If you didn't believe me before about the Post-Patriot's Era, well...

Obviously the biggest story line coming from week one is the shocking season ending knee injury to Patriots QB, and boyfriend of Victoria's Secret supermodel Giselle Bundchen, Tom Brady. Brady left the game in the first quarter after getting hit by Kansas City Chief safety Bernard Pollard, (The photo above is the hit that took out Brady, from the AP.)

This is obviously a big blow to the Patriots, who many picked to have a similar season to last year, but an even bigger blow to the NFL. The NFL is losing the reigning MVP and one of the most marketed players and arguably the face of the NFL. I would argue that this is comparable to having lost Michael Jordan when he retired in the highlight of his career. However similar to the NBA at the time, the NFL has other superstars that will carry the league and continue to rack in millions and millions of viewers.

It will be interesting to see how well the Patriots can recover throughout the season and if Matt Cassel can pull an Aaron Rogers and replace a superstar, which we still don't know if it will work. Obviously the situation is different, but he will be put in a very similar role as Rogers to not blow the game but manage it. Based of his performance in the first game it looks possible but then again it was against the Chiefs. But what can we really expect from a quarterback who hasn't been a starter since high school? (Cassel was a back-up for both Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and drafted by the Patriots as a back-up.)

With all the drama following the Patriots, a story line to follow throughout the rest of the season will be the AFC East. Since it appears the Patriots are not the clear cut favorites any longer, a larger focus will be on the Brett Farve J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets and the Buffalo Bills to see if they can actually compete with a down New England team. With that said the Bills looked good in their schlacking of the Rams and the Jets looked like another Brett Farve run team pulling out circus plays in order to get the win.