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With a compensatory selection in round three, the New England Patriots have drafted San Diego State quarterback Kevin O’Connell.
The move confirms that the Pats aren’t all that confident about Matt Cassell or whoever else is on the depth chart behind Tom Brady, who is 30 and whose Super Bowl ankle injury marred the team’s efforts to turn 18-0 into 19-0.
Or maybe it’s something else. Says Rich Eisen of NFL Network, “It’s a quarterback controversy in New England.” (By the way, we realize Eisen was kidding. So you can stop sending e-mails explaining to us that Eisen, who before this had never uttered a sarcastic word in his life, was just joking around.)
April 27th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Tom Brady is on the alert. 50 TDs don’t meet expectations.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Matt Gutierrez can kiss jis job goodbye. Matt Cassell will have to fight for number two now obviously. Was Eisen joking? Brady has maybe six or seven more good years before he’ll become Brett Favre. This pick is interesting; the Pats should groom a young QB while Brady is in his prime. O’Connell can also play a little WR.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Cassel will be a free agent after next year, so the Pats are expecting him to go elsewhere obviously, and they have taken the successor to Brady’s backup. It’s a smart football decision, and if BB says this is the QB he thinks can get it done, what Pats fan is gonna question him?
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April 27th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Sorry, SeanMartin.
I disagree. I think that the Pats like Gutierrez better than Casell. I think that Gutierrez will end up being Brady’s backup this season, and O’Connell will be the third string. They’ll either trade Cassell before training camp, or they will showcase him during the preseason, hoping to trade him after some team’s QB sustains an injury.
Cassell’s death knell was when he went in to close out the Miami game for Brady, and immediately threw a pick 6. Brady had to return to the game, and Cassell was on his way out of town from that moment on.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Matt Walsh just informed me that Tom Brady was the one who actually ordered the tapings. The Pats expect the comish to suspend Brady for the season, if not for life. It’s also been discovered Brady bought Pacmans poll.
This is a clear sign that the Patriots have inside information regarding this.
Thanks for reading,
Ron Jaworski (Take that for not showing up punk)
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
That was their regular pick; it wasn’t compensatory.
The 3rd rounder they’ll likely get for losing Asante Samuel will be awarded next year, not this year.
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April 27th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Great move here by Bill. Trade Brady now while he still has some value. He did lose a Superbowl!
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April 27th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Even though both saw extremely limited action last year, it appeared that Gutierrez outshone Cassel in the 2007 pre-season. Cassel apparently hasn’t developed as well as the Pats had hoped. So, O’Connell is brought in to light a fire under both. If he performs better than Cassel in camp and in August, Cassel could become trade bait.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Wow! All good points. I questioned the move at first, especially with Mario Manningham still on the board. They must have confidence in Chad Jackson and if O’Connell can also play some wideout this is a typical move; address a need and build some depth through versatility. I will keep an eye on this kid.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
8man, no chance the Patriots would draft any player who isn’t smart enough to tie his own shoes.
Florio, hope you enjoyed the Seinfeld reference by ESPN going into the last commercial break (”these pretzels are making me thirsty”.)
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
In Bill We Trust.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 27th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
As a Pats fan, I love that we are treating the backup QB spot seriously. Brady has been an iron man but I’ve seen enough of Matt Cassell to know that our offense is nothing with him in the lineup. Plus O’Connell was touted as a potential steal, so Belichick may have done enough by just getting him in the stable instead of having to face him one day.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 28th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Wow - you people are tough on Cassel. Sure, he’s no Brady… but, isn’t that kind of what we expect out of our backups? You’re judging him on one play last year made by a future hall of famer. It was indeed a very nice play by Zach Thomas, and I see no reason to judge Cassel based on that. Regardless, I think you’re a little too enamored by Gutierrez’s ability to kneel on the ball (which is pretty much all I’ve seen him do all year). As a Pat’s fan, I have a little more confidence in Cassel than the rest of you. (not much more… but he’s infinitly better than Gutierrez)
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)