"Got a look at a lot of our guys tonight," said Bill Belichick. "I thought they competed well."
Coach Bill got some help from his coaching rival. Giants boss Tom Coughlin apparently didn't read the Exhibition Game 4 manual, because he actually started the game with recognizable offensive and defensive units. This is not to say they played very much, but the fact that they played at all gives Coach Bill a chance to evaluate his fringe people somewhat better than if they hadn't. He didn't exactly thank Coughlin for doing that, but you could tell he was darn grateful.
There was another category of player happy for last night's game. Matt Cassel doesn't have to worry about making the team. No issue there. He is Tom Brady's official backup. Last night was a very special occasion because Cassel actually got to take snaps in an NFL stadium before real live paying customers and a probing press. This is not something that happens very often, so to Matt Cassel, there is no such thing as a "meaningless" exhibition game. To Matt Cassel, an exhibition game is a precious opportunity to, well, play. When this may happen again, no one can tell.
In the funny little world of backup quarterbacks, there is no one quite like Matt Cassel. There may never have been. All backup QBs know the drill: They aren't going to play unless the starter is knocked into next Thursday. But the others can all sit around and daydream about recent past glories somewhere. Not Matt Cassel. He last started a regular-season game at Chatsworth (Calif.) High School. That's what happens when you make a decision to go to Southern Cal and you find yourself the backup to not just one, but two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. It kinda makes a guy wonder why he didn't go to San Jose State.
But the Patriots somehow saw something. They made him a seventh-round pick in 2005, and here he is. Scores of QBs would love his gig.
So from Palmer and Leinart he has gone to Brady. He ought to know what a quality QB looks like.
