Dan Daly: I can't believe how far Cassel has come in such a short time. Earlier in the season, I was more aware of his limitations. He didn't react that well to the pass rush, for one thing, and the offense seemed awfully scaled back. But these past two weeks - wow. I still think you have to be careful, though, not to jump to conclusions about him. Don't forget, he's playing with Randy Moss and Wes Welker, two fabulous receivers. When Daunte Culpepper had Moss and Cris Carter, he looked all-world. How does he look to you now? That's just my way of saying the personnel in New England - and the system - are going to maximize Cassel's abilities. With, say, the 49ers, who no doubt will be in the market for a quarterback, it would be a different story.

Ryan O'Halloran: After the San Diego game, I thought the Patriots were in big trouble - that's how bad Cassel looked, and there didn't seem to be a lot of reason to think he would turn it around. But he has looked great ever since. There wasn't a lot of doubt offensive coordinator/whiz kid Josh McDaniels would be a head coach, but his work with Cassel - remember, this guy hadn't started since high school - has only increased his stock. I'm sure he would like to take Cassel with him if he gets a job. The issue New England faces is, can it pay its top two quarterbacks a combined $25 million next year?

DD: There's no way they can keep both. If Brady were a little older - he'll be 32 next season - the Patriots could at least consider trading him and holding onto the younger guy. Montana was, what, 37, when the 49ers decided to send him to Kansas City and keep Steve Young at quarterback? But it would take incredible guts to do that to Brady, who's not just the face of the franchise but the greatest player in franchise history by far. There was a reason they drafted Kevin O'Connell in the third round this year, and the reason is: Cassel's contract was going to be up, and some team was going to be willing to pay him more than the Patriots were even if he was still something of an unknown quantity. The league is just starved for quarterbacking. Cassel is setting himself up to make a bundle.

RO: The only reason to hang on to Cassel would be if Brady has a setback in his rehab during the next two months, but all accounts say No. 12 is on the right track. I agree that the Patriots would have to deal him. And the team getting Cassel is at a bigger advantage than, say, a team like Houston when it dealt for Matt Schaub. Cassel will have 15 starts (plus playoffs, perhaps) of video for teams to analyze and determine whether he's worth the draft picks and big-money contract. If I were in charge of Detroit, I would dangle that first overall pick to New England for Cassel.