It is time for Matt Cassell to go.
Tom Brady is 30 years old next year. He probably has about 5-6 years minimum left in his tank before he starts to seriously decline. Matt Cassel is around 24-25. This means that once Brady is hitting that age wall in the NFL (he could be Warren Moon, but I'm talking about the most likely scenario), Cassell himself would be 30ish. Not the time you wan't to showcase your quarterback of the future. This is also assuming that Cassell would be personally fine with not taking the helm until he is 30. So this leads us to the conclusion that Cassell needs to go, for something decent of course.
What the Patriots need right now is an impact type defensive player. They need a Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, Rodney Harrison, or Brian Urlacher type player. The type of player that just seems to be everywhere, and seems to have that uncanny knack for making those plays or hits that cause a monumental shift in the momentum of the game. Rodney filled this role on the Patriots for many years, but he honestly doesn't have many more years left. We all know how the Patriots are without Rodney, good, but not great. They need to fix this hole ASAP. I don't realistically see anyone coming up through the ranks that could step into Rodney's shoes in the next few years (I love Banta-Cain to death, but he is going to probably become Teddy, not Rodney). So the only realistic way to address this hole, is through the draft or a trade.
I expect the Patriots to get a poor seed in the draft this year, so I really don't see them getting this type of player, unless they get lucky. So the only real way that they are going to get the next Ray Lewis, is by getting a top 5 draft pick and spending it on a kid that they are almost absolutely sure on. This is where Matt Cassell comes in.
I don't think that the Patriots would find any suitor for a straight-up Cassell for a #1-5 pick, so they would have to maybe bundle in a 1st, or 2nd and a 4th, or something similar. So make that bundle, and trade it to a team that needs a starting QB.
The lure of Cassell becomes that he is obviously a lot more NFL ready than some 22 year old kid you are going to draft out of USC or wherever, and has been under the tutelage of one of the greatest QBs in history. In addition, if the Patriots can show that he capable of handling the flow of an NFL game, he becomes infinitely more attractive. Tell me this; Would a team rather have some baby-faced kid that they have to show the ropes of the NFL, or a 26 year old man entering his prime, who has shown that he knows how to handle the stress of playing professional football? The choice is obvious. He very well may be the next Steve Young, the only problem is that the Patriots have Joe Montana at the helm.
Trading Cassell also gives the Patriots a chance to get another young QB, and groom him until he is ready to take over for Brady. It doesn't have to be anyone special, just someone that they see a lot of potential in, and has the ability to learn. Think about it, if they use a 4th round or lower pick on some kid in the draft after this one, it lines up perfectly with the time Brady is starting to decline. This kid will be 26-28, and ready to enter the NFL… and guess what, the cycle starts all over again.
Tom Brady is 30 years old next year. He probably has about 5-6 years minimum left in his tank before he starts to seriously decline. Matt Cassel is around 24-25. This means that once Brady is hitting that age wall in the NFL (he could be Warren Moon, but I'm talking about the most likely scenario), Cassell himself would be 30ish. Not the time you wan't to showcase your quarterback of the future. This is also assuming that Cassell would be personally fine with not taking the helm until he is 30. So this leads us to the conclusion that Cassell needs to go, for something decent of course.
What the Patriots need right now is an impact type defensive player. They need a Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, Rodney Harrison, or Brian Urlacher type player. The type of player that just seems to be everywhere, and seems to have that uncanny knack for making those plays or hits that cause a monumental shift in the momentum of the game. Rodney filled this role on the Patriots for many years, but he honestly doesn't have many more years left. We all know how the Patriots are without Rodney, good, but not great. They need to fix this hole ASAP. I don't realistically see anyone coming up through the ranks that could step into Rodney's shoes in the next few years (I love Banta-Cain to death, but he is going to probably become Teddy, not Rodney). So the only realistic way to address this hole, is through the draft or a trade.
I expect the Patriots to get a poor seed in the draft this year, so I really don't see them getting this type of player, unless they get lucky. So the only real way that they are going to get the next Ray Lewis, is by getting a top 5 draft pick and spending it on a kid that they are almost absolutely sure on. This is where Matt Cassell comes in.
I don't think that the Patriots would find any suitor for a straight-up Cassell for a #1-5 pick, so they would have to maybe bundle in a 1st, or 2nd and a 4th, or something similar. So make that bundle, and trade it to a team that needs a starting QB.
The lure of Cassell becomes that he is obviously a lot more NFL ready than some 22 year old kid you are going to draft out of USC or wherever, and has been under the tutelage of one of the greatest QBs in history. In addition, if the Patriots can show that he capable of handling the flow of an NFL game, he becomes infinitely more attractive. Tell me this; Would a team rather have some baby-faced kid that they have to show the ropes of the NFL, or a 26 year old man entering his prime, who has shown that he knows how to handle the stress of playing professional football? The choice is obvious. He very well may be the next Steve Young, the only problem is that the Patriots have Joe Montana at the helm.
Trading Cassell also gives the Patriots a chance to get another young QB, and groom him until he is ready to take over for Brady. It doesn't have to be anyone special, just someone that they see a lot of potential in, and has the ability to learn. Think about it, if they use a 4th round or lower pick on some kid in the draft after this one, it lines up perfectly with the time Brady is starting to decline. This kid will be 26-28, and ready to enter the NFL… and guess what, the cycle starts all over again.
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