Aug. 20, 2008

The good news for the Patriots is that Tom Brady's foot injury is not believed to be serious, even though an official diagnosis has not been made public. In fact, we hear that coach Bill Belichick's decision to keep him out of preseason games is as much a function of concern over the injury-marred offensive line's ability to keep him erect as it is his current health. The bad news is that his backups have played so poorly in relief that there's a legitimate concern as to how the offense would function if Brady were to miss extended time at some point. Rookie Kevin O'Connell has outperformed Matt Cassel thus far, but there's little chance Belichick would grant starting honors to a rookie. Nevertheless, don't expect Belichick to start dialing the phone number of any veteran still out there on the free-agent market. The theory is that the market is bereft of any attractive option at this late stage, and the fact that the backups have at least been immersed in the playbook through the offseason bodes better for any emergency than the introduction of a veteran newcomer.