TIME FOR JOEY PORTER TO JUST SHUT UP

Finally. The Patriots shut up Joey Porter. The Dolphins linebacker and NFL sack leader loves to run his mouth, and has no love lost for New England, or head coach Bill Belichick for that matter. In an interview with Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Porter says that he thinks the Patriots were cheating in all of the playoff games that he faced them in as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. "Two times we could have blown those people out easily" said Porter. "Man, that's my dyansty, know what I mean?"

No, Joey. We don't know what you mean. Your insane psycho babble just needs to stop. Of course, Porter talked a big game before Miami came to New England in week three, but that time he backed it up. The Dolphins rocked New England on September 21, 38-13 in front of a very unhappy crowd at Gillette Stadium.

Today, Porter and the Dolphins had no such luck. After a closely contested first half, the Pats blew the doors off, crushing Miami and putting up 48 points on Porter's defense.
Matt Cassel was spectacular again, as he became the first Patriots quarterback to throw for 400 yards in back to back games. Cassel finished the day 30/43 for 415 yards, three touchdowns and one unlucky interception. Randy Moss caught all three of those TD passes, picking up 125 yards on the afternoon.

Porter drew the ire of the referees late in the game with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave New England the ball inside the Dolphins 20. While the penalty didn't mean much (the game was pretty much over at that point), it was a fitting end to this one.

Now that Cassel and the Pats have beaten Miami, hopefully Porter will just stop talking. Unfortunately for everybody though, he probably won't. And we'll all have to roll our eyes again at something crazy that Joey Porter has said.

BRADY UNDERGOES SECOND KNEE SURGERY

New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady had a second surgery on his left knee on Wednesday to clear out an infection. Brady, who tore his ACL and MCL when he was hit by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard in the first quarter of week one, had the first procedure done on October 6.

Hopefully, this won't hold Brady out for any additional time. While he is already on Injured Reserve, and thus done for the season, any further problems with the knee could delay his return into next season. That would be disastrous as the Pats, a team that scored an NFL record 589 points one season ago are really struggling to move the ball with backup Matt Cassel under center. New England is averaging only 17.8 points per game, down over 50% from last year's prolific offense that scored nearly 37 points per contest.

Despite the second surgery, Brady is expected to be ready for training camp for the 2009 NFL season. Hopefully we'll see the old Tom Brady next September.

CASSEL STRUGGLES AGAIN: ARE THERE BETTER OPTIONS?

Coming off a well played 30-21 victory in San Francisco last week, Matt Cassel and the Patriots headed to San Diego on Sunday night to take on the Chargers. In only his fourth start since high school, Cassel's inexperience was evident early and often.

Cassel's numbers in the 30-10 beat down by the Chargers were not all that bad. He was 22 for 38, threw for 203 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. But mediocre numbers aside, Cassel looked way more lost in this one than he had in any of his other starts (save for maybe the drubbing at the hands of Miami). He appeared to lock on to a receiver, and if that first option wasn't there, tuck the ball down and try and get a yard or two. Most times he ended up on his back, behind the line of scrimmage. On fourth and goal from the Chargers' one yard line, Cassel had tight end Benjamin Watson open in the end zone. When his first option was well covered, Cassel tried to scramble out, but the San Diego rush prevented him from getting the score. If the Patriots hope to even make the playoffs this year, either Cassel will need to step up, or they will have to explore other options.

Chris Simms was available at the outset of the season, but he has since signed with the Tennessee Titans. Tim Rattay is available, with a career passer rating of 81.9. As is former Jaguars backup Quinn Gray. Another option for the Pats is third round pick Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell is backing up Cassel now, and if the starter's struggles continue, it wouldn't surprise me to see Belichick turn to the rookie. Either way, it would be a good way to get him some experience so he can serve as a capable backup to Tom Brady in the coming years.

Whatever the Patriots decide to do, they should do it soon. If Matt Cassel continues to lead the team the way he did this week, it is going to be a long season in Foxborough.