He followed backup plan perfectly

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The fans weren't alone on this one. Even some of Matt Cassel's teammates were anxious to see how he would respond in his first NFL start.

"You have someone thrust into a tough position, trying to follow maybe the best leader to ever play the game, or at least one of the top leaders," Patriots fullback Heath Evans said. "Was he going to be quiet? Was he going to try to be like Tom Brady? Those were the things I was curious about how he was going to handle it."

So how did Tom Brady's replacement fare yesterday?

"He jumped right in," Evans said. "He wasn't trying to be Tom, but he was vocal like Tom. He was enthusiastic like Tom. He had that look in his eyes that said, 'leadership.' "

In the end, Cassel didn't put up Brady-like statistics, but he did what Brady does best - win.

"He has a wife, but maybe now the supermodels will come after him," cracked defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

Cassel's steady performance was a crucial part of the Patriots' 19-10 victory over the Jets yesterday at Giants Stadium, as the team pulled out a page from its 2001 playbook in how it approached the game.

Much like when a wet-behind-the-ears Brady was replacing Drew Bledsoe that season, Patriots coaches didn't ask Brady to do too much, but just enough. They needed him to be efficient and stay away from danger, because the margin for error was thinner than it was, say, in 2007 when the offense was setting record after record.

Cassel aced the challenge, focusing on short and intermediate passes and finishing 16 of 23 for 165 yards, with no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Just like last week against the Chiefs, the zero interceptions was huge.

The seasoned Brett Favre, on the other hand, threw a costly interception in the third quarter that led to the Patriots' only touchdown.

"I thought Matt took care of the ball," coach Bill Belichick said when beginning to describe Cassel's performance. "He had some rough spots in there, but he did a good job making good decisions and didn't put us in any bad situations, and made some good, positive plays by managing the game well."

Managing the game.

They were words that were ringing in Cassel's head throughout the week, especially after his frequent talks with Brady.

"I talked to Tom a lot and his big advice was to go out and manage the game, and be smart with the football," Cassel relayed. "We have good enough players on this team that we should win if we did that."

Indeed, while Cassel was a major part of the Patriots' victory, the defense and special teams also were instrumental. It was complementary football in top form, all three aspects of the game weaved together to form a complete team victory, just like in 2001.

But the biggest question going in was Cassel, and how the Patriots' offense might re-invent itself without Brady.

From a scheme standpoint, New England coaches went running back-heavy in support of Cassel. The offense had either a fullback-running back or running back-running back combination on the field for 35 of its plays, well over 50 percent.

Although the Patriots alter their approach from week to week, the strategy was generally different from the offense that tore through opponents last season, favoring three- or four-receiver packages.

The emphasis on running backs seemed to help in two areas - pass protection, and to wear down a Jets defense, and work the clock, later in the game with hard-charging runs. In the end, the Patriots rushed it 33 times and threw it just 23.

When the Patriots did go to the air, the routes were more horizontal than vertical, with Cassel getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and allowing his receivers to do much of the dirty work.

"They kept it simple," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said. "They didn't want to lose the game, so they had a lot of screens and a lot of safe passes. They didn't really challenge the secondary."

Cassel started strong, calmly leading the Patriots 76 yards on their opening drive, setting up a 21-yard field goal. He said he didn't feel "too many butterflies," which showed as he immediately settled into the flow of the action.

There were some rough spots, such as late in the second quarter when he went one way on a handoff to Sammy Morris, and Morris went the other. Or with 9:17 left, when he couldn't connect with a wide-open Randy Moss, who had raced past cornerback Darrelle Revis on the left side.

But what struck Evans was how Cassel responded each time the players went back to the huddle after those plays.

"It seemed to me that he had a short-term memory; if he made an error or a little mess-up, he let it go," Evans said.

"He was really calm in there, really composed, and didn't let anything fluster him," added center Dan Koppen. "I don't think he tried to do too much. He didn't come in this week and take all the pressure. He just tried to go out and play his game, and do what was asked of him."

As the clock wound down, Cassel pumped his fist, the emotions of his first victory bubbling to the surface.

"It will be a memorable first start for me, no doubt about that," he said.

A first start that went just as the script called for it to be. It was expertly managed.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.