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Patriots Could Continue Youth Movement At Backup QB

Doug Flutie and Vinny Testaverde ain't walkin' through that door. Not yet, anyway. It's May, the first round of minicamps are over, and the Patriots are still without a veteran backup quarterback.

Just like the previous two years when Matt Cassel served as Tom Brady's understudy. And last fall when Cassel started 15 games after Bernard Pollard blew up Brady's knee 15 minutes into the 2008 season. But this summer is different; New England traded Cassel to Kansas City and despite a glut of available veteran free-agent quarterbacks, the Patriots decided to keep it in-house.

Scott Pioli, Tyler Thigpen, Matt Cassel and the Future of the Chiefs

(photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Scott Pioli is tasked with turning around the Chiefs, a franchise that backed into the playoffs in 2006 but has since won just six times in 32 tries.

There are reasons for optimism, however; Kansas City's 2008 draft class was one of the best in recent memory; Dwayne Bowe is quickly becoming one of the AFC's best wideouts; and Tyler Thigpen, a draft-day afterthought with the Vikings in '07, played like a legit NFL quarterback for most of the season. And, of course, Pioli is now running the show.

New England May Place the Franchise Tag on Matt Cassel

There's no question Tom Brady's knee injury way back in week 1 was bad news for pretty much everybody involved with the New England Patriots. Well, everybody except for Matt Cassel, who is set to enter a new tax bracket this offseason.

After being somewhat of a surprise to make the team out of training camp -- he was awful in the preseason -- the fourth-year pro who hadn't started a football game since he was a senior in high school, took over the Patriots offense and helped guide them to an 11-5 record. Actually, there were a few games where he was nothing short of brilliant, throwing for 400 yards in back-to-back games in mid-November, and ending his season with eight touchdown passes to only one interception over the final four weeks of the season.

The beauty of it for Cassel is the fact he is now in the drivers seat as an unrestricted free agent. He's positioned himself to get, I'm guessing, a rather large offer from some desperate team in dire need of a quarterback -- like Detroit, for example -- or get slapped with the franchise tag in New England.

Either way, he's going to be financially set for life.

Here's where this is all going: Mike Lombardi, former NFL general manager and current contributor to National Football Post, is convinced the Patriots will make Cassel their franchise player this offseason.

Tom Brady's Rehab Is Behind Schedule; on Upside, He's Getting Married


Tom Brady's season ended back in Week 1 and he spent the next four months having knee surgery and mustering the courage to ask for his ladyfriend's hand in marriage.

Good news: SHE SAID YES. Bad news: Brady's rehab is behind schedule, which could complicate the Patriots' offseason quarterbackin' plans. Specifically: what to do with Matt Cassel, Brady's backup who has fared surprisingly well as the starter.

NBC.com's Tom Curran has the details on Tommy Terrific's knee:

Matt Cassel Returns to Patriots

A day after leaving the team to be with his family following the death of his father, Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has returned to practice on Thursday, as reported by Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe. He took part in the team's workout at the San Diego State University campus, and may be in the lineup on Sunday when the Patriots take on Oakland. From Gasper:
He was seen getting off the team bus this morning at San Jose State, where the Patriots are preparing for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders, and he was on the field for practice this afternoon, which began at 12:40 PST.
If Cassel doesn't play, the start would go to either rookie quarterback Kevin O'Connell, a third-round pick from San Diego State, or second-year player Matt Gutierrez.

The funeral for Cassel's father, Greg, is scheduled for Monday.

In his 12 starts this season for the Patriots, Cassel has completed 283 passes for 3,052 yards and 14 touchdowns, while the team has posted a 7-5 record.

Boston Globe Photo: Patriots' Kevin O'Connell Wears Wristband Saying 'My D--k Is Tiny Too!'

The Boston Globe published a photo of New England Patriots quarterback Kevin O'Connell on Sunday, and as a result, it ran this apology on Tuesday:
Editor's note: A photo on Page C6 in Sunday's Sports section showed Patriots rookie quarterback Kevin O'Connell wearing a wristband with inappropriate language written on it. The photo did not meet the Globe's journalistic standards and should not have been published.
So what was that inappropriate language? You can see a close-up of the wristband here. It said, "My d--k is tiny too!" That's classy.

I have no idea why O'Connell was wearing the wristband. Did he write it to make a joke to his teammates? Did one of his teammates write it to play a joke on him? But I do know the caption under the photo makes it all the better: "The Patriots are refining Kevin O'Connell's mechanics, but they believe he has the tools to be a top-flight quarterback."

Via Scott's Shots.

Patriots Sign QB Matt Gutierrez


Despite not being in a hurry to bring in a quarterback ... the New England Patriots finally have one.

Matt Gutierrez.

Alright, alright, it doesn't have the zing of a Tim Rattay, Daunte Culpepper or Joey Harrington ... but it may not need to be. Gutierrez was released by the Patriots in the final round of preseason cuts two weeks ago. He knows the offense, knows what to expect and will be a better option to come in right away in case anything happens to Matt Cassel and Kevin O'Connell.

Gutierrez threw one pass in 2007 ... his rookie season with the Pats. He will be the emergency quarterback for New England's game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

On the outside looking in, this is a bit of a risk. Your starter is a guy who will be making his first start since he was in high school. His backups are a rookie and a second year player.

Patriots in No Hurry to Sign a Quarterback; John Joseph Harrington Is Available


While fans of tackle football in the northeastern section of our country are coping with the season ending injury to Tom Brady, the football staff of the Patriots still have a job to do. Apparently, they're preparing to do so -- or attempting to do so -- with two guys named Matt Cassel and Kevin O'Connell doing their best to fill in for No. 12. And that's the way it's going to stay. For now. We think. Maybe. Unless it doesn't.

Starting on Sunday night, just hours after Brady suffered his knee injury, reports began to surface that free agent quarterbacks Chris Simms and Tim Rattay would be making their way to New England for some workouts, and apparently, they did in fact travel to Foxborough. Only no workouts took place.

There were no physicals, no contracts signed or offered, and apparently Belichick didn't even talk to them. They were turned away with the message, "the situation has changed."

It certainly has changed. Your starting quarterback is now a guy that hasn't started a football game since before he went to his senior prom in High School.

EA Sports Rookie Madden Bowl: Red Carpet

EA Sports recently held its second annual Rookie Madden Bowl in Los Angeles. Players competed in a tournament just like the regular Madden Bowl held during Super Bowl week, but this one was just for rookies. Oh how I love rookies! With the exception of whiz kids like Matt Ryan, most of them are pretty goofy and not yet jaded by the media attention. Join me on the red carpet as I talk to Jake Long, Darren McFadden, Devin Thomas, Dexter Jackson, Kevin O'Connell, Andre Caldwell and others before the tournament.

Besides all the smack talking about Madden skills and player ratings, watch at 0:54 to find out if Dustin Keller can handle the heat of Jets questioning ... and make sure to stay for Jonathan Stewart's hilarious ramblings at the very end of the video.


AOL Video link. YouTube link.

Matt Cassel Isn't Worried About Losing Plum Gig as Tom Brady's Backup


While it would be fun to assume that the Patriots drafting Kevin O'Connell in the third round was an indictment on Tom Brady's New York-lovin' off-field activities, it's really a commentary on the sorry state of the depth chart after Brady.

New England used a seventh-round pick on Matt Cassel two years ago and in that time he's done little to distinguish himself as an NFL quarterback. Much of that has to do with sitting behind Brady, but some of it probably is a result of not playing competitive football since high school. During his time at USC, he served as backups to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Not exactly the best way to hone your skills for the next level.

By drafting O'Connell, the Patriots apparently agree, but Cassel seems unfazed.
"You figure they're going to bring people in, and it was one of those things where I just accepted it and said there's a little bit more competition here and you just have to go out and do your job," said Cassel. ...

"I don't put any added pressure on myself," he said. "I go out and I try to play to the best of my abilities. I try to get better each and every day and show that I'm the second-best quarterback on this team behind Tom and prove that to the coaches and to my teammates."

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