FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It was the first quarter when Tom Brady's knee was hit in what New England teammate Randy Moss called a dirty play by the Kansas City Chiefs. It was that exact moment as Brady's knee played the role of wet linguini and Brady himself crumbled to the ground in pain that the entire complexion of the NFL suddenly shifted in a microsecond.
|
|
| Can Matt Cassel (16) keep the Patriots among the AFC elite? (Getty Images) |
The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while there's a chance Brady could play again this year, it's basically infinitesimal.
Brady's backup Matt Cassel is expected to be told Monday morning he's the starter for the foreseeable future.
One of the most vibrant and important athletes today needed help to walk off the field, taking each step gingerly, traversing slowly down a flight of stairs en route to the locker room like his knees were slightly arthritic.
And like that, in a quick moment, everything changed. The Earth is flat again, cats and dogs living together, and a football season without Brady. Or so it seems.
The play wasn't dirty but the end result was grotesque. The ripples are plentiful and repercussions profound. You knew something was direly wrong when Brady didn't return in the second half. It would take Megatron to keep Brady away from football. He's the Michael Jordan of the NFL and his competitive nature is well documented. He has started 128 consecutive games and in professional football that's an eternity.
"Since I've been here, being around Tom," said Cassel, "he's always popped up" after getting hit.
Moss also seemed to know Brady was done. After the game he spoke as if he knew Cassel was starting.
If those weren't big enough clues, the hit was. It was ghoulish and remarkably reminiscent of the injury Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer suffered several years ago. Palmer needed his knee completely reconstructed.
Brady apparently won't need that kind of reconstruction. The source close to him would not provide details of what's exactly wrong, only that the knee suffered significant enough trauma to threaten Brady's year.
If Brady does miss significant time it changes everything, not just in the division but across football. Can you say AFC champion New York Jets? Or another Super Bowl appearance by Indianapolis?
With all due respect to Brady's replacement, Cassel, well, he's not Brady. Few players are. Without Brady the Patriots are a possible postseason team but they're not great and they're certainly not dynastic.
