Good enough

Matt Cassel made his first NFL start on Sunday against the Jets, and played well enough to get the win

Patriots fans have seen this before. Star quarterback injured. Ease new quarterback into system. Dump off after dump off. Rely on running game and defense for big plays.

The last time resulted in a Super Bowl, and the creation of one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever live. And while I must admit Cassel looked a lot cooler under the pressure than I expected, he was no Tom Brady in Sunday's 19-10 win over the New York Jets.

Optimism wasn't hard to find in New England last week after Brady was injured and proclaimed out for the season. That optimism stems from Brady's entrance into the league as a starter some seven years ago, and how Patriots coach Bill Belichick tweaked the offensive game plan and began a dynasty with a former backup.

This time around, it's Cassel who's playing with a tweaked game plan. And after one game with him under center, it seems Belichick will use Cassel just as he used Brady back in 2001. It's something along the lines of, "Hey kid, just don't lose the game for us, and we'll be OK."

Maybe not in those exact words. But other than one deep pass to Randy Moss on Sunday, it looks as if Belichick isn't going to put Cassel in a position to fail, yet. That one toss to Moss was a little underthrown and sloppy. But in fairness to Cassel, it did hit Moss in the chest, which he then watched hit the ground for an incomplete pass.

Cassel finished the day 16 of 23 for 165 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The key start in all this is zero interceptions. Brett Favre's interception to Brandon Meriweather at the Jets' 31-yard-line led to a Sammy Morris 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 13-3 lead.

Cassel didn't make that same mistake. Of course, it's kind of tough to throw an interception when you're playing it safe all day, but that's the plan after all, for now at least.

The Patriots are now 2-0 on the season, with what would seem like an easy game at home against the Miami Dolphins next Sunday before a bye in Week 4. And the question is, can the Patriots win all season playing like they did against the Jets in Week 2? And the answer is, absolutely not.

Cassel still made some mistakes, and you can't expect him to be perfect the rest of the way. The Patriots defense impressed at times, but the Jets' first two drives to the red zone in the first half resulted in a total of only three points, thanks to a missed field goal, and some absolutely terrible play-calling.

The Jets hurt themselves all day with dropped balls and penalties in big spots. And on defense, they never seemed to adjust to the Patriots short game.

Cassel did well enough to win. That will be the phrase to describe his first NFL start. He has at least 14 more this season. And eventually, it will have to be better than that.