Going into the first Sunday of the 2008 NFL season, the main
story was Bret Favre’s first regular season game with the Jets. However by the
end of that day the story around the league was that Tom Brady had been seriously
injured against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady, who connected on a pass to Randy Moss, was hit in the
left leg by Brandon Pollard, which proceeded to send Brady down in pain. Brady
was on the ground for several minuets before being helped up and walking off
the field and into the locker room. The league’s reigning MVP would not return
to the game and by the time the final snap took place, word started spreading
around that Brady may be done for the season.

With Brady’s torn ACL taking him out for the season the
landscape of not only the AFC, the AFC East, but the NFL as well has changed. No
longer are the Patriots the threat they were with Brady leading the helm. Matt
Cassel will not nearly be at the level Brady was at. All you have to do is look
at the New York Jets who look like they are going to be much improved from last
year now with Bret Favre leading the offense. The Jets are a team that has a
future Hall of Fame quarterback while the Pats have to rely on Matt Cassel. Lets
be honest, Cassel is far from a Tom Brady. As
Brady’s injury showed us all, one key player can change the landscape of an
entire team.

Then there are the other top tier teams in the NFL that now
seem to have a better chance then the Patriots of having a very successful
season. The Colts have to be at the top of the list now as top contender for an
AFC championship. While the Colts may have suffered a disappointing loss to the
Bears Sunday night, Sept. 7, you have to remember that Peyton Manning did not
play a down in the preseason, and one would think that it is just a matter of
time before Manning gets back into the flow of things and starts putting up big
numbers.

You can also look at the Chargers. Yes again they also
suffered a bad loss to the Panthers in week one, but this was a team that had a
slow start last year, and has too much talent to not be a contender for a
championship. You have to remember that the Chargers put up a heck of a fight
against New England in the AFC title game last
year when Brady was in the lineup. Now that he is done for the season, you have
to think that when these two teams hook up on Oct. 12 that the Chargers are going
to go in as the favorite.

Finally there are the Dallas Cowboys out of the NFC. In my
opinion, the Cowboys are the top team in the league now that Brady is down and
out. Yes, Tony Romo has been the complete opposite in the playoffs than Brady
and has not shown anyone that he can win when it really counts. But Romo has
all the tools to sooner or later win the big one, and with Brady gone for the
season this may be the best opportunity for America‘s team.

So do the Patriots still have a chance to make the playoffs?
Of course they do. They still have a load of talent to work with. But it is not
going to be easy especially with teams like the Bills and Jets on the rise in
the AFC East. The Patriots look like a very beatable team. Kansas City, which has no right to go
anywhere this year, almost beat the Patriots on their home field. As most fans
in New England have realized the last couple
of weeks, it is going to be an uphill battle for the Pats this year and only
time will tell where that road is going to end up.