I feel like I just got punched in the stomach, only worse

This image, in a nutshell, manifests the feeling in New England right now. Apparently the Kansas City Chiefs found this Superman's kryptonite. But as with all bad things, there are positives.

The Patriots are still the best team in the NFL. Here's why:

They have the greatest coach in the history of mankind. The best receiver since Jerry Rice, and a crew of really good options behind him. An extremely talented defense, even with some age issues. They also have a nice group of running backs, led by a future Pro Bowler.

So all is not lost. If there is any team that can deal with this kind of catastrophic injury, it's the Patriots. I don't care who Brady's replacement is, although it looks like Matt Cassel is the man.

These kinds of situations have been dealt with before. Look no further than Brady's own rise to success. The Pats' Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe took a crushing blow in a game against the Jets in 2001, opening the door for an unknown quarterback named Tom Brady. Brady excelled in his new starting role, picking up steam as the season rolled along. After a stirring game against the Rams in Sunday night primetime, where the Rams held off a surprisingly tough Pats team, 24-17, a new star was born.

Two months later, the greatest upset in the history of football took place. And Brady was the man who led the way.

So, Pats fans, fear not. While our tireless, flawless leader has fallen, there is more than a chance that a new one will rise.

Strategy for Cassel
Cassel is like the Sarah Palin of football, minus the lipstick. He is new to the scene. And now everyone wants to know more about him. The playbook will stay the same with Cassel under center. But he will be hidden. Like I said above, there are enough playmakers elsewhere on the team to make up for Cassel's relative lack of star power.

Other teams have done it with inexperienced quarterbacks and gone on to great success. Ben Roethlisberger wasn't considered ready for the spotlight by many in his rookie season. In fact, he was the third string QB to start the 2004 season. When starter Tommy Maddox went down in the third quarter of the Steelers' first game of the season, Roethlisberger stepped in, and the Steelers went 15-1.

Now that's not to say Cassel is anywhere near Roethlisberger in terms of talent. Big Ben is a top-five QB in the league. But in his rookie season, a season in which he won NFL Offensive Player of the Year -- the first time a rookie QB had won the award in 34 years -- Big Ben was sheltered a bit. He had a good running game and a great defense. The Steelers let him grow as a player without exposing him to the greater risk of failure. The Patriots can -- and will -- use the same approach with Cassel. And they have the players and coaching staff to make it a successful venture.

After all, that's the way we became the Brady Bunch.

Elsewhere
-- Brett Favre got a win by the seat of his pants on Sunday. I think everyone (other than Jets fans) wanted to see Chad Pennington pull off the upset against his old team. Didn't happen. The good news for Dolphins fans? Pennington didn't die.

-- Aaron Rodgers looked great in his debut as the Packers' new QB. Also, consider this a hat tip to my rival high school's former star, Will Blackmon, who scored on a punt return last night. It's not often Rhode Island has an NFL player to root for.

-- We do, however, have a Major Leaguer to cheer on. And his story ain't half bad, either.

-- The Raiders are terrible.

-- Dick Vitale, now a Hall of Famer, shows his usual coolness and caution toward Pitt hoops. I can't say I agree entirely with the rankings. I don't like Notre Dame ahead of Pitt.

-- This is the quote of the century: "It just happened to be the play before that Jermaine Phillips was talking trash and the next play he was on one of my highlight reels." Thank you, Reggie Bush. Love that guy.

-- Former Pitt player Joe Flacco took the driver's seat in Baltimore on Sunday. He is now in my group of favorite current NFL players, along with Reggie Bush (see above), Ellis Hobbs, Joey Harrington (team or no team), Rex Grossman, Chad Pennington (see above) and "Touchdown" Ricky Williams (nickname self-applied).

-- Here come those BoSox. Speaking of which, what's the difference between the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees? A World Series in the last seven years. What's the difference between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees? In three weeks, one will be in the playoffs.

-- In an effort to be fair, what's the difference between a Fenway Frank and a Yankee Stadium dog? Fenway Franks aren't sold in October. Har har. (Except in four of the past five Octobers.)

-- Parting thought: Pitt football is awful. Forget everything I said about them to any of you.