will not play, he is just stating that it is impossible to know for sure whether he will be able to return. this isnt Madden. When you injure yourself, you dont automatically come back as the same player. i hope Brady does, but its too risky to leet Cassel go. this is exactly why Cassel will be on our roster in 2009.

 

[Arialgg]

This is a fluff piece, but any positive news on Brady is good.. this is him hawking smartwater in LA yesterday.. there is footage of him working out,and he looks as fit as ever.
New Video: NFL Hunk Tom Brady Talks Jennifer Aniston!

 

[patchick]

So to those who take issue with Bowen's article, are you saying you DO know for certain that Brady will not only be back, but will be miraculously returned to his pre-injury form from day 1?

I can't see anything wrong with Bowen's article. Heck, he doesn't even suggest the possibility that Brady won't be back on the field by training camp. He's just offering a reminder, based on his personal experience, that bodies aren't simply "broken" or "fixed." There are many, many steps in between, and we're all just crossing our fingers that Brady will be as strong as possible.

 

[CanadianPat'sFan]

you guys dont understand. hes not saying Brady will not play, he is just stating that it is impossible to know for sure whether he will be able to return. this isnt Madden. When you injure yourself, you dont automatically come back as the same player. i hope Brady does, but its too risky to leet Cassel go. this is exactly why Cassel will be on our roster in 2009.

I think we understand, but this is Brady and he I would say is one of a kind and one of the hardest workers there is in football. I know for sure he is doing exactly what he needs to rehab that knee. NE is providing him with the best of care but yes Brady could get hit by a car tomorrow as well it is the future, we are just betting on our man Brady

I have played defense my whole life and have also had blown my knee out in University but moving around as a DB is totally different then the way a pocket QB like Brady moves around. When was the last time you saw Brady running full speed??(remember him running the 40 at the combine)it is just not Brady's game. I know he might be a bit gun shy just like Rodney when he came back but after a few games he was back to his old self. We all just have faith in Brady and realize that Matt Cassel will cost too much for us to keep where we drafted a QB in the third round last year and we were ready to go into last season with Gutz as our backup. People were even wanting Moss to call Dante and get him out of retirement and come to NE

This is the best quote I have seen on this whole situation by Tom Martinez

“The surgery was to his knee. It was not on his heart or his brain. They didn’t operate on those. He’s a winner, one of the better winners of all time.”

 

[Rob0729]

you guys dont understand. hes not saying Brady will not play, he is just stating that it is impossible to know for sure whether he will be able to return. this isnt Madden. When you injure yourself, you dont automatically come back as the same player. i hope Brady does, but its too risky to leet Cassel go. this is exactly why Cassel will be on our roster in 2009.

Sorry, the first round draft pick and possible other draft picks that the Pats get from Cassel will be on the Pats' roster next season, not Cassel. Cassel's trade value is far too great to keep him for the off chance that Brady won't be ready for the season which looks to be increasingly less likely. The odds look good that Brady will be back.

Anything can happen and there is no guarantees, but things look good. If Brady is back on track, there is little reason to believe he won't be back and as good as ever. People forget Carson Palmer went to the Pro Bowl his first season back from a more severe injury and shorter time to recover. And he was there day one. Philip Rivers should have gone to the Pro Bowl this year for his performance the first year back. No guarantee Brady will follow suits, but the odds are in his favor.

 

[BelichickFan]

So to those who take issue with Bowen's article, are you saying you DO know for certain that Brady will not only be back, but will be miraculously returned to his pre-injury form from day 1?

I can't see anything wrong with Bowen's article. Heck, he doesn't even suggest the possibility that Brady won't be back on the field by training camp. He's just offering a reminder, based on his personal experience, that bodies aren't simply "broken" or "fixed." There are many, many steps in between, and we're all just crossing our fingers that Brady will be as strong as possible.

I'm just saying that I'm assuming Brady will be fine until proven otherwise. The last 4 QB who tore their ACLs all came back fine the next year other than Culpepper who seemed to be in his own world regarding rehab. Rivers, Palmer, McNabb all came back strong so until there's further setbacks I am assuming he'll be fine until proven otherwise, not the other way around.

 

[Metaphors]

The only issue I have is around his comment on how a left knee injury (for a right-handed QB) will translate into difficulties throwing long. The left knee is on the stride leg, not the plant leg that would absorb greater force on deep throws. The stride leg doesn't take the weight shift until a deep throw is already gone.

For example, Rivers hurt his right knee and if you watched him throw deep early in 2008, it was all off his front foot...which makes his success all the more amazing and is a credit to his arm strength. I think Brady's issue is going to be mental. It will take some time for him to feel comfortable striding normally and letting his left knee get stretched out and exposed. But that will be the case on all his throws, not just the deep ones.

 

[brady2brown]

So to those who take issue with Bowen's article, are you saying you DO know for certain that Brady will not only be back, but will be miraculously returned to his pre-injury form from day 1?

I can't see anything wrong with Bowen's article.

I do. He is comparing the rigors of a DB returning to football condition to a QB, and uses running down RBs as an example of not being ready. QBs don't need to be in the same physical condition as DLs.

It's like high ankle sprains. Brady had one and didn't miss a start and was fine. A RB, WR or CB might miss several starts and still not be fine.

Besides confusing the rehab of a DB and a QB, he is also wrong about this:

The same will happen with Brady. His injury occurred to his left leg, which is a big deal when you throw the football downfield

I believe it is the right (plant) leg is what drives the ball down the field.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Great article Matt.

except you are/were a mediocre SS, and we're talking about TFB, perhaps the greatest QB to play the game (prolly in top 5 anyway). Not only do you you play different positions, have different physical talents, but you had different injuries too. The premise of the article is okay (i.e. no one knows how TB will look when he comes back), but your experiences have basically zero relevance in the scheme of TFB's recovery.

Other then the fact you are both NFL players that had to come back from season ending injuries, you have NOTHING IN COMMON.

p.s. I remember the play you referenced in the article. Perhaps it was your "knee" that prevented you from making the play, but from a "fan" perspective, I just chalked it up to Frank Gore being a "superior runner" then you were an "open field tackler". No offense.

 

[CanadianPat'sFan]

I would have posted this in its own thread but I am 22 post away from being able to do that but hopefully soon

Comments on Brady on target - 01-29-2009

Nice article I hope was not posted already but gives us a look into how well his rehab is going.

 

[billdog3484]

Sorry, the first round draft pick and possible other draft picks that the Pats get from Cassel will be on the Pats' roster next season, not Cassel. Cassel's trade value is far too great to keep him for the off chance that Brady won't be ready for the season which looks to be increasingly less likely. The odds look good that Brady will be back.

why dont you think we could get similar compensation for Cassel after 09 if Brady is healthy then we would get this time around? He will still only be 27 years old.

and i think one thing that is misunderstood about my posts is that I do love first round picks. BUT, at the same time I love winning much more. Having a QB is the #1 essential to winning in this league, and as much as I love Brady, i would just feel much more secure having Cassel as a backup this year. If this cost is prohibitive, well, Im sure there are ways to get around that. Im sure Miguel could finagle a situation where we could keep both and make some improvements to the team.

 

[Kontradiction]

I actually agree with him that it's way too early to speculate on TFB. All we know is that a "source" said that he was moving around and working out well. The "Source" has scorched us before, he/she can scorch us again.

 

[Rob0729]

why dont you think we could get similar compensation for Cassel after 09 if Brady is healthy then we would get this time around? He will still only be 27 years old.

and i think one thing that is misunderstood about my posts is that I do love first round picks. BUT, at the same time I love winning much more. Having a QB is the #1 essential to winning in this league, and as much as I love Brady, i would just feel much more secure having Cassel as a backup this year. If this cost is prohibitive, well, Im sure there are ways to get around that. Im sure Miguel could finagle a situation where we could keep both and make some improvements to the team.

Several reasons:

1.) Cassel is the flavor of the moment. He is really hot right now. If he ends up spending next year holding Brady's clipboard, he might not be nearly as trendy and there could be another breakthrough QB who may be a free agent or available via trade.
2.) The draft sucks for QBs. There is not one QB draft prospect that people are really high on. May not be the case next year. Several QBs decided not to declare for the draft and could make the QB pool next year top heavy.
3.) Uncertainty about the CBA. What will the impact of an uncapped year have on the trade value of any player. More importantly if they get a new CBA in place and have a rookie pay scale, it may mean teams may be willing to risk a high draft pick on a QB and develop him for a year or two. That could ruin Cassel's trade market.
4.) Belichick rarely if ever sacrifices the future for the short term. If the latest reports about Brady are true, there is only a slight chance that brady misses the start of the season. You don't risk the future on a slight chance of something.
5.) As much as people want a $14 plus million back up as insurance, it is actually counter productive to winning this next year. Yes, paying Cassel will be great if Brady misses significant time next season. But if Brady plays every meaningful snap and at a high level, you have sacrificed over $14 million for peace of mind instead of upgrading the defense, o-line, receiving corp, or RBs. Even with Cassel playing at a high level last year, the Pats had some major issues in some of those areas.
6.) What if Cassel was an one year wonder or a product of McDaniels' system and tutelidge? Without an experienced OC who can primarily focus on Cassel and the offense, Cassel may struggle because of his lack of experience.

I'm sorry, but keeping Cassel at the expense of upgrading other areas of need or the future for a chance that Brady doesn't play is silly in my book. This isn't Montana/Young in the late 80s/early 90s where there was no cap ramifications for carrying the two and no restrainsts in upgrading in other areas by keeping the two.

Say for a hypothetical, the Pats trade away Cassel to the 49ers. With the money they save they sign Nnamdi Asomugha or Terrell Suggs or Karlos Dansby (granted they may have to lose their first rounder to do so granted you never know with Al Davis what he will do) and with the 49ers' pick they draft say a James Laurinaitis (might be a little high, but could trade down and get him and pick up even more picks). At least in theory, wouldn't the defense be exponentially better?