Seeking a bounce

Cassel looks to rebound against Seattle

If Matt Cassel was a stock, you wouldn’t need Jim Cramer to tell you he’d be a good buy this week.

Battered by the Steelers, Cassel tossed two interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked five times in a 33-10 loss to the Steelers on Sunday. The loss sent the Patriots quarterback reeling to the film room in hopes of finding the formula needed to get the New England offense — which failed to score in the second half and was 1-for-13 on third down against Pittsburgh — back on track.

“You just have to always go out and continue to work hard, watch the film, see what you did wrong [as] an offensive unit and individually,” Cassel said when asked about how he’ll go about trying to bounce back Sunday against Seattle.

In his first season as a starter, Cassel has been forced to bounce back from subpar games. But showing an ability to ride the emotional roller coaster is a new test for the young quarterback, who threw for at least 400 yards in the two previous games before getting throttled against Pittsburgh.

Cassel said Thursday he spoke with Tom Brady briefly after the loss to the Steelers and was told, “These games are going to happen.” Good advice coming from Brady, a quarterback who always showed an ability to rebound after a defeat — since the start of the 2003 season, the Patriots are 17-1 following a loss. It’s been more than two-plus years since New England has lost back-to-back games.

Of course, the fact that the Seahawks have the worst pass defense in the league will help things Sunday. But Cassel knows that’ll only take him so far. The responsibility for jump-starting the New England offense in Seattle will fall on his shoulders.

“I have things to work on. I need to take care of the ball,” Cassel said. “You don’t rely on any one person to do that for you. You just rely on yourself, prepare to do the best of your abilities and try to get ready for the next week.”