Patriots have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

November 27, 12:11 AMNew England Patriots ExaminerSean Crowe

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The best head coach in the NFL...

When they sit down for their Thanksgiving dinner tonight, the New England Patriots will have plenty of reasons to be thankful.

So as I watch my wife prepare two Thanksgiving cheesecakes (for which I am extremely thankful), I’ve decided to take a look at what the New England Patriots will be giving thanks for over the Holiday weekend.

The Emergence of Matt Cassel

Had Matt Cassel stepped in and played like the guy we saw in the preseason, the Patriots’ season would, for all intents and purposes, already be over. Cassel wasn’t just mediocre this preseason, he was downright terrible.

Let’s be honest, he wasn’t good when he first took over either. The Charger game, for me, was the final straw. I wrote at the time that the Patriots should end the Matt Cassel experiment. I even had the nerve to blame the whole thing on Bill Belichick’s ego.

What was I thinking?

Since then, every game Cassel has played has been his best game as a professional. He’s won two AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards. He tried to single-handedly bring the Patriots back from the depths and beat the Jets two weeks ago. Last week, he absolutely abused the Dolphins' defense en route to the Patriots biggest offensive output of the season.

He’s been fantastic. Tremendous. I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong.

The best scouting department in the NFL

The Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round and Matt Cassel in the seventh round. How the heck can one team get THAT lucky twice?

But it’s more than the quarterbacks. This team has also hit on undrafted free agents like BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Gary Guyton. They haven’t missed on a first round pick, with the possible exception of Lawrence Maroney, since Belichick took over the team.

They miss on guys every now and then. They haven’t been right all the time. But they’ve been right far more often than they’ve been wrong.

Tom Brady’s recovery is going well

There were some problems initially, but now it looks like Brady’s recovery is back on track. His injury was horrible. It was one of the most devastating sporting moments of my life, right up there with Bill Buckner and Aaron Boone.

Yes, Matt Cassel has been fantastic, but let’s not forget what Tom Brady is. He’s the best quarterback in the NFL. He might be the best quarterback ever. At worst, he’s top-5 in NFL history.

Matt Cassel is a great story and a potentially great quarterback, but Brady is the standard-bearer.

Next season, Matt Cassel is going to be someone else’s starting quarterback. And he’ll probably do fine. Tom Brady will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback. And for that, the Patriots should be thankful.

Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and (sometimes) Jabar Gaffney

Randy Moss is the most dangerous receiver in the NFL. Wes Welker is the most exciting receiver after-the-catch in the NFL. Jabar Gaffney is the luckiest receiver in the NFL, because he gets to play man-up with a lesser cornerback while Moss and Welker draw the attention of the bulk of the defense.

If you’re new to the Patriots, you might not know how lucky you are. If you’ve been around for a while, you know exactly how good these guys are. I remember Ray Crittenden and Vincent Brisby. I remember Reche Caldwell (by the way, if you search for “Reche Caldwell dropped pass” on Google it returns over 5800 results).

This group of receivers might be the best in the NFL. It might be the best the Patriots have ever had. It’s definitely the best group of Patriot receivers I’ve ever seen.

Uber-Rookie Jerod Mayo

The Patriots needed to get younger, faster, stronger, and better at linebacker. In Jerod Mayo, they found a guy who was all of those things and then some.

He’s been great all season long. His 20 tackle performance against the Jets was otherworldly. He's proof that Belichick can rebuild the linebacker position through the draft (there was some question coming into this season, as every successful linebacker he’s had in New England was drafted by someone else).

Add Gary Guyton and Pierre Woods into the mix, and the Patriots have the makings of a decent, and more importantly YOUNG group of linebackers.

The remaining schedule

The Patriots' schedule isn’t easy down the stretch. They have some two extremely tough games (Steelers and Cardinals) that will probably decide their playoff fate.

But the tough games are both at home. They may play three of their final five games on the road, but those three road games are against Seattle, Oakland, and Buffalo—three teams any aspiring playoff team should be able to beat.

Hey, if you have to play the best in the NFL, you’d much rather play them at home.

The Ravens' remaining schedule

As we noted earlier this week, the Ravens have a MUCH tougher schedule down the stretch. Given that passing the Ravens is the Patriots best chance to make the playoffs, they’re extremely grateful for this one.

The NFL went easy on Matt Light

The Patriots have to play the Steelers this weekend. That’s tough enough, but try doing it with a backup left tackle.

Matt Light lost his mind and pummeled Channing Crowder. The video was damning. I, and many others, were convinced that the NFL was going to come down hard on Matt Light. Luckily, the NFL was overcome with Holiday spirit and decided not to suspend Light.

Bill Belichick

He took a lot of heat because of Spygate. He’s not the most liked guy around the league. His defense isn’t what his defenses usually are. His quarterback hadn’t started a game since he was in high school. He lost his starting running back, his backup running back, and his backup-backup running back for a large portion of the season. He lost his pro-bowl safety and his pro-bowl middle linebacker.

Yet, somehow, Bill Belichick has this team at 7-4 and in position to make a run at the playoffs.

He’s still the best head coach in professional sports. He’s the guy who brought three Super Bowl championships to a franchise that spent most of its existence not even dreaming of such a thing.

And this may be his best coaching job yet…

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Sean Crowe is the New England Patriots Examiner. You can email him at scrowe@gmail.com. Check out some of his other work on his blog.