As your apparently unhealthy Brady crush blinds you to the team aspect of football (which I assume you have never played at any level or we would not be having this conversation), I will leave you with these thoughts. In 2001, the Pats were up 14-3 with 7 points attributable to a defensive score. The Patriots were outscored 14-6 in the second half (no offensive touchdowns).
In short, against one of the more prolific offenses in NFL history, the Pats offense scored 1 touchdown, the lead was gone and the Rams were getting their offense into gear. Probable outcome of a missed field goal? Rams win, Pats lose. Your Brady vision blinds you to the fact defense put as many points on the board as Brady did in that game passing. And Vinatieri's kick was no chip shot to win the game (48 yards), so the final drive did not stall at the goal line. You may refresh your obviously hazy memory with the
box score.
Flash forward to the 2003 championship. The Patriots had lost pretty much the entire secondary to injury (as did the Panthers) and neither team really displayed the ability to stop the other defensively due to those injuries. You may also recall that Tom Brady threw a costly interception when the Pats were in a position for 7 points on an ill advised pass (in the event Brady's halo blocks such memories) that may have avoided the slugfest in the 2nd half. As such, your "win in overtime" theory really amounts to "winning the coin toss." If the Panthers won the toss, the probable outcome would have been another loss given the way the second half went in that game and the defense's injury status.
The fact is great players step up in big games. Tom Brady did. So did Ty Law. So did Tedy Bruschi. So did Corey Dillon. So did Antowain Smith. So did many others it would take too much time to identify. Everyone on this board loves Brady, but the others apparently are sufficiently aware of the fact a QB alone does not win championships (If that is true, explain the 2000 Ravens and the 1991 Redskins - Dilfer and Rypien were great quarterbacks? ) that they can hope that Cassel is enough with all the other talent on the team to get the Patriots to the promised land. If you cannot see this and are still claiming that "Brady is my world, my god," I suggest intensive therapy as even Brady would be frightened by that level of adoration.