Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady have largely been responsible for the emergence of Matt Cassel. "Everything I do in the games has to do with Tom's guidance," said Cassel. "He took me under his wing when I was a punk rookie and he was a superstar. He's been great to me this year. I emulate him every day when I got out to practice or to play a game." "In training camp this year, there were times I thought the Patriots liked [current third-stringer] Matt Gutierrez better than Cassel," said an AFC scout. "You could have traded for Cassel in camp this summer if you really wanted him. But you'd have had no reason to. The point is, the Patriots have done an amazing job of drafting and developing late-round and free-agent quarterbacks. Whatever their secret is, we should all be following it. I want to find out who their quarterback in the late rounds is next year and get him.''