Now I know that there are a bunch of Cassel vs Brady posts, but I am simply curious and on a fact finding 'mission' (and I guess a little too lazy too look into it myself because I don't remember - but I'm sure common knowledge among everyone here will suffice). What did Brady's long ball look like in his first year? I know Cassel has been slammed for "only hitting the short passes," but I was wondering about the difference in this area.
I know Brady has the downfield accuracy, but did he have to develop it?
Looking back to 2001, there were two issues that limited Brady's deep passing game.
#1 - they wanted him to keep things simple and use the run and short pass, utilizing the weapons at his disposal and;
#2 - he didn't have Randy Moss to throw to. Troy Brown was the main WR threat - 101 passes caught - perfect for their game plan and Brady's capabilities.
He threw enough to David Patten to keep defenses honest but not much more than that - they preferred a low risk approach to the game instead of many deep throws. Terry Glenn was in turd mode that season and eventually was cut loose - so that didn't help the game plan any.
In Cassel's case its a very different situation. Early on in the season he was still finding himself - as was the opposing Defense because the O Line's protection of him was horrendous - so there's no point in a deep game when your OL can't even protect you for short passes. Sure Cassel's pocket skills and holding onto the ball too long played a role there too - but the protection was just outright bad for a long time.
Now things are different. Cassel's more comfortable, is making better reads, the OL is protecting him more, and he has Randy Moss to throw to....
One should never discount game planning either - some games and teams you play will give you the short pass and not the deep ball, in part because of their own capabilities.
The Patriots, regardless of QB, take what teams give them - so its not always about the OL or the QB either. I suspect you'll see some more shorter passes against the Steelers for example because frankly, that's about all I exptect their D to allow.
So while there's some similiarties between the two QBs and Seasons there's a lot of significant differences as well.