The word on the street is that Tom Brady could miss as much as the first 4 weeks of the season. The bad news for Patriots fans is obviously that the greatest QB in the NFL is going to miss some time. The good news? The Patriots schedule for the first 4 weeks of the season is barely an NFL schedule:

Week 1 - Chiefs
Week 2 - Jets
Week 3 - Dolphins
Week 4 - Bye

Worst case scenario, even if Brady is forced to miss an additional week, they play the 49ers in week 5. The Patriots don't face a team who had more than 5 wins in 2007 until week 6, when they face the Chargers.

Sure, the Jets and Dolphins upgraded at QB, so they might not be as bad as last year. Maybe the 49ers have something with J.T. O'Sullivan, and maybe their offense will be worth watching. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Larry Johnson and Frank Gore are all very good running backs, or at least have been, at some point in time.

However, the Patriots have backups at several positions who would start on these teams. Brady will certainly be missed, but if the Patriots could choose any 4-week stretch in their schedule that they might be able to win without him, this would be it.

Brady has insisted all along that he will play in week 1, but everyone knows that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are well-known for not showing their cards in situations like this. Patriots opponents will have enough of an advantage playing against Matt Cassel as opposed to Brady... Belichick doesn't want to give them MORE of an advantage by allowing them to KNOW who they're playing against.

Regardless, this should be a very telling start for the Patriots. They definitely have a great chance to go undefeated again, with arguably the easiest scedule in the NFL. If the can survive without Brady for a few weeks, there's no telling what they could do.


Tom Brady To Miss a Month? [Deadspin]