Brady has led a blessed career at this point. I think for the most part Pats fans have gotten used to his health streak and forget what it may be like to see your golden boy get knocked out for a couple of games. Eventually it will happen though, and for their sake hopefully they don't have a Ryan Leaf on the roster.
For your information: Matt Cassell is an excellent QB prospect. Below are a few factoids that might enlighten you: 1.In his junior year. Cassell and Linert waged an epic war for the starting job in the spring and fall. Carrol was quoted saying that it was too close to call right up to the first game. On a gut feeling he gave Linert the start. To his credit he never gave the job up for the next 2 years. 2. Cassell's only significant playing time came in the last game of his rookie year. The Pats had nothing to play for, while Miami was trying to reach .500 in Saban's first year. Cassell came into the game at the end of the first quarter. The Pats played their JVs as much as possible, while Miami played their first team most of the game. In the game, Cassell was up and down, as to be expected. However he did manage 2 TD vs one pick (BTW that's 2 more TD passes than he got in college). Down 8 points with under 2 minutes to play, Cassell led a TD drive, including a TD pass on the last play of regulation. He actually had his worse execution on the next play when he overthrew his receiver by so much that it was clear he was under orders to end the game right there to avoid the chance of any injuries. All in all it was a pretty impressive effort, given his college experiences, or lack there of. 3. I pre season last year, Cassel played the great majority of snaps and looked like he had improved over the previous year. 4. This season should see more of the same, a continued progression. Given the cast that would surround him, I think it would be reasonable that even if Brady went down, the Pats, and Cassell are good enough to STILL get to the playoffs. It would be possible for the Pats to still get to the Superbowl with Cassel, but probably unrealistic
