Boston Things are pretty grim up here, and not just because John Kerry’s reelection is a certainty. Many of us are sitting shiva for Tom Brady’s knee while the TV sports anchors are replaying Tom Brady’s injury like it’s a latter day Zapruder film, pointing at his left knee and saying, “Down and to the right – down and to the right” Yes, the unthinkable has occurred. The man we consider the best quarterback ever, a winner of three Super Bowls who has started every game for the franchise since Week 3 in 2001, is out for the year after taking a mere 17 snaps. It’s the Curse of the CBS Scene. For those legions of Patriot haters out there eager to write us off – and yes I’m using “us” even though I technically don’t play for the team – I have some bad news. The Patriots are still going to be an excellent team. Walk through it with me analytically. The Patriots will still have one of the three best defenses in the league, just like they always do. They’ll still have the best coach in the league, just like they always do. On the other side of the ball, three of their linemen are All-Pros. They have a strong corps of running backs. Their receivers are the best in the league. Even if they have mediocre or sub-mediocre quarterback play, their offense figures to be above average. You combine one of the league’s best defenses with an above average offense and the league’s best coach, you have not just a contender but a potential champion. And let’s not forget, the Patriots have a nucleus of stars who know how to win. A few other notes about the Patriots’ quarterback position. In an email exchange with Bill Kristol last week, he taunted me that the Patriots were one Brady injury away from oblivion. I responded that on that team playing in that system, either he or I would be a Pro Bowl quarterbacks if we got the job. Unfortunately, neither of us did get the job so my relative prescience will not be tested. Instead, the Patriots have given the position over to Matt Cassel, Tom Brady’s longtime understudy. This is Cassel’s fourth season with the Patriots as Brady’s back-up. If he were incapable of doing the job, the Patriots would have replaced him long ago. Let’s not forget that this is the team that said farewell to mainstays like Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy and Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots don’t keep anyone around for sentimental reasons. Most people are predicting the Patriots to win 9-10 games and be a borderline playoff team. It’s actually much more likely that rather than descend into mediocrity, the Patriots will have a brewing quarterback controversy when training camp convenes next summer. That said, there’s no overstating what a sad week this is for a Patriot fan. As you get older, you become increasingly aware that great athletes have short careers. When I was a kid watching Larry Bird, I never thought he would get old. I was just about 19 when Bird won his final championship in 1986 and was at his absolute best – the best to ever play the game. About 18 months later, Bird hurts his heels in a game in Cleveland and was never the same player again. Wade Boggs got old fast, too. Roger Clemens never got old, but that was a special case. Brady was already on the wrong side of 30 before Sunday’s injury. When he returns, he’ll be one year older and beyond the age when recovering from serious injuries comes easily. The sad possibility is that Tom Brady may well never be the same. The sad fact is he has lost one of his prime years, a year which figured to be one of the greatest individual seasons in NFL history. But life goes on. And so will the Patriots.
