Belichick: Cassel is our QB

Pats’ coach gives vote of confidence to signal-caller

Bill Belichick could not have been clearer.

When the Patriots coach was asked yesterday about the future of quarterback Matt Cassel — and whether or not he would look to backups Kevin O’Connell or Matt Gutierrez if Cassel continues to struggle — Belichick was as to the point as he could be.

“Matt [Cassel] is our starting quarterback,” Belichick said on a conference call with reporters. “He gives our team the best chance to win.”

Asked if he was still confident that Cassel can lead the Patriots going forward, quickly Belichick answered, “Yes,” a no-doubt endorsement of the 25-year-old who was taken in the seventh round of the 2005 Draft out of Southern Cal.

Cassel, who took over at quarterback when starter Tom Brady went down with a season-ending injury in the opener against the Chiefs, has struggled mightily at times as the Patriots have gotten out to a 3-2 start. He’s had some good games — including solid efforts against the Jets and 49ers — that resulted in New England victories. But there have been plenty of duds — on Sunday night in San Diego, he was 22-for-38 for 203 yards and an interception while being sacked four times in a 30-10 loss.

Offensively, it’s been a mixed bag for the Patriots. Even without starter Laurence Maroney for two games, the running game has shown flashes of success, thanks in large part to Sammy Morris (169 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and LaMont Jordan (4.4 yards per carry). But the Patriots’ passing game has been stuck in neutral — the only play of 20-plus yards for New England Sunday came on a 28-yard run from Morris.

Statistically, New England is in the bottom half of the league in almost every important category, including average passing yards per game (186 yards per game, 22nd in the NFL), total passing yards (931 total yards, 23rd in the NFL) and total passing touchdowns (three, 30th in the league).

Despite those numbers, Belichick sounded yesterday like a man who was going to stick with his quarterback for the foreseeable future.

“We all have to play better and coach better than we did last week,” Belichick said. “We have to do a better job than we did against San Diego. But he’s our quarterback.”