The suspension of Tom Brady means the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have to face playing without their star for four games. How will they fare?
There is not a lot of history to go by. After taking the starting job from an injured Drew Bledsoe in the third game of the 2001 season, Brady has started every game, with the only exceptions coming in the 2008 season.
The Past
In 2007, the Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season, and Brady won the Most Valuable Player Award. When he sustained a knee injury in the season opener the next year, Matt Cassel took over, giving us the only recent look at the Patriots without Brady.