Most people who are raised in New England tend to have a fatalistic view of life. We live our lives by Murphy’s Law; “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” and it usually happens to us. You are taught very early in life, to expect the worst. It is better to be pleasantly surprised, than to be unprepared. Bad things happen, so just deal with it. Enjoy the good times while they are here, because they will not last for long.

There are many different theories as to why New Englanders feels this way. Some say it stems from Colonial days, the original settlers came to the New World to escape religious persecution. Others point to the weather, New England winters can get pretty tough. Still others point to the Boston sports teams, who while recently have enjoyed incredible success, have not always performed this way.

The concept of Boston as the “City of Champions” for most New Englanders is very hard to fathom. The Boston Celtics, the region’s most celebrated team went 21 years between trips to the NBA Finals, before this past story book season. The concept, that the Boston Red Sox have won two World Series in this decade for me is mind boggling. The Red Sox have broken my heart far more times than I would ever allow any woman to, yet I have always come back. Still it seems almost surreal that the team who went to the Series, in 1967, 1975, and of course 1986, only to walk away empty handed has actually won not one but two World Series!

As I have written many times on these pages, maybe the most amazing turn around of all may be the Patriots. To think of the team that for most of it’s existence in the NFL was as a joke, as the dominant team of this decade defies logic. After decades of being misfits, with owners like Billy Sullivan, and Victor Kiam, Bob Kraft has built himself a team to be proud of. Most NFL observers credit the organization’s success to three men. Patriots General Manager Scott Pioli, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady. These three men have helped New England go to four Super Bowls this decade winning three of them. But one of those men will be unable to contribute any more this season, that being the QB Brady.

As you are well aware by now Brady’s 2008 season ended in the Season Opener Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady was sacked by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard in the first quarter, and tore the ACL in his left leg ending his campaign. Any one who was watching the game knew the injury was bad when it occurred. Patriots fans worst hopes were confirmed on Monday, Brady would undergo season ending surgery. The starting quarterback for this Sunday’s contest against division rival the New York Jets would be seldom used backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Cassel who had thrown just 39 passes prior to stepping in for Brady Sunday, won the game against K.C. as he went 13/18 for 152 yards, 1 touchdown and no picks. But to say that his performance gave Patriots fans confidence, would be an exaggeration at best, and maybe even a false hood. Matt Cassel was an unknown inexperienced quarterback, to think that this young man could lead this team to the Post Season never mind the Super Bowl was ludicrous. Or is it?

If you check out our podcast from Monday Gridiron Rewind Week One Podcast Show I was anything but optimistic during my interview with Site Editor Matt Loede. I made the statement that Brady’s injury could keep the Patriots out of the NFL Playoffs, and it certainly may. However we tend to forget, that the New England Patriots first went to Brady in a similar situation in 2001.

Any one outside of Tom Brady’s immediate family, close friends, and maybe a couple of teammates, who says they expected Brady to have the career that he has had on September 30, 2001 is either delusional or lying. Brady was in his second season in the NFL when he had to take over from then starter Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe was seriously injured after colliding with New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, he suffered internal bleeding and was taken from the game. Brady came in that game which the Patriots would end up losing. He then went 1-1 in his next two starts, but things quickly turned around after that. Brady would go 11-3 as a starter, got an invite to the Pro Bowl, and was the winning quarterback in the Super Bowl against Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams. Brady before 2001 was a sixth round pick in the NFL Draft, his previous experience, in the league was in 2000. He was in one game, and went 1/3 with a QB rating of 42.4.

Now does that mean that Cassel is destined for the same story book career that Brady has had? Of course not, but it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility either. Remember Cassel still has the same receiving core that Brady had, the question right now is can he utilize them well enough to engineer a winning season. The Patriots were fortunate to capture lightning in a bottle in 2001. Starting Sunday we will find out can they pull off the feat again.

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