I'm still sick over seeing Tom Brady limp off the field on Sunday early on in the Pats 17-10 win over the Chiefs. Though you'd never hear a Pats fan say it, an injury to Brady has always been the unspoken ultimate fear. Even more so after watching globe photoMatt Cassel's lackluster turd of a preaseason.

Well, the unthinkable has happened. We don't know how bad it is but it's probably safe to assume we won't be seeing Uno Dos until October at the earliest. And that's probably the best case scenario.

The worst? Tom Brady being done for 2008 after just one quarter. But let's not call this season a complete bust just yet.

Brady will get an MRI Monday, they'll give it a day for the swelling go down and then we should know more. If there's a Daunte Culpepper or Joey Harrington signing in the next couple days it will probably be safe to assume Brady will miss significant time. And that's assuming they don't put him on IR which would end his season.

Unlike his performance in the preseason, Cassel wasn't horrible. He actually made a couple throws. But still, the offense was a shadow of what it is when Brady's back there. 

One long bomb to Randy Moss does not mean Cassel suddenly has the downfield cannon that Brady does. Cassel dinked and dunked for the most part. Got a couple first downs with his legs and was aided tremendously by solid special teams play and some timely long runs.

Can Cassel keep the boat afloat for the next month or so? With the Pats schedule of @ Jets, Miami, bye week, then San Francisco it's not too tall of an order to think Cassel could get them to 3-1 by the time they face AFC rival San Diego. For that one they're going to need 12.

Despite the loss of Brady there were some positives to take from Sunday, the biggest of which being the defense. Though they had to mount a goalline stand at the end of the game to prevent overtime, they looked  faster than they did in 2007 with a run defense that looked like they were already in playoff mode. They kept Larry Johnson in check and made Kansas City work for every single inch on the field.

New addition Deltha O'Neal made a pass breakup that sealed the win. Jerod Mayo rarely left the field. Lewis Sanders was solid. And team whipping boy Ellis Hobbs contributed with a huge kick-off return and a timely interception. The running game also looked solid, with both Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris ripping off big gains.

The bottom line is that we can thank the Football Gods that the Patriots have the schedule that they do. Even a marginal NFL quarterback like Cassel should be able to keep the team in the playoff hunt on the strength of their running game and defense.

We have no way of knowing how severe Brady's injury is, despite the endless speculation that is already going on all over the football blogosphere. 

Until then we can only sit back and pray that 2008 will not be a lost year in the Patriots dynasty. Until Tuesday...

After the most painful off-season in team history the Patriots are finally about to play a game that actually means something and it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. No more Spygate, No more "Randy Moss Hurt My Finger-gate", No more "They Ran Up the Score-gate". And no more Perfect Season pressure (for now).
 
With all the controversies in the rearview mirror, for the first time in a long time the Patriots can focus solely on football. That doesn't mean good things for a young Kansas City Chiefs team that will be starting at least three rookies and would probably covet Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback. The 5 Keyz to the game:
 
1. Stop Larry Johnson and his bad attitude.

Johnson is the only considerable threat that the Chiefs have and if the Pats can shut him down and force Brodie Croyle to beat them thru the air, something that he's probably incapable of, things will be looking good. The Pats run defense looked like junk in the preseason, stopping a quality back like LJ will go a long way towards reminding everyone the Pats defense is top-notch.
 
2. Get the Early Lead

The Chiefs are a young team and putting a quick touchdown up on them should quickly deflate any false hopes they might have for an upset. If the Pats allow them to stick around it could get interesting and as a Pats fan I don't want interesting. I want domination.
 
3. Exploit the Rooks

There are three areas specifically where the Pats can look to attack players in their first NFL game. Branden Albert, who's still questionable to be the Chiefs starting Left Tackle, will be getting a rude introduction to the NFL by having to line up across from Richard Seymour. I thought the Pats might take Albert with their first round pick and he's a good player, but dealing with Seymour is about as tough as it can get. Not to mention he's coming off an injury that held him out much of camp.
 
Brandon Flowers is another rookie who will be starting at cornerback for the Chiefs. Whether he's on Randy Moss or Wes Welker, it will be a match-up that can be attacked all day long. If I were Herm Edwards I'd put him against Jabar Gaffney as much as possible. That's as good as it's going to get for the Chiefs.
 
Rookie defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey has no easy task himself going against Pro Bowler Logan Mankins. This will be the most competitive rookie vs. Pro Bowler match-up of the day. Look for the Pats to run right at him. He should have Laurence Maroney's footprints on his back by the end of the day.
 
4. He's not that good, but don't forget about Dwayne Bowe

With no other threats at Wide Receiver, Bowe should see his fair share of double teams. He plummeted in my fantasy draft, clearly the result of who's throwing the passes to him, but Bowe does have a height advantage over the Patriots small, quick corners. Watch out for fade routes when/if the Chiefs get into the Pats' red zone. Otherwise the damage he can inflict will be minimal.
 
5. Just Win, Brady

I wouldn't be a true Patriots fan if I didn't include this as one of my Keyz. Ultimately this is only thing that really matters on Sunday. Win, put the horrid preseason and Super Bowl losses behind them, and move on to the Jets. It's just as simple as that.

 There's never a dull moment for Patriots fans and the past few days have been no exception. Most teams cut their roster down to 52 players at the deadline and that's it, they're ready to go for the season.

But not the Pats. They got their roster down to 53 (Kevin Faulk not counting because of his one week suspension) on Saturday, but continued to make a number of moves over the long weekend. 

While most teams are solely focused on their week one game, the Patriots are still working on making their roster as strong as it can possibly be from their best player all the way down to their practice squad players. This is why the Patriots win as much as they do. 

Just look at the flurry of activity done after the roster had supposedly already been set:

Chad Jackson cut. John Lynch cut. Signed CB Deltha O'Neal. Steven Spach cut. Claimed a tackle and a tight end off waivers from other teams. Placed waiver claims on at least three offensive lineman (who ended up going to other teams).

Just another few days at the office for the Pats.

So what can we gather from all the moves made over the long weekend?

Chad "The Chad" Jackson can in fact now be labeled a bust. 

From the sound of it, John Lynch will likely be back with the team after week one. It is widely rumored that he was released so that the Pats would not have to guarantee his full salary, a concession that veterans get if they are on the roster for week one.

Deltha O'Neal is a quality pickup. He was bumped to third on the Bengals cornerback depth chart last year, but he's been to two Pro Bowls  and, at 31, should still have something left in the tank. This guarantees we won't live or die based on how a rookie cornerback performs.

The Pats are still working to add to their offensive line depth, especially at the Guard position. Expect there to be at least another move made in this area in the next couple of days.

Overall it's business as usual for the boys in blue, and that's what makes them so much fun to follow even when they haven't played a meaningful game since February.

The Pats cut their roster down to the required 53 players today and there were a couple surprises. The biggest would have to be the release of CB Fernando Bryant. 

Bryant was a staple in the preseason starting lineup and seemed like he had sewn up the job of replacing Asante Samuel. Alas, now he's gone and it looks like rookie Terrence Wheatley or vet Lewis Sanders will now be starting opposite Ellis Hobbs.

I guess seeing Bryant get steamrolled by a Giants running back into the end zone Thursday night should've been an indication that he could be in trouble.

The other surprise is that Matt Cassel is still on the team while Matt Guttierrez has been let go. While many thought Gute outperformed Cassel, clearly the Patriots did not. Kevin O'Connell slips into the third quarterback spot with the potential to be Tom Brady's backup in 2009 when Cassel's deal expired.

Though Cassel apparently played well enough to hold on to his job, I doubt he played well enough to earn a contract extension.

The surprises who made the team include Sam Aiken, a WR who will contribute on special teams, as well as undrafted rookie LB Gary Guyton. 

Guyton was all over the field on Thursday night, leading the team with 10 tackles. He's clearly got the speed that the Pats have been lacking from the position in years past.

Ray Ventrone is another surprise, and another one of those swiss army knife-type players Belichick loves. He can do a little of everything and might even see some time at slot receiver should Wes Welker miss any games.

Cut players who are candidates to be on the practice squad include Vince Redd, another undrafted rookie LB who showed some promise, Antwan Spann, who likely had his roster spot taken by John Lynch, and Mike Richardson, who hasn't been healthy in his two years with the team.

One area to keep an eye on will be on the offensive line. With Stephen Neal and Russ Hochstein both out with injuries it was somewhat of a surprise to see both vets John Welbourn and Mike Flynn cut. This makes Dan Connolly