BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | September 18, 2008

There was one thing that many of you took time to point out or remind me of this past week: Tom Brady has a wrecked knee and won’t be taking my ever-formidable Patriots to the promised land in 2008-2009. So be it, haters. Steely-eyed, I have endured your “bad karma” jokes and your ill-gotten chiding. However, I would like to tell all of you who believe that the NFL was blown wide open due to the loss of one of its marquee stars that you are sorely mistaken. Though I had an initial flame of panic when Brady collapsed in a heap, in no way did thoughts of a so-called “ruined” season cross my mind. Remember, it takes more than one stud to take a team all the way to a Super Bowl victory (often the supporting cast are the ones to thank for big game wins), especially in a league as unpredictable as that of our professional football.

What makes Tom Brady such a great player is the same for big time stars all over the league: he makes the players around him better. Consider this: if Peyton Manning or LaDanian Tomlinson were to go down with injuries, their respective teams could still win games. Though, in light of the present situation, the Patriots may not go undefeated, because of their on-field talent and superb coaching staff, they still can have an excellent season. It takes more than one player to win a game, and because of Brady’s past performances, Matt Cassel (who took his first snap as a starter since high school this past Sunday) will have plenty of playmakers to pick up the slack for him. There is no doubt that this is the ultimate test of the rising stars on the team, because this is the type of situation that can make or break a player’s career.

For example, can the 5-man backfield put up large numbers on the ground, which would largely take pressure off Cassel to make third-and-ten conversions? Can the offensive line hold their pass blocks for a few seconds longer to adapt to a quarterback without a lighting quick release like Brady? Of course in a situation like this the defense must step its game up also. Let us never forget the old adage: defense wins championships.

I also urge not just those of you who hate on the Patriots, but those of you who root for teams with lackluster starts, not to lose confidence. In the NFL a large part of any team’s success is the strength of its coaching staff. Even with a traumatic injury like of Brady’s, the Patriots still have a good chance to go deep this year simply because Bill Belichick is a superior coach.

I have the utmost confidence that such a meticulous coaching staff like the one the Patriots have can be enough to overcome obstacles and create successful game-plans that reflect the strengths of the now Brady-less team.

For this reason, I urge fans of, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars to not give up faith after an 0-2 start. Coach Jack del Rio is an excellent play-caller, and as a former linebacker himself, knows how to successfully manage a fearsome defense. There is no need to give up on any team just because of the first few weeks of the season. That being said, I must choose my words carefully or bad karma may result in a 2-14 season for the Patriots.

Some of you may recall that the Pats were in a similar situation not even a full decade ago when longtime quarterback Drew Bledsoe went down with a life-threatening injury and thus the fate of the franchise fell to an untested sixth-round draft pick, Tom Brady. Lo and behold, the world works in mysterious ways, especially the football world, which can be turned upside down each and every week. Bottom line out there for those of you grieving over a slow start for your team: don’t fret about the first two weeks; the season is still young. And for those of you laughing at the Patriots and myself, don’t feel too bad when Matt Cassel takes this team to the postseason, because every football fan knows that he has the tools around him to do it.

Kevin Friedenberg is a junior. He can be reached at kfriede1@swarthmore.edu.

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