EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- So you can't stand the New England Patriots?
You were hoping they would circle the drain now that Tom Brady is on crutches? Praying that Bill Belichick would be exposed without the benefit of the NFL's reigning most valuable player?
Well, you're in for a long season.
These aren't the same Patriots, but their radar blip is bright as ever.
With quarterback Matt Cassel making precious few mistakes, and a defense that looked as good as it did at any point last season, New England spoiled Brett Favre's home debut with the Jets on Sunday with a 19-10 victory at the Meadowlands.
Belichick aced this litmus test. He even showed a flicker of emotion as he walked into the interview room, flashing a smile before he stepped up to the podium and reprising his familiar role as the coach that joy forgot.
Cassel, meanwhile, just couldn't bring himself to be robotic. He joked about the story of the week, how this was his first start since 1999 when he was a senior at Chatsworth High.
"It was my first start since, what, the seventh grade?" he said, smiling and swabbing the sweat from his face.
"It was exciting. I went out there and it felt good. I didn't have too many butterflies. When you get out there and start playing, it just comes down to playing football. You just have to have fun and execute the offense."
Cassel wasn't Brady, nor did the Patriots ask him to be. He chipped away at the Jets with screens and underneath passes, and leaned heavily on the running game. He almost never went deep, but in one of the rare times that he did, he underthrew a wide-open Randy Moss, which allowed cornerback Darrelle Revis to break up the pass.
"I talked to Tom a lot" over the last week, Cassel said. "We had many different conversations on many different aspects of the game. His big advice was to go out there, manage the game, be smart with the football, and that we have enough good players on this team to win if I do that."
Cassel's line: 16 for 23 for 165 yards with no touchdowns but no interceptions.
If he continues to do that, his Patriots are going to win a lot of games this season -- at least 10 -- and win them the way they did in the pre-Moss days, by the narrowest of margins. They will win a lot of games with defense.
But that's not to say the Patriots will walk away with the AFC East again. Buffalo, which has beaten Seattle and Jacksonville, could wind up being the best team in that division.
