New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick wants people to look at how the team dealt with Matt Cassel as an example of how the team will adjust without Tom Brady under center.
In 2008, Brady suffered a knee injury in Week 1 and missed the rest of the season. Cassel was the backup and did a great job of filling in, winning 11 of the 16 games during the season.
Belichick points out that once Cassel was under center, the team did everything in their power to change the offense to try and get him to succeed:
“Cassel would be a good example,” Belichick said, via Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. “We geared everything toward what would be best for him, just like we always geared everything toward what was best for Tom to help our offense there. So I don’t really see that changing.”
Cassel played really well that season in throwing for 3,693 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The Patriots also went 2-0 when Jimmy Garoppolo was under center, and 1-1 when Jacoby Brissett led the team.
The big question for the Patriots now is who they will be trying to gear their offense towards. Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham are both options that are already on the team, and they could play their way into the starting quarterback role for next season.
There has also been a lot of buzz around the Patriots selecting a quarterback with one of their round picks, and that could also be an option for which way the team goes.
No matter who is under center, it's clear Belichick is ready to change the offense to help them succeed.
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