Checking In On A Few NFL Rumors

Im curious to see how Cassel performs with the Baldwin deep threat.

My major rant with both Cassel and Bowe is that they are both 50/50 in the clutch…when one isnt f***ing it up…the other is.

Also, the box wont be stacked and Cassel will have some improved pocket protection.

I like that Stanzi is in the wings too. Good motivation.

Exactly the problem. It could be everyone else, but not Matt Cassel.

Of course it could be Cassel’s fault. What I said was, barring a total catastrophe where all of those “worst case scenarios” happen at once, we should have the makings of a top 10 offense. If Cassel doesn’t produce despite having those pieces around him, it would absolutely be his fault. What I’m saying is, historically, Cassel has produced with talent around him.

Most people who say he’s not a franchise QB are considering the whole season, not just the last game.

You say that, but AP has always run hot and cold on Matt Cassel. The calls to replace Matt Cassel were a lot quieter and coming from far fewer people during the regular season. I’ll grant you that “popular” sentiment was probably swayed against Cassel by more than just the Baltimore game – in the sense that a lot of critics are probably also weighing the Oakland game, too. But, considering that Cassel’s “failings” over the course of the entire season are supposedly what has so many calling for his head, it’s amazing how few were doing so before week 17. I guess it’s funny how things work out like that.

Matt Cassel sucked at the end of the season. So did the entire team. I’m not saying that it’s not Matt Cassel’s fault, I’m saying that it’s not only Cassel’s fault. But Cassel is the “face of the franchise” and so he’s gotten the brunt of Chiefs fans’ frustration as they’ve spent the last several months stewing over an undesirable end to a great season. Suddenly, you’d never know that Cassel’s 27-7 TD/INT ratio was actually pretty good. Apparently Cassel had an awful season. Suddenly Cassel made the pro bowl “by default” (completely overlooking the fact that the guy he replaced, who has such strong name recognition that he likely would have made the pro bowl without ever taking the field, arguably put up worse numbers than him over the course of the year).

Matt Cassel is not going to the hall of fame. Matt Cassel hasn’t yet hit his ceiling and could still stand to improve, particularly when it comes to completion percentage and, more specifically, down field accuracy. But if you look at what Cassel did last year with 1 wide receiver and a rookie tight end and claim that the calls by a lot of fans to replace him are based on some sort of emotionless and objective evaluation of the whole season, you’ll have to excuse my skepticism.

I’m not saying it’s never Matt Cassel’s fault. There were times last year that he needed to play better and didn’t. But you know what? It’s a 53 man team and there are 11 on the field at any given time. Cassel doesn’t play defense. It wasn’t his job to cover Todd Heap or stuff Darren McFadden. Cassel doesn’t play o-line. It’s not his fault Casey Wiegmann is a hundred years old or that Oakland and Baltimore dominated our offensive line. Cassel doesn’t play receiver. It’s not his fault that Chris Chambers disappears after he gets paid or that Jereme Urban got hurt. Matt Cassel does play quarterback. It is his fault when he doesn’t hit a wide open Kevin Curtis for a TD or throws a bad pass that gets picked off. But you’re partially right. When the whole team fails to perform in a 30-7 loss, you’ll be hard pressed to get me to admit that it’s all Cassel’s fault.