NFL – Can Kansas City Chiefs QB, Matt Cassel Take the Next Step And Become An Elite QB in 2011?
by Robert Cobb on May 24, 2011 6:52 PM CDT
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When one thinks of elite quarterbacks in the NFL, players such as New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees often come to mind.
Other marquee players such as Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Phillip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, Aaron Rodgers of the Super Bowl champion, Green Bay Packers can also be considered elite.
While other quarterbacks such as Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens, Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Schaub of the Houston Texas and Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys are considered borderline, they can also be considered in some football circles as belonging in the class of elite.
And with the promising play of Josh Freeman of Tampa Bay, Sam Bradford of St Louis, and Colt McCoy of Cleveland, they can be the faces of a new generation of quarterbacks to carry the NFL well into the 21st century.
One quarterback not mentioned often as either elite or borderline is Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs, whom he led to the 2010 AFC West division title.
Cassel, 29, was the former understudy of Tom Brady while in New England, was acquired in a trade in 2008 along with LB Matt Vrabel and a second round pick.
Cassel would throw for 3,693 yards, and 21 touchdowns after Tom Brady suffered a horrific knee injury, ironically against the Chiefs.
Since arriving from Foxboro, Cassel has thrown for 6,040 yards, 43 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, posting a QB rating of 81.4
Cassel would post career highs in touchdowns with 27 and a career best QB rating of 93.0
Based on these numbers, and pending the ongoing NFL lockout, there is reason to believe that Cassel will make the leap in 2011 and become an elite QB.
With the drafting of Pitt wide receiver, Jonathan Baldwin 21st in the 2011 NFL Draft, Baldwin can potentially become the new #2 receiver opposite Dwayne Bowe, and along with Dexter McCluster, Chris Chambers and tight end, Tony Moeaki form a potent passing attack.
Pro Bowl running back, Jamaal Charles, who was the second leading rusher in the league with 1,467 yards and will take a lot of heat of off Cassel in the running game and along with veteran Thomas Jones should make Cassel’s job a bit easier in 2011.
If Cassel can continue to put up numbers similar to 2010, then it will only be a matter of time before his name will be mentioned among the best quarterbacks today in the NFL.
Email me at robcobb@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter, @Robert_Cobb
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I still say
he’ll always be a second tier QB and I’m ok with that especially with our run game.
Jamaal Charles and Tamba Hali...Enough said.
second tier QB with a lot of heart. im ok w/ it too
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
Nice post and should be wildly popular
rec
Matt is not there yet hence a No in the poll. This is the make or break season in 2011.
We shall see :)
"Hair cut time.''
Wasn't last season a make or break year?
How many make or break seasons do you get? I’m not sure cuz make or break kind of implies one, but it seems everyone has a “make or break” season followed by another after another. Cassel is going to be at least good enough imo. He has the potential to excel on a team with a dominate run game. Will he ever win games in the 4th quarter like Brady and Manning? Yes. As often? Probably not. He will be more then good enough on this team to win a Super Bowl. I like Matt he is a football player in every sense of the words. He has what it takes and will lead this team to greatness….GO CHIEFS!!!
by ChiefJamesthe2nd on May 24, 2011 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
Rec'd. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Matt Cassel will almost certainly never be as good as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, or Phillip Rivers (in terms of pure passing ability anyway – Cassel has much better intangibles than Rivers if you ask me).
But I do think he could be in that next tier of quarterbacks, say an Eli Manning or even a Matt Shaub. Either way, I think he has a much higher ceiling than some other quarterbacks who have reached or won the Super Bowl like Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, or Rex Grossman.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. We don’t need Matt Cassel to be Joe Montana, we need him to be Trent Green. And I think he’s more than capable of that.
"If you really want to shatter a backboard, tell it it's adopted." - Norm MacDonald
Last year was make or break to show he was capable of being a starting NFL QB.
He was.
This year will be a make or break year to show us he can be a Franchise type player who is capable of what it takes to win championships.
Next year will be make or break to accomplish team goals.
If he is not, we move on with Stanzi or the new guy, who ever that will be by then.
"You talkin' to me? You TALKIN' to me ?" - Travis Bickle
Well if last year was make or break
He broke.
He still hasn’t shown he can win vs elite or even good defenses.
by craig in calgary on May 24, 2011 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions
You mean the 2 we faced
And look how those teams did against the top QBs.
by KCinIL on May 25, 2011 11:10 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Sneak Peek
When is Brodie Croyle not Matthew Stafford? Well Matthew has won 3 games in two years as the starter. Brodie did not beat Washington twice, nor Cleveland once. Sadly, in those two seasons starting Matthew started weeks 1-4 and 8-13 in 2009 and then week 1 and weeks 8-9 in 2010.
To my mind that is 4 seperate injuries in two seasons. Brodie is Iron Man :) Matthew has accumulated a record of 3-10 in two seasons with 19 TD’s and 21 Interceptions throwing for 2802 yards. In comparison, our Matt has accumulated uidsnhsduhughre with only 1 game lost due to an Appendectomy.
Matthew Stafford may be the next “Great Thing” but he has to prove it on the field. Else Shaun Hill awaits.
Year 3, and no Matt is not elite yet if ever, a Good QB, the Chiefs franchise has seen a few Elites and a lot more Good
"Hair cut time.''
by Steve_Chiefs on May 24, 2011 7:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Brodie is throwing a fit somewhere
He didn’t get paid THAT much to sit on the bench
I don't start arguments, I provoke thinking. -Me
H^2-Hali and Houston
by BAMFSpecialOps on May 25, 2011 5:58 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, but he's throwing that fit in accurately into triple coverage, all be it 55 yards down the field
The Powers Of Astute Observation Are Often Mistaken As Cynicism By Those That Do Not Posses Them -- G.B. Shaw
by Texas Chief on May 26, 2011 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions
No, it wasn't
His make or break year comes when the schedule isn’t of the cream-puff variety. He still has that much to prove, in addition to eclipsing that 60% accuracy mark.
Top 10 defense and another trip to the playoffs!
Tamba Hali, NFL Sack Leader, 2011
Dwayne Bowe has a 56% catch rate
in 4 seasons.
So will Cassel ever get above 60% with Bowe as the primary receiver?
"Hair cut time.''
by Steve_Chiefs on May 24, 2011 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't know because he caught some he shouldn't have and
didn’t catch some that he shoulda.
Takes two to complete a pass
Cassel has missed plenty of throws, and Bowe has dropped plenty of balls. I know that Bowe didn’t appear on the top 15 dropped balls list that ProFootballFocus put out.
I also know he’s had Brodie, Huard and Thiggy facilitating out there for his first couple of seasons. Cassel is the best Bowe has had.
Top 10 defense and another trip to the playoffs!
Tamba Hali, NFL Sack Leader, 2011
He also did not appear in the top 20 catch rates
"Hair cut time.''
by Steve_Chiefs on May 24, 2011 8:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Bradford had a revolving door at WR in his rookie season
Still managed to hover around 60. As did Chad Henne, whose primary receiver only managed a 58% catch rate. Shaun Hill is another one. Megatron only had a 56% catch rate in 2010.
And then there’s our schedule… Cream. Puff. Cassel needs to be more accurate.
Top 10 defense and another trip to the playoffs!
Tamba Hali, NFL Sack Leader, 2011
Tamba Hali had 2 make or break years
and look how people defend him.
Brodie Croyle has had 3 of them….and I pray the club has decided that he’s broken and move on.
I agree with your thoughts on Cassel. I see him as a game manager that doesn’t make the big mistake. The run game and the defense can carry the team and Cassel is more than good enough to take us to a Super Bowl.
As to his ceiling…. I’d say it’s about the same as Micheal Vick’s ceiling, although in a completely different style. There’s never been a ‘run first’ QB in the NFL that anything more than exciting in the short term, and better than average for their career. Run first QB’s have never reached the elite stage in the NFL, just like mistake free game managers.
The Powers Of Astute Observation Are Often Mistaken As Cynicism By Those That Do Not Posses Them -- G.B. Shaw
Make or break due to his contract
A lot of us wanted to see IMPROVEMENT the past year I don’t recall many calling it a ‘make or break’ season though
I don't start arguments, I provoke thinking. -Me
H^2-Hali and Houston
by BAMFSpecialOps on May 25, 2011 5:56 AM CDT up reply actions
If you put any of those other qb's in our offense last season, we have a top 5 offense
not just the number one rushing offense. Cassel just isnt accurate enough downfield to become an elite qb, and his lack of arm strength only hurts that.
You can give him all the receivers you want, he still has to get the ball to them, and he can’t do that when he’s staring down his primary receiver and folding under the pressure with his head down.
It’s easy to put up numbers when your just throwing the ball 15-20 yards down the field, and the receivers are making circus catches and breaking tackles for you. And having the top running game doesnt hurt either.
Cassel will never be elite, he’s as good as he’s going to get. But we dont need him to be elite, we just need him to be more clutch and consistent. He just needs to make the throw for a first down when we absolutely need it, and hand the ball off to the best player on offense Jamaal The Franchise Charles.
by ChiefDailyBaked on May 24, 2011 8:19 PM CDT reply actions
Has Matt Cassell ......
ever had a decent team in KC yet???? Man you guys are always so hard on him. He has been driving a broken car. This offense has a couple of years to go before it can present Mr. Cassell with a decent machine to drive. ….. GO CHIEFS!
76°
by i'minCostaRicachiefsfan on May 24, 2011 8:58 PM CDT reply actions
Matt Cassel had the best support of any QB in the league.
The number 1 running game makes life very easy for your QB. The other team stacks the box and you get predictable coverage and one on one matchups all day long. Quite frankly Cassel looked pretty good at times because of the running game. Matt Cassel is a top 32 QB. He is the best we have, and should start, but I also hope that Pioli and Haley are not satisfied.
Cassel played adequate under optimum circumstances. He is not an elite QB and never will be. That is okay, there is not 32 elite QB’s in the NFL, but I keep saying over and over that if you want to be a competitive team year in and year out and win a Superbowl, the best way to ensure that is to have an elite QB so if you don’t have one you need to always try and find one.
The views expressed by craig in calgary do not necessarily represent the views of all Canadians.
'But Sas, it's not like you can just go out and get one on QB isle'
I’ve gotten really sick of that type of thinking. Just because it’s difficult to find that type of QB, you shouldn’t even try. You should somehow sit around and wait for one to magicaly fall in your lap.
Cassel isn’t and likely will never be elite. And yeah, you can build a strong team and even win a Super Bowl with out one. But not having an elite QB gives the whole franchise very little margin for error, while having one alows you to take gambles and risks you would otherwise not be able to. An elite QB keeps you a contender for at least a decade. Not having one means you’re probably looking for one for at least that same decade.
"Evil is the result of what happens when a man does not have God's love present in his heart" - Albert Einstein
Interesting
This must be what Pioli is thinking when he says he wants to draft a QB every year. He’s looking for that elite guy to take the team to the next level.
by Spiderwomn69 on May 25, 2011 10:55 AM CDT up reply actions
Every year is make-or-break.
2009 was about making it through that first season without being broken in two. In his second season, make or break was probably .500, and they won the division, with getting the ball out quickly more important than making something great happen on his own, and without making any throws he wasn’t 99% certain of, which made for some pretty unspectacular “Just don’t blow it” play. Expectations will be higher in season 3, as they should be. I’m really hoping to see some trust and chemistry develop. But it’s wait and see, same as every season.
would of ≠ would've
The way I see it is yhat he has finally gotten enough snaps/experience and is going
to blossom. He started to blossom last year so we should expect marked improvement. I think his arm is better than most of you do. Is he good enough to win a championship should be the question, not elite, and the fact is it remains to be seen. Personally, I have high hopes and have seen much to like with him and hope to see a better polished, thus more accomplished qb this year. We will see as proof is in the puddin so to speak.
I would say that since the 2011 season will consist of no games
and Cassel throwing to an assortment of players at a local high school, yes he will be an elite quarterback. He will be one of the best ever to practice at that local high school.
"The Hammer"
by G.L. on May 25, 2011 9:40 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
Cassel was a good QB this year
hopefully he CAN become great
we saw that the team can win a lot of games with him being “good”
he’ll be great when he shows up big in the big games.
I just want to know how much is it going to hurt cassel not working with Zorn all offseason
the way he did with Weis last year?
They were able to study film together and go over plays, and that was the main reason he drastically improved last season. He hasn’t been able to work or even talk with Zorn this offseason, thats gotta hurt him a lil bit. Especially with us playing against some top pass defenses this year, not the weak ones from last season.
by ChiefDailyBaked on May 25, 2011 10:00 AM CDT reply actions
Weis leaving hurt
but he arrival of Zorn may do wonders for him. He won my approval last year. He was playing at an elite level for several weeks and had a no interception streak. Unfortunately so did Tom Brady who gets a whole lot more run. People might have been talking about Cassel if that weren’t the case. Zorn will do wonders for Cassel IMO.
Last year Cassel had
Some outstanding games.
Some so-so games.
and Some where he really stunk up the field.
Overall I think he did okay, and hope we get to see him continue his improvement this year.
Not there yet.
I’m probably as big of a Cassel supporter as their is, but the final 2 games he played in last season, displayed he isn’t in that elite group of QB’s. We always talk about how Manning and Brady are great, even if they don’t have great weapons. Well, I’ve stated that Cassel seems to go as Bowe goes, and that he needs, at least, one solid nu,mber 2 receiver. I still think that is true, but I would be a hypocrite if I totally blamed a lack of weapons for his inconsisteny. I would really like to see his completion percentage up around , at least, 62 or 63%. He was under 60% last season, despite his other numbers being great. He also displayed alot of improvement over the 2009 season. I am confident he can be our franchise QB, and eventually lead us to our ultimate goal. The guy has the intangibles, i.e: the work ethic, a love of the game, winning taking precedent over individual stats, and he is very coachable. He has the size of the prototypical QB, of the day, and a strong enough arm to make most of the throws that he needs to. I would like to see his accuracy improve somewhat, and his ability to handle pressure better. He has displayed the ability to lead 2 teams to good seasons, and I am confident he will show more consistency this season.
There once was a man from Nantucket......Nevermind.
by Racyman on May 26, 2011 9:15 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
He still has another step to take.
There still isn’t that sense that if he evades the initial onslaught that he’s all that likely to make something happen thru the air with the extra time. And it’s getting harder to just blame it on his targets.
Still, comparisons to Manning and Brady are apples and oranges. On their worst day, they had better targets, imo.
would of ≠ would've
Part of why Brady and Manning had better targets is because they can take a raw player with potential and turn him into a weapon. See: Collie, Austin; Garcon, Pierre; Tamme, Jacob; Edelman, Julian; Woodhead, Danny, etc.
I also think a quarterback like Brady or Manning might have been able to turn Horne or Tucker into a legitimate threat.
But I’d also agree that any number of the Colts or Pats receivers would have been a huge upgrade over Copper or Chambers. And for a quarterback like Cassel who isn’t in that elite, future Hall of Fame tier, getting another target across from Bowe is essential. Hopefully Baldwin can be that guy for us.
"If you really want to shatter a backboard, tell it it's adopted." - Norm MacDonald
I have to agree
There is no comparison on the accuracy, especially down field. An average receiver can look pretty darn good when he’s consistently getting the ball in stride.
But I don't just think that Peyton Manning, for example, just makes his recievers look better.
I think he actually makes them into better players. Now that they’ve had a couple of seasons playing with Manning, I’d be willing to bet that Garcon or Collie could be moved to a team like the Chiefs and still produce with a quarterback like Matt Cassel throwing to them.
So it’s an argument that cuts both ways. Manning is good enough that he can pretty much build good receivers, but as a result he also had a much better receiving corps to work with than Cassel did last year.
"If you really want to shatter a backboard, tell it it's adopted." - Norm MacDonald
No question Manning's a coach on the field.
I’m not sure how much of that’s by necessity, with an aging and possibly ailing offensive coordinator who’s taught Manning everything he knows, by now, anyway.
Much was made of how he worked with last year’s rooks. Very laudable. But I’m not sure everything worked out quite the way they wanted it to, either. Jags, Texans and Titans are making their own bids for that division, and it wasn’t a gimme last year.
would of ≠ would've
Meh, if you ask me, that division's a two horse race next year.
The Titans are in rebuilding mode with a new coaching staff, a rookie quarterback, and an aging defense. Chris Johnson can only carry you so far.
The Jags are still stuck in that annoying zone of mediocrity. They’ve got some good pieces, like MJD, but their offense, defense, and even quarterbacks are just kind of good, but not great. Blaine Gabbert is a nice building block for the future but he won’t make an immediate impact.
The Texans, though, I think will finally be in contention to make the playoffs. Offense wasn’t the problem for them in years past even before the emergence of Arian Foster. The problem was always defense and now they have Wade Phillips who, like Norv Turner, makes for a mediocre head coach but excellent coordinator. I think that defense will improve a lot. They might not be elite in Phillips’ first season, but they really only need to stop opposing team’s offenses enough to let Shaub, Foster, and Johnson blow the other team out of the water.
On the other hand, the Colts are pretty much always going to be in contention as long as Manning is around, and it’s not like they’re going to be more injury plagued than they were last year. Plus they spent the draft fixing their most glaring area of weakness – the o-line. And what if Donald Brown emerges in his third year? Combined with Addai, Wayne, Garcon, Collie, Gonzalez, Clark, and Tamme? That’s a potent offense even without one of the greatest quarterback’s of all time at the helm. And between Freeney, Mathis, Bethea, Session, Bracket, Hayden, Powers, etc. it’s not like they don’t have play-makers on defense.
Of course, now that I’ve said all that, it’s going to end up being the Titans and Jags vying for the AFC South title in 6 months and I’ll look like an idiot.
"If you really want to shatter a backboard, tell it it's adopted." - Norm MacDonald
I always think THIS year is Jax's year.
Don’t worry about looking like an idiot. It’s all about talking and maybe learning something here and there. I pretty much hate on Payton Manning, wanting to knock him off his pedestal, so the slightest chink in the armor, one bad pass, and I see the Colts headed to the toilet.
would of ≠ would've
Baldwin's the first really aggressive move they've made at wideout since they came here.
It says something that they went after wideout, this time. I think it’s an indication that they think the team is ready to take the next step.
A lot of what I don’t particularly like about Cassel’s game could just as easily be how he’s been coached up to keep a team in rebuild from self-destructing. There was a limited number of things they could do very well, and they did a lot to dress things up with formation and motion. The next level for the offense is a more aggressive and less paint-by-the-numbers passing game. Organizing players-only practices goes beyond just good leadership – it’s Cassel taking his best shot at surviving.
would of ≠ would've
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