FanHouse Mike Lombardi

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.

Mike Lombardi is the former Raiders personnel executive-turned-teevee talking head. A few days ago, he lamented the fact that Oakland, like 30 other teams, missed out on the Tony Romo phenomenon (if there had only been a long-drive competition as part of the combine!).

And today he writes that Ravens second-round pick, Ray Rice, could be the blue-chip back that Willis McGahee isn't. (Or, more specifically, that Lombardi doesn't think McGahee is; while Bills fans might agree, I suspect Willis and Drew Rosenhaus feel differently.)

Although Rice may have been overlooked by some teams because of his size, Lombardi says that's a mistake.

Too often scouts make a big deal about a running backs height, but height is really not a factor in the run game, just if you want to extend the back out of the formation. Short backs are effective if they have a great lower body and can possess great balance. Our west coast scout in Oakland told me I was crazy for liking Maurice Drew-"he is a midget" was his first comment.

Lombardi points to this Baltimore Sun article as evidence new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is smitten; I'm not so sure, but I do agree that small backs shouldn't be summarily dismissed because, well, they're small.

Warrick Dunn's made out okay, and with virtually every team going to a back-by-committee approach, having a smaller, shiftier runner makes sense. Lombardi thinks Rice could be bad news for McGahee; I think it could extend McGahee's career, all else equal. Either way, it's good news for the Ravens' offense.