Meet the New England Patriots' quarterback, Matt Cassel

If you haven't heard, New England Patriot mega-super-uber-ultra star Tom Brady suffered a brutal knee injury today.

His replacement is used to holding the clipboard for all-world signal callers. After backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, Matt Cassel has collected some Super Bowl rings as Brady's No. 2.

Filling in for Brady against Kansas City, Cassel was a solid 13 of 18 for 152 yards and a touchdown in the 17-10 victory.

No word yet if he could become the starter while Brady is out. Keep in mind that until this afternoon, Cassel had thrown a whopping 32 passes in the last three years. He hasn't started a game at quarterback since 1999 (when he was a senior in high school).

In case you're wondering why Pete Carroll enjoys college football so much, he's got three quarterbacks on his depth chart who aspire to be starters in the NFL, with a fourth on the way. Bill Belichick is banking on a guy who had one career start at USC -- as the H-back against Cal in 2001.

-- Adam Rose
Left photo: Cassel in Sunday's victory over Kansas City. Credit: Winslow Townson / AP
Right photo: Cassel in a 2003 USC victory over Arizona State. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images