Tom Brady is costing this team

[iapatsfan]

ROFL
I guess a post that gave me the laugh deserves a response.

1) Please list the $14M in additional cap cuts you would have made to have Cassell on the team as the backup QB. I suppose you could get away with only $12M since we have a bit of excess at the moment.

2) Cassell is not a better QB than Brady, even now with Brady injured.

3) Brady will get much better this year than Cassell can ever hope to be.

4) I do indeed think that primary reason that we are 3-2 instead of a solid 4-1 is the play of the QB position AND the offensive coaching.

5) I don't think that 4-1 at this point would be unreasonable with any QB other the elite ones who arguably might be 5-0 with this team. So, the COST we are discussing is one game.

BOTTOM LINE
We would NOT be 4-1 or even 3-2 with Cassell at QB. The loss of $12M or more of cap space would cost at least the same one game, probably more. And the cost of Cassell would be felt for the rest of the season and well into the future. And obviously Brady would have rust whenever he started to play.

I was comparing where we would be if we had traded Brady instead of Cassel, so the cap space point is not relevant. Based on his development last season, I disagree that we would have a worse record with Cassel this season. It is just hypothetical, but I think a QB playing avg would have won the Broncos game. Moss and Welker were wide open on many occasions, and Brady flat out missed them, which killed drives. He is not completing passes down the field which is letting teams play closer to the line, which is killing the running game. It also makes Moss and Galloway ineffective, because they are both down field WRs. His longest completed pass this season is 36 yds. That is terrible when compared to almost all other QBs in the league, especially when you consider he has potentially the best deep WR of all time on his team. He is not playing avg, he is playing well below that.

 

[mgteich]

If belichick were to entertain trading Brady, it would be AFTER this season, not before it.

CAP COST
Brady being traded before 2/27 $10M
Cassell $14M
total $24M

Even with a long-term contract with Cassell, there would have been no 2009 cap savings. There would be simple trade of Brady for Cassell and two firsts and future cap savings. Few here would take the deal.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Lets see what Matt Millen is doing lately - After all he was just as good as Brady is right now,right?

 

[ricogatenby99]

What a short sighted rediculous thread!

 

[Ian]

I won't laugh you off the board but I am going to lock the thread before you get killed any further

In closing you have to keep in mind the following:

Brady is coming off of a major knee injury, and missed a year of football.

Cassel is coming off a knee sprain, and played in Brady's place all last season.

So considering the circumstances it's like handicapping a golfer to keep it competitive. They're both more or less playing at the same level at this stage of the year despite the extra burdens that Brady is dealing with. Try this argument in week 13 if things don't improve, and you may find a few more people join you on this. But as of right now this isn't a good argument to make as he's still getting his timing down and getting comfortable.

Don't get me wrong - I'm as supportive of Cassel as anyone - but I'm not ready to trade Brady for anyone at this point. So unless he goes out and throws 5 TD's with 16 INT's - it's hard to throw the towel in just yet.