There are always topics to ponder and opinions to take in the expanse of Boston sports. Every week, the Mass Media will talk to Alan Wickstrom, UMB’s Sports Information Director, and get his opinion on a relevant Boston sports topic.

This week, Alan tells us what to expect from Matt Cassel and the Patriots this season, now that Tom Brady’s ACL is ripped to shreds.

I don’t know what the expectations are. I don’t know if anybody knows what the expectations are because no one really knows anything about Matt Cassel, except for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

I think it’s extremely telling that Belichick has enough confidence in him to have [Scott] Pioli tell Chris Simms and [Tim] Rattay ‘you know, thanks for coming, but we’re all set with Matt Cassel,’ and that Belichick would say ‘you know, we’re not in a hurry to find a back-up quarterback.’

It’s like a soap opera dramatic thing. It’s a great story line because, like I said, there’s so many unknowns that go along with this. And the quarterback who has made the most starts in NFL history (Brett Favre) is facing a quarterback who hasn’t made any starts since high school.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how he handles it.