Matt Cassel is the Next Trent Green
by Lebensraum on Dec 7, 2009 2:01 PM CST
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The similarities between Matt Cassel and Trent Green coming to Kansas City are very similar. Both were brought in with new Head Coaches. Both cost the Chiefs second round draft picks. Both had management people that were very familiar with their play. And now it looks like both will have had below average first years as starting quarterbacks with the Chiefs. Both had only 1 full season of starting before coming here.
More after the Jump
The thing about being a Quarterback in the NFL is there are a lot of variables to be successful.
Here are just a few of the more important things needed......
Talent - No matter what the other variables are you will not do well if you can't get the ball where it needs to go
Comprehension - In today's NFL a QB must be able to fully understand his team's offensive scheme and playbook
Quick thinking - The ability to read and react to changing Defensive schemes is ever evolving in the NFL
Tough- If you can't stay healthy it doesn't really matter what else you can do.
Timing- A QB needs to develop and master timing with his receivers to be consistent
Confidence- A QB needs to know that his Receiver is going to be where he needs them to be, and that is OL is going to give him time
Offensive Line - without a good one you will be very limited, but good QB can overcome some shortcomings in this area (see Aaron Rodgers)
Wide Receivers - the QB must know that the guy he is throwing the ball to is not only going to be in the correct spot, but will also catch it.
I am sure there are many more that I could add to this list. The point is Trent Green displayed all of these tangibles and Intangibles, and I also believe Matt Cassel does.
So to get a good comparison I went and looked up how well Trent Green did in year one with the Chiefs and here is how he did
He completed 56.6% of his passes for 3,700 yards. He had 17 TD and 24 INT and a Passer rating of 71%
Keep in mind this was behind an already very good OL, but it had more to do with him learning the system and getting familiar with everything around him
Matt Cassel has very similar numbers, he is completing 53% of his passes and is on pace for 2900 yards 16 TD, 12 INT and a passer rating of 73%
Now while Matt Cassel will have 1000 less yards in 1 less game, it should also be mentioned he has not thrown as much as Green, and will have about the same touchdowns with ½ of the INT that Trent had in his first year.
I bring all this up, to make this point, We need to be a little more patient with Cassel, I believe he is a good maybe even a great QB in the making, and just needs time to square away everything around him and develop his game, the Same way Trent Green did.
So here's to the hope that our next great QB is being born right before our eyes
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.
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Great post
Alot of people will probably disagree because of the last two weeks but I think you’re along the right lines. Take out the 2 Sandiego games where he clearly struggled with the defensive schemes and Cassel has been excellent this year considering the revolving door of receivers, backs and lineman.
As for yesterday it was probably his worst game of the year but in his defense I dont think you can really pin it all on him. For once we can’t say that the poor Oline was the cause but the receivers, whether backs, tight ends or wide receivers definetly were. QBs need to rythym as much as any other position and he didnt get that yesterday, What he got was choppy play due to alot of dropped passes and dropped passes that shouldve easily been caught. On their third drive of the game the stat came out that he had 3(or maybe it was 4) completions and 8 drops. There is no way a QB can get into a rythym when the guys around him are putting up stats like that.
"Success is never ending, failure is never final."
I agree, I think people are WAY over-reacting
Cassel had his worst game as a Chief yesterday to be sure, however if you do compare it to Green he matches favorably with him. I was younger and not as much into football when Green first got to KC, can an older Chiefs fan tell me, was there a big anti-Green movement like there is toward Cassel?
And remember, if we hadn’t traded for Cassel, we probably would’ve drafted Sanchez, who is having a much worse year behind a much better O-line.
Great post
I particularly agree with the point of confidence in his receivers- from what I’ve seen and heard this year I wouldn’t be surprised if Cassel doesn’t have any confidence his receivers (perhaps with the exception of Chambers and Bowe) to read the same things from the defense that he does and get to the right spot. Both have inconsistent hands, to boot. As for the rest of his receivers, well, quite frankly I don’t trust them to win their one-on-one matchups, find proper holes in the zone, or catch the pass. Good luck quarterbacking in that situation.
The game on Sunday was a perfect example, too- with Champ Bailey on Chris Chambers, the Broncos could neutralize him as a threat, and even put a safety over him to really take him out of the game. The other receivers have to step up in that situation, and they didn’t.
NFL receivers are often expected to read the same things in the defense as the quarterback and adjust their routes accordingly- this is more true for some teams than for others, of course. On the play where Andre Goodman intercepted Cassel, the ball was a perfect strike to the defensive back, while Lance Long kept running up the sideline. Usually when a ball is thrown directly to a defensive back, it’s the receiver who screwed up. It really looks like Cassel wanted Long to run off the defensive back and then come back for the ball, and Long had other ideas.
Rec'd
Everyone needs thier scapegoat. Unfortunately some people can’t see the forrest through the trees. They get too focused on the here and now vice taking in account of the entire season.
I agree with you and think we have to just get him at least 1 more reliable WR. He is starting to get more time from the line. Hopefully Castille can continue to step up to relieve JC some more and they should be able to start getting things going better on the O next year.
Things of importance to me:
1)God
2)Family
3)Chiefs
4)Marine Corps
wow, you're drinking something and it's way past kool-aid ...
let’s take a CLOSER look at all this …
Talent – Cassel has a weak arm and generally overthrows or underthrows his target
Comprehension – Cassel usually looks lost-in-space on his reads, and that’s on a GOOD day
Quick thinking – see above
Tough- I’ll grant this ONE
Timing- Cassel couldn’t get his timing down with a metronome
Confidence- he’s had time, esp lately … but the results are going down, down, down
Offensive Line – O-Line has been better overall, but last 2 games have been brutal for Cassel (and the team)
Wide Receivers – not sure Cassel knows these guys much less has confidence in them
so, there ya go … point by point rebuttal
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisiton!
by upamtn on Dec 7, 2009 11:13 PM CST reply actions 2 recs
rec'd upamtn
Cassel’s certainly not SOLELY to blame, but I have trouble seeing how he improves unless we magically assemble 10 other pro-bowlers next season.
by reedeasy on Dec 7, 2009 11:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Uhh I dont remember
Trent Green wowing anyone with his arm strength
Talent- Cassel has been judicious with the football to the point of taking sacks. While I think that could be counter-productive to the offense, you cannot tell me you would rather have a Jay Cutler back there throwing 5 INT’s a game. He is talented, and has a very good arm when not only his offensive line gives him time but also when the WR’s are getting open and not dropping the ball. The problem is that those things dont happen often. Also, imagine how demoralizing it is when your WR’s drop more accurate passes than they catch.
Comprehension- Give it time, he has only been a starter for 2 years. Its kind of hard to become Peyton Manning when he has the same experience as Joe Flacco
Offensive Line- Lets see, arguably the greatest offensive line in the history of the NFL or one that calls it a good day when they give Cassel a pocket to throw in a handful of times
Confidence- He has the most 4th Quarter TD’s in the NFL, More than Brett Farve and more than Tom Brady. I know we are behind most of the games but still, so are alot of teams.
Wide Receivers- Bobby Wade alone had 5 drops last game. To give you a point of reference, I think the leading NFL Wide Receiver in drops had like 16 last season.
So, there ya go… point by point rebuttal
well said, DBOWE - thing is, a couple of things trump all the rest
you hit on one of them – too many sacks vs too few INTs – before you go all WTF? go dig thru the UFR Archives, month or so ago, some INTs are better than sacks – Cassel so deathly afraid of a turnover that half the time he can’t pull the trigger even to throw it away, and that’s costing us bigtime – that’s either fear or indecision, either one is bad enough he needs be coached up before he’s out there “leading” the team (a LEADER makes decisions, a LEADER shows confidence)
all of the above speaks directly to confidence and pocket presence, and Lenny The Cool he ain’t … he has that Deer In The Headlights look way too often, so you have to ask: is he having issues going thru his progressions? making the reads?? adjusting to defensive wrinkles??? something is most definitely NOT right out there, and until it is, he’s never going to be effective (and a LEADER needs to be effective, w/o that there is no CONFIDENCE)
maybe he just needs coaching, maybe he needs time … but the time he needs is killing this team … look, I don’t hate the guy, it’s not personal … but if you’re HONEST then deep down you want the Chiefs to be better than they are, and RIGHT NOW that means FAIR and OPEN COMPETITION (Haley said that, remember Haley? super genius whiz kid offensive mastermind? right)
Cassel dioes NOT look like any kind of “answer” at QB – that said, it’s simply time now, in this Year Of The Evaluator (I looked it up on my Chinese Football Calender … next year is the Year Of The Big Draft Picks) it’s time to take good, long, honest hard look at Croyle and see what he can do … it’s just that simple
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisiton!
I like this post
My only real complaint about Cassel is that he needs to get rid of the ball quicker. I know that the line doesn’t give him much time, but when they do he holds on way too long. Even if there aren’t any recievers open, throw it away. Don’t take the sack.
I’m afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run, if you will, so now I’m afraid I have something of a mess on my hands. -Arrested Development
When we blitz, have the LB's do a KC Strip. Do this in rememberance of DT.
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