OAKLAND, Calif. - Matt Cassel is going to remember 2008.
It's the year he made his first start since high school. It's the year he took over for Tom Brady and kept the Patriots in the playoff race deep into December. It's the year he became only the fifth quarterback in history to throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games. And it's the year in which his dad died while he was on the West Coast getting ready for a big game against the Raiders.
The Patriots won the "big game" by thrashing the once-proud Al Davis AC, 49-26, in car wash rains at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum yesterday. Cassel completed 18 of 30 tosses for 218 yards and threw a career-high four touchdown passes. He spoke briefly at the postgame podium, then dashed to the airport for a flight to Southern California. His dad's funeral is tomorrow.
"I just want to thank all my family and friends for all their support this week," he said in the Oakland A's weight room, which doubles as an interview room for Raider opponents. "It's been a tough week for me, obviously, and my family. The coaches, the players, Mr. Kraft, everybody has done such a great job of supporting me through this tough time and my family, as well. I just want to thank everybody for their messages and their condolences and we appreciate it as a family and I appreciate it as a person. That's really all I want to say about that, so thank you very much."
And then he was gone. Carried to SoCal on a private jet supplied by owner Bob Kraft. Cassel no doubt will be back at practice Wednesday in order to prepare for Sunday's game against Arizona at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are still in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with two games to play.
Asked to characterize interactions with Cassel yesterday, teammates said it was pretty much business as usual with the QB.
"We all have tons of respect for Matt," said running back Sammy Morris. "I couldn't imagine what it's like to deal with that, especially in the middle of a playoff race, especially in the middle of the season . . . and to do it playing the position of quarterback, that's even rougher."
"We treated this just like any other game," added Wes Welker, who scored a touchdown on his 100th catch of the season in the second quarter.
Indeed, Cassel's teammates treated him the way they would in any other game. They took direction in the huddle, did their jobs, and celebrated after every score. They even watched with some wonder when Cassel got into a face-to-face jam with Raiders defensive end Derrick Burgess after an interception. Seeing the cocky QB in the face of a masked mastodon made everyone feel like things were normal.
