marihayes-soapbox is open!

I’m an avid Patriots fan, before you hate me, I was a fan when they were terrible. I sat and watched our first go at the Super Bowl become a game you want to forget. I was there for the bad, so I stuck around for the miraculous emergence of Tom Brady. Between him and Bellichek and the team behind them, they did the impossible. They brought a mediocre team into a dynasty. Last year our perfect season was stopped short when we lost the big game.

We started out this season with great hopes of coming back to reclaim the Super Bowl. Then, Tom Brady went down in the first quarter of the season’s first  game. Every Pats fan sat in stunned amazement as our savior was carted off the field. Noone could see what was to come.

The coach brings in our backup. We desperately started looking for a new QB. Matt Cassel had enough talent to catch Bellichek’s eye, but did he have what it takes to be an NFL quarterback? After all, he had never played a game outside of high school. His college career was spent sitting on the bench. He rode the pine after being drafted late. Could this newbie really play?

At first it was shaky and we had some heart-breaking losses. These losses would come back to haunt us later on when we battled for the wildcard slot in the playoffs. Little by little Matt kept getting better. Maybe it was sitting and learning behind Carson Palmer and Tom Brady. Maybe it was Bellichek’s tutorage. Maybe it was the splendid team that was behind him. Maybe it was a little of everything. Matt Cassel was thriving.

Fast forward to the end of the season, which was cut short by being eliminated by our stats. The Pats didn’t even make the playoffs because we won our last game but also needed one of two teams in our division to lose their last game. Unfortunately they didn’t comply. What a turn around from last year’s perfect season.

Now what do we do? We have Tom Brady sitting by waiting to heal. He is our go-to guy. We have super bowl rings thanks to his ability. But he may not be the same player he was before the knee surgery. Then there is Cassel, who is younger, more mobile and seems to have learned poise under pressure, from Brady. I don’t want to be responsible for that choice. What if we let Cassel go and he becomes the premier quarterback of all time? What if we do that and Brady goes down again? I doubt they have another awesome QB in their back pocket. Though Bellichek has surprised me before. The big wigs at the Pats have a difficult decision to make. It will be an interesting spring regardless.

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