Hey, I’m guilty of it. We’re all guilty of it. We see a player get seriously injured and one of the first statements out of someone’s mouth is, “This may be career-threatening.�

The latest example of this is Peyton Manning. He recently had his second neck surgery in less than five months and at least one clown in the media wrote last week about how the Colts may wind up with Andrew Luck in next year’s draft. We live in a world where present news is old news and everyone has a blog nowadays so getting a jump on a story often takes precedence. But the media (and fans too, because they’re just as guilty even though the media provides a nice patsy for them) could learn a thing or two about Manning’s situation from Tom Brady.

As I watched Brady carve up the Dolphins for 517 yards and four touchdowns on Monday night, I had to laugh thinking about Matt Cassel’s 2008 season. He was so good that year that some wondered if the Pats should trade Brady and go with the younger Cassel at quarterback.

The idea wasn’t that far-fetched either. At the time, there was no timetable set for Brady’s return after he had season-ending knee surgery earlier in the year. Nobody knew when he would return in ’09, or if he would return at all. Cassel was also set to become a free agent, which further complicated the situation. If the Pats traded him or allowed him to leave via free agency, they risked not having an experienced quarterback for 2009 if Brady couldn’t recover.

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According to a report by The Sporting News, Tom Brady is showing no restrictions as he continues to recover from reconstructive knee surgery.

Brady was able to return his normal rehabilitation schedule within “10 days to two weeks” after the follow-up procedures, the source said. That means the quarterback is roughly six months into the rehab process.

“He’s full go,” the source said Tuesday. A second source confirmed that assessment.
Brady hasn’t been shy about taking part in the club’s offseason program, giving teammates a close-up look at his progress. Most Patriots players are apprehensive about shedding too much light on player injuries and rehabs, but indications have been uniformly positive.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick last month said Brady had been “doing his offseason work without any limitations.” Owner Robert Kraft has said Brady will wear a brace on the left knee, which is standard for players coming off this type of injury. Both Rivers and Palmer wore knee braces coming off their ailments.

Even if Brady’s rehab is complete, it’s hard to say he has come full circle.

There’s a significant mental mountain a player has to climb in returning to game action. Authorities in sports medicine say it takes roughly two months of live action for a player to fully learn to use his new knee.

Brady has a long way to go, but this is definitely an encouraging sign for him and the Patriots. Obviously New England wouldn’t have traded Matt Cassel to Kansas City in the offseason if they didn’t feel Brady would fully recover from his knee surgery in time for the start of the season.

If he’s fully recovered, there’s no reason to believe the Patriots won’t again be the team to beat in the AFC, as they were before Brady’s injury in Week 1 of last year.

Much of Week 2 has come and gone, and road teams were 9-5 in Sunday’s games. Here is just about everything you need to know (fantasy-wise) from Sunday’s action.

Steelers 10 @ Browns 6
Ben Roethlisberger has been fighting a sore shoulder, but he manned-up in tough conditions tonight, throwing for 186 yards and a TD in an important divisional matchup…Hines Ward (5-59-1) and Santonio Holmes (5-94) were his main targets, but Heath Miller (2-33) was also involved…Willie Parker rushed 28 times for 105 yards, while Rashard Mendenhall didn’t register a single carry. This is the Willie Parker show for now…The Steelers defense showed up with two sacks and two picks, and allowing just six points to the Browns…Derek Anderson had a rough game (166 yards, 2 INT) and Braylon Edwards (3-32) wasn’t much help…Kellen Winslow (7-55) was the only bright spot in the Cleveland passing game and he wasn’t even on the field for the final play…In a tough matchup, Jamal Lewis grinded 22 touches (including three catches) into 66 total yards.

49ers 33 @ Seahawks 30
All in all, a pretty mediocre performance by the Seattle defense, even though they posted eight sacks, forced a fumble and returned an interception for a TD. The fantasy points are nice, but they allowed 26 points to the 49ers offense…J.T. O’Sullivan seems to be settling into Mike Martz’s offense. He had 321 passing yards and threw a TD to Bryant Johnson (who posted 6-78-1 in the win)…Isaac Bruce showed up with a 4-158 day, while Frank Gore had a solid all-around game, turning 24 touches (including five catches) into 99 yards and a TD. For those that were worried about Martz forgetting about his RB, I think the first two weeks of the season indicate that Gore is very much on Martz’s mind…Vernon Davis failed to register a catch, which is pretty worrisome considering all the success O’Sullivan had through the air…Matt Hasselbeck’s woes continue (189 passing yards, 2 INT) – he just doesn’t have the weapons to throw to. It might be a good time to try to buy low, as he should get Deion Branch and Bobby Engram back in Week 5…With Maurice Morris out with an injury, Julius Jones took advantage by turning 29 touches into 141 yards and a score. He looks like a solid start as long as Morris is out…Rookie TE John Carlson went for 6-78 and should be a fringe starting TE as long as Seattle is having WR troubles…Speaking of wideouts, Billy McMullen was the best of the bunch with three catches for 48 yards.

Below are snippets of all the Week 2 action in the NFL. For more analysis and discussion on each game, click on the links provided.

- Aaron Rodgers looked fantastic for the second straight week as the Packers put up 24 fourth quarter points in a 48-25 thrashing of the Lions.

- The upstart Bills pulled off one of the better upsets of the day, beating the winless Jaguars 20-16 in Jacksonville.

- The Bengals’ offense looked brutal again this week in the Titans’ 24-7 win in Cincinnati.

- For the second straight week, the Panthers pulled off a fourth quarter comeback, this time rallying to beat the Bears 20-17 in their home opener.

- Jason Campbell and the Redskins’ offense bounced back from a dismal Week 1 performance to beat the Saints 29-24.

- The Colts avoided going 0-2 for the first time since Peyton Manning’s rookie season in 1998 by beating the Vikings 18-15.

- Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns in the Giants’ 41-13 romp over St. Louis.

- Despite rumors circulating that head coach Lane Kiffin could be fired Monday, the Raiders cruised to a 23-8 win over division rival Kansas City.

- After a controversial call went in their favor, the Broncos rallied to beat the Chargers 39-38 after Denver went for two with only 24 seconds remaining in the game.

- The Bucs’ defense harassed rookie quarterback Matt Ryan as Tampa beat the Falcons 24-9 to earn their first win of the season.

- Matt Cassel won his first career start as the Patriots beat Brett Favre and the Jets 19-10.

- Kurt Warner threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona’s 31-10 win over the Dolphins.

- The Seahawks fell to 0-2 after losing 33-30 to the 49ers in overtime. Matt Hasselbeck threw two interceptions in the loss.

Rotoworld.com is reporting that the New England Patriots have placed quarterback Tom Brady on injured reserve, effectively ending his season.

Patriots placed QB Tom Brady on injured reserve, ending his season.
The team is unlikely to reveal the injury’s exact extent, but the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter reported that Brady’s MCL may have been torn in addition to his ACL. It’s unclear when he’ll have surgery. Randy Moss is locked up through 2010 and Wes Welker is under control through 2011, so Brady could remain a top-five fantasy QB in 2009 barring setbacks. But he’s unlikely to return to the top of the heap coming off this devastating injury.

This injury opens the door for the Jets and Bills in the AFC East, as well as the rest of the NFL and hey, Matt Cassel, too. An injury to Drew Bledsoe in 2001 opened the door for Brady to become a multiple Super Bowl winner. I’m not saying the same thing will happen this year, but it could. Cassel was efficient in the Pats’ 17-10 win over the Chiefs on Sunday and certainly has enough weapons around him to succeed. Maybe New England has another diamond in the rough, although you obviously don’t replace a Tom Brady and assume everything will run smoothly.

- John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that Tom Brady’s injury has dealt a serious blow to the Patriots’ Super Bowl chances.

- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer rips receiver Braylon Edwards for his dropped passes during the Browns’ opening season loss to the Cowboys. Pluto also takes aim at Cleveland’s poor defensive effort.

- Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union reacts to the Jaguars’ 17-10 loss to the Titans and writes that good teams must win when they’re at their worst.

- Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star writes that the Colts clearly weren’t ready for prime time as the Chicago Bears gashed them Sunday night.

- Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that the Chargers lost their game with the Panthers well before Carolina scored a game-winning touchdown as time expired.

- Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes that Eric Mangini nearly allowed former Jets’ quarterback Chad Pennington to get revenge on his former team.

- Mich Albom of the Detroit Free Press notes that only the Lions can start off a game looking finished after the Falcons mounted a 21-0 lead en route to a 34-21 victory over the Lie-Downs Sunday.

Below are snippets of all the Week 1 action in the NFL. For more analysis and discussion on each game, click on the links provided.

- Tom Brady was knocked out of the Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Chiefs. It’s unclear at this point the severity of Brady’s injury, and whether or not he’ll be able to play next week.

- Michael Turner rushed for 220 yards and Matt Ryan won his NFL debut as the Falcons crushed the Lions 34-21.

- The Bills won their home opener 34-10 over Seattle, holding the Seahawks to only 85 yards on the ground.

- The Titans intercepted Jaguars’ quarterback David Garrard twice and sacked him seven times in their 17-10 victory. Quarterback Vince Young left the game with a sprained left knee.

- Brett Favre won his Jets’ debut as New York beat the Dolphins 20-14. Thomas Jones also rushed for 101 yards.

- The Saints rallied to beat NFC South rival Tampa Bay 24-20. Drew Brees threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns.

- The Eagles blasted the Rams 38-3 as Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Philly’s defense held St. Louis to only 166 total yards.

- The Steelers built a 35-3 lead on their way to a 38-17 rout of the Texans. Willie Parker bounced back from a season ending knee injury last year, rushing for 138 yards.

- Joe Flacco won his NFL debut as the Ravens topped the Bengals 17-10. Cincinnati failed to score an offensive touchdown as Carson Palmer was held to under 100 yards passing.

- Tony Romo picked apart the Browns’ secondary for 320 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 28-10 win. Marion Barber and rookie Felix Jones also combined for 142 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

- Jake Delhomme found Dante Rosario on a 14-yard touchdown pass as timed expired in the Panthers’ 26-24 win over the Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 97 yards, but Carolina kept him out of the end zone.

- Kurt Warner passed for 197 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals topped the 49ers 23-13. Anquan Boldin caught eight passes for 82 yards.

- The Bears spoiled the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium, dominating the Colts 29-13 on Sunday Night Football. Rookie running back Matt Forte rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

- In the Thursday Night Game, the defending Super Bowl champion Giants beat division rival Washington 16-7. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries.

Here are some fantasy observations from Sunday’s games. I indicated the games I actually watched with an asterisk.

Lions 21 @ Falcons 34
Holy Michael Turner, Batman! The Falcons’ prized free agent rushed for 220 yards on 22 carries and scored twice. Turner owners should be pleased, but keep your expectations in check – he was playing against the Lions…Matt Ryan had a decent day, but only threw 13 passes since Atlanta was so far ahead. He did connect with Michael Jenkins for a long TD early in the game…Roddy White had only two catches, but made them count for 54 yards. This was kind of a disappointing day considering the opponent…Jerious Norwood turned 16 touches into 99 yards and a score…Jon Kitna got off to a slow start but finished with 262 yards, two TD and a pick. Expect Kitna’s second half numbers to outweigh his first half numbers as the Lions will be throwing more late in games as they try to catch up…Calvin Johnson (7-107) had a nice day and Roy Williams (3-47-1) got off to a slow start but finally scored in the second half…Kevin Smith turned 20 touches into 80 yards and a TD. Not a bad day for the rookie…Rudi Johnson only had three carries, so it looks like Smith is the main guy for now.

Bengals 10 @ Ravens 17
Willis McGahee was active, but didn’t have a carry in the game. Ray Rice turned 22 touches into 83 yards, which included three catches for 19 yards…Joe Flacco finished with decent numbers (129 passing yards, 1 rush TD) and Mark Clayton (3-21) had a 42-yard rush TD on a reverse…The Bengals offense was brutal. Carson Palmer threw for only 99 yards and a pick…T.J. Houshmandzadeh (3-44) and Chad Ocho Cinco (1-22) were both quiet, and Chris Perry turned 19 touches into just 42 yards…With all the firepower they have on that offense, there’s no reason they should be putting up such poor numbers.

Tom Brady left the New England Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday after his leg bent backwards during a passing play. Brady was able to walk off the field, but he didn’t return. It’s unclear at this point how bad the injury is.

Matt Cassel filled in well for Brady, throwing for 152 yards on 13 of 18 passing and a touchdown. Much like last year, Laurence Maroney split carries with Sammy Morris. Both backs got 10 carries as Morris rushed for 53 and Maroney 51, respectively. Randy Moss had 116 receiving yards on six receptions and hooked up with Brady for a first quarter touchdown.

The Chiefs also lost their starting quarterback after Brodie Croyle suffered a separated shoulder. Damon Huard finished the game and will likely start next week. KC gave the Pats everything they could handle without Brady, but dropped passes plagued the team all game. Larry Johnson rushed for 74 yards on 22 carries, but more importantly he looked healthy. I realize Brady didn’t play the entire game, but the Chiefs might not be as bad as people think this season based on their performance Sunday.

UPDATE: Michael Silver from Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Tom Brady may be out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. We’ll see if these reports are confirmed.