Brady's BooBoo

Trent Dilfer reported on ESPN News tonight that Tom Brady will be out for the remainder of the year following a knee injury suffered in the Patriots' season opener today. Most other news outlets, including ESPN.com, are mum on his season status for now, but Dilfer broke the story (or the inaccuracy) after speaking on the phone with an anonymous Pats player who told him that Matt Cassel would be New England's quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Tough blow for the Pats if this proves true. It's bad luck for Brady, but it's hard to feel too bad for a guy who will now spend the season being nursed back to health by the most attractive bedside attendant ever -- Gisele Bundchen (shown here). Conventional wisdom says that New England's Super Bowl aspirations are blown with Brady's knee, but Brady himself was an in-season replacement himself ... and all he did was win three rings.

Of course there's still the chance that the report could be erroneous. In two ways actually. Yes, Brady could be healthy and return, though my gut tells me he's done. His injury looked very similar to the same blow that made Bengals QB Carson Palmer miss a year of his career. But there's also the possibility that Cassel will not be the QB for the rest of the season. With that in mind, let me be the first (that I know of) to float this baseless, but logical, rumor. Paging Daunte Culpepper.

Yeah, Culpepper stepped away and "retired" from the game a few days ago, whining all the way home that no one gave him a "fair" opportunity to land a job. But, Culpepper is the only quarterback who has clicked with Randy Moss as well as Tom Brady did last season. He's available, he's experienced and he is dying for a chance to prove himself on a big stage. (He repeatedly turned down offers to be a back up this summer). It could be a match. It could be nothing Bill Belichick would ever consider. At the very least, it's good fodder for water cooler discussion.

More breakdown on Sunday's games and more tomorrow.