Not exactly shocking the world with this statement but Chiefs coach Todd Haley predicts that people are going to start feeling better about Matt Cassel in 2010:

"We had 50-plus drops last season," Haley said in a recent telephone interview with Bill Williamson of ESPN.com. "If those don’t happen, people would look at Cassel differently … If we get the improved offensive play around him that we hope to, I think people will feel better about Matt Cassel."

I gotta agree. I haven't seen a breakdown of those drops but it seems that quite a few came in crucial situations, like third downs.

As well as predicting a better year for Cassel, Haley continued to call him the hardest worker on the team.

"This guy is making progress in a bunch of ways," Haley said. "He had a very difficult year last year, but he didn’t crack. That’s a good sign. He has been one of our best workers this offseason, if not the best. He’s working."

It's going to be hard to make a case for him if he's the hardest working member of the team two years in a row and doesn't produce more. I know, I know. There are a lot of moving factors here but the praise or blame for this team will ultimately lie (or is it lay?) at the feet of Cassel, regardless of the receiver's drops.