FanHouse Drew Bledsoe

The Arizona Cardinals used the 54th overall pick of the 2003 draft on Anquan Boldin, and while it's a credit to their scouting staff and front office for selecting him, they owe a massive thank you to Dave Wannstedt and the Miami Dolphins for making it all possible.

On Sunday, Sun Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde examined what has turned out to be an epic draft blunder for the Dolphins, resulting in an absolute draft steal for the Cardinals.

The New England Patriots are going to have quite a decision to make this offseason regarding the future of their quarterback situation. Tom Brady's knee remains a gigantic unanswered question, while Matt Cassel, his replacement during the 2008 season, is an unrestricted free agent and no doubt has dollar signs dancing around in his dreams.

With Brady's status still uncertain, there's been talk of potentially franchising Cassel -- which would pay him in the neighborhood of $14 million in 2009 -- or, perhaps, even signing him to a long-term contract creating a Joe Montana-Steve Young tag-team duo. Or, they could just put faith in Brady's knee being ready for training camp and wave goodbye to Cassel. Either way, it's a tough call and I'm glad I don't have to make it.

Apparently, Keyshawn Johnson has fully recovered from the Warren Sapp verbal broadside and is back to talking football, the gig that doesn't require him to know the difference between an étagère and an English basement.

The former USC grad, one-time Jets first-round pick, and now-analyst for ESPN's NFL Countdown thinks the Patriots' Matt Cassel could've very easily been something more than a draft-day afterthought if not for the laws of probability. Via the Palm Beach Post's Edgar Thompson:

"(Cassel) was the coin flip from being the starter at USC," said Johnson ... "It's like one day Pete Carroll wakes up and says Matt Leinart. Pete Carroll wakes up another morning and says Cassel. ... If he says Cassel, does SC win two national championships, does he win the Heisman? Matt Leinart caught fire and there was no looking to replace him at point."

Thompson then writes: "Now, Cassel is one of the NFL's hottest quarterbacks, coming off a 400-yard game, and the league's most improbable stories as he continues to lead the Tom Brady-less Patriots. Meanwhile Leinart is wasting away on the Arizona bench while Kurt Warner makes a run at his third MVP award."

I see where he's going with there, but Cassel is not "one of the NFL's hottest quarterbacks." Yes, he had a 400-yard game in a losing effort against the Jets, but he seldom throws ball down the field and he's got the luxury of playing in the most potent offense in the universe, not to mention a JV schedule.

Brinson got the ball rolling Sunday night, but NFL FanHouse brainiacs put their humongous eggheads together to continue the discussion: is the Patriots dynasty in the books, or will everything be fine when Tom Brady returns?

Ryan Wilson: Watching the Chargers systematically dismantle the Patriots secondary sent a pretty clear message to the rest of the league: WHEN THROWING THE BALL, FIRST FIND DELTHA O'NEAL, AND THEN CHUCK IT. And while there's a good chance the Patriots would be undefeated (or, at worst, a one-loss team) with a healthy Tom Brady -- and arguably still considered the NFL's best club -- now they're barely ordinary.

Which I think just reinforces the point that great coaches need great players. Hardly original, I know, but a lot of people were interested to see what Bill Belichick would do to keep things going in New England. The answer, it seems, is "start going to church again."

Thanks to CBS Sportsline breaking the news that Tom Brady may or may not be out for the year, the Patriots have to think about finding somebody -- anybody -- to serve as Matt Cassel's backup. (I hear Drew Bledsoe's not doing anything).

According to Al Michaels during tonight's Sunday Night Football telecast, New England will workout Chris Simms, presumably tomorrow. What this means for Cassel's immediate future is uncertain, but after spending three years in this offense, I can't imagine he'd lose his job in a few weeks to a street free agent. Then again, we're talking about a guy who's been riding the pine ever since he left high school, so nothing's outside the realm of possibility.

No idea if the Patriots will have other quarterbacks in to compete for a roster spot, but, frankly, I'm shocked that Doug Flutie or Vinny Testaverde weren't first on Bill Belichick's "in case of emergency" list. They know the offense, are virtually indestructible, and Flutie can even drop-kick in a pinch.

Oh, and if you haven't heard, Peter King announced on "Football Night in America" that Tom Brady is the NFL. We must find a way to carry on, however; Tom would want it that way, I think.

Before their abbreviated hibernation prior to training camp, the Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog caught up with owner Jerry Jones and unearthed this nugget:

A few weeks ago you said you would be open to getting a backup QB. You still trying to do that? "All the confidence. A lot of confidence in Brad. Had real good camps and real good work."

That's Brad Johnson. All 39 years of him. Blogging the Boys asks if "is anybody else as confident about Brad Johnson as Jerry is?" and the answer, obviously, is hell to da naw.

The Cowboys have two things in their favor, however: first, Tony Romo is resilient (bangs on wood). He's started 26 consecutive games since taking over for Drew Bledsoe midway through the 2006 season. In that time he's been sacked 45 times (or just two times fewer than Ben Roethlisberger ... in 2007), and had to play with various nicks and bruises.

Second, yes, Johnson's a fossil, but that's just a pejorative; the half-glass-full set would call him experienced. Sure, he had a rough go of it in Minnesota in '06, but that had just as much to do with those around him as his inability to complete a pass of more than seven yards.

The Cowboys feature a few more offensive weapons than that Vikings team, so there's that. Still, if Dallas is without Romo for any extended period, their odds of losing in the postseason get substantially longer. That said, given the names currently floating around free agency, I'm not sure the Cowboys could do much better than Johnson.

The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon must've known the poopstorm this would cause, but I give him credit for running with it anyway. He goes about the task of ranking the quarterbacks and has the audacity to put Tony Romo fifth behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees.

Predictably, some Cowboys fans thought Romo was ranked way too low (oddly, nobody thought he was ranked too high), and proceeded to tell us as much. While I have no problems with MacMahon's list, the most intriguing piece of news comes courtesy of commenter Gigante who points to this link and asks, "And this is supposed to make me feel good?"

"You're Phil Mickelson before he won his first major." - Cowboys coach Wade Wilson to quarterback Tony Romo, who has yet to win a playoff game.

First, when I saw "Wade", I just figured it was Phillips and he had confused "Phil Mickelson" with "Brett Favre when he was in Atlanta." It's definitely plausible.

But Wade Wilson? Was he trying to motivate Romo? I mean, it would've been less insulting to say, "If Dr. Frankenstein found a way to combine the worst qualities of Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde and Quincy Carter, it would be you."

That Romo even made it into MacMahon's top 5 is a testament to his perseverance. In retrospect, maybe Roger Goodell's suspension wasn't harsh enough.

Former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe isn't a big Bill Belichick fan, and doesn't have particularly warm feelings about the way his time in New England ended, with an injury and Tom Brady replacing him.

But Bledsoe takes the side of Belichick and the Patriots in the Spygate story. From the Boston Herald and PFT:

"I've followed it," Bledsoe said. "I've talked to some people about it. To be honest with you, my take now is the same as it's always been. Every team in the league is trying to do everything they can to get ahead. I'm sure most, if not all, are bending the rules in some way, shape or form. This just happened to be one that was very public, and the organization has been reprimanded for it.

"As a player here, I never did see anything other than what was already reported. . . . Was it a violation of the spirit of the rules? Absolutely, it was, but I think all of that has been readily acknowledged."

One of the strongest points in the Patriots' favor in Spygate is that there are several ex-Patriots who don't like Belichick, and none of them have come forward to say they think New England taped the Rams' walk-through before the 2002 Super Bowl. Bledsoe is the latest to take Belichick's side.

For all the talk about players leaving New England in droves, the over-30 set not only apparently love playing for Bill Belichick, but they refuse to retire. Ever. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi is coming back for at least one more season, and Junior Seau might do the same.

And Troy Brown, originally taken in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL draft -- 197 picks after Drew Bledsoe -- wants to return in 2008 too.

Troy Brown's playing days may not be over just yet. A source close to the veteran wide receiver said Brown hasn't made a decision about whether he'll try to return for a 16th season, and that an announcement is not expected soon.

"He feels great. He feels he can still play and still contribute," said the source. "Obviously, he would have liked to have played more than that one game he played. I don't think he's decided whether he's playing or not playing. A lot depends on what the Patriots do."

I suppose that's one way to prolong your career: play in one game a season. Brown was coming off knee surgery last off-season, missed all of training and was on the PUP list through Week 12. He saw action in the Dec. 23 win over the Dolphins where he returned six punts for 55 yards. The highlight (according to the Boston Globe's Chris Gasper, anyway): Brown, who turns 37 in July, misjudged a punt in that game and it hit off his facemask for a turnover.

Bill Parcells isn't a guy who puts much stock in quarterbacks. At least when the going rate is $35 million or so in guarantees that go along with taking one first overall. And yes, I'm aware that Parcells did just that when he drafted Drew Bledsoe with the first pick in 1993, but that deal was worth $14.5 million over six years ($4.5 guaranteed). And this was before the salary-cap era leveled the playing field.

Bledsoe aside, names like Ray Lucas, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde and Bledsoe 2.0 all lend support to the argument. And Tony Romo, a diamond in the rough who spent his first four years watching from the sidelines, came on the cheap. Which makes the Dolphins' latest acquisition, quarterback Josh McCown, not altogether surprising.

Sure, there are still questions about the move (why waste money on McCown when the team still needs to upgrade the offensive line?), but for now, he will battle second-year quarterback John Beck for the starting job. This means that Matt Ryan is officially off the draft board, at least if the team doesn't trade out of the top pick.

So now what? Well, for starters, Miami must think enough of McCown/Beck to turn their attention to countless other needs. Or maybe they like Joe Flacco, Chad Henne or another quarterback later in the draft. There will be plenty of time to speculate on such things.