More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

3 months ago: Kansas City Chiefs quarter Matt Cassel, right, greets his mother Barbara Cassel, left, and sister Amanda Cassel before the start of practice during NFL football training camp in River Falls, Wis., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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Who were the NFL's two most cost-effective quarterbacks last year? According to Portfolio.com, Kansas City Chiefs QBs Matt Cassel and Tyler Thigpen.

Portfolio.com/bizjournals analyzed the cost-effectiveness of all 36 NFL players who threw at least 160 passes during the 2008 regular season. The highest scores went to quarterbacks, such as Cassel, who delivered big results on the field while drawing relatively small salaries.

Each quarterback’s salary cap value, defined as his base salary plus prorated bonuses, was matched against his performances in four statistical categories: completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. (Salary-cap values are annually collected and reported by USA Today.)

And Cassel and Thigpen weren't just the top two by a small margin. They blew away the #3 most cost-effective QB, Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills:

Cassel and Tyler Thigpen of the Kansas City Chiefs emerged as the NFL’s two most cost-effective quarterbacks. They earned 6.79 and 6.00 points, respectively on the analysis. Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills was a distant third with 2.56 points.

Now, with Matt Cassel's recent $60+ million dollar contract, he won't be the most cost-effective QB this year but it's still nice to have a statistical value to put next to the 2008 Tyler Thigpen.

Didn't know that Arrowhead Pride was part of a larger blog network? Check out all 32 NFL teams and plenty of other sports blogs at SBNation.com. Many thanks to Big Blue Shoe for doing the leg work on this post.

The 2008 regular season has come and gone. With it, we've seen some amazing games and some tremendous individual performances. We've also seen some teams and players stink up the league. At the mid-season point, just after the election, we did our annual Mid-Season Studs and Duds awards. To give you an indication of just how fluid an NFL season can be, not one stud player or coach who received a mid-season award was given an overall regular season award. For the duds, only one player (Jets rookie Vernon Gholston) retained his "I Suck" award from the mid-point.

This is what makes the NFL great!

Below are the selections for the awards, voted on by our SB Nation football bloggers. The percentage of the vote they received is next to their name. We also added a new category (Was Once a Dud, Now a Stud) which works as our "Comeback Player of the Year" award. So, without further delay, here our SB Nation's 2008 NFL Regular Season Studs and Duds:

The Studs

NFL MVP (tie): Peyton Manning, Colts (35%) and Chad Pennington, Dolphins (35%)

Best Player on Offense: Drew Brees, Saints (33.3%)

Best Player on Defense: James Harrison, Steelers (41.7%)

Best Rookie: Matt Ryan, Falcons (78%)

Best Coach: Tony Sporano, Dolphins (44%)

The Newly Studly

Was Once a Dud, Now a Stud: Chad Pennington, Dolphins (50%)

The Duds

Regular Season Worst Player: Braylon Edwards, Browns (40%)

Regular Season Worst Rookie: Vernon Gholston, Jets (72%)

Regular Season Worst Coach: Romeo Crennel, Browns (35%) and Rod Marinelli, Lions (35%)

Some notables from the voting:

• Mike Smith, head coach for the Falcons, was one vote away from tying Tony Sparano for Stud Coach of the Year.
• Vikings RB Adrian Peterson and Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams tied for second behind Drew Brees for Stud Offensive player.
• Matt Ryan, who won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award unanimously, won our award with 18 votes. The second place candidate, Broncos LT Ryan Clady, received 2 votes.

via www.orlandosentinel.com

I think we can all agree that the Kansas City Chiefs are taking either a quarterback or an offensive tackle with the #3 overall pick, should they choose to keep it. I've chosen QB Sam Bradford, QB Matt Stafford, OT Michael Oher and WR Michael Crabtree (to mix it up) as guys to watch this week and next.

Yesterday, we went over the top defensive players to watch in Bowl games this week.

Anyone else you want to point out as a To Watch player in a bowl game, let us know in the comments.

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Photo by Aubrey Washington /Allsport

We briefly interrupt our GM and draft coverage to bring you a story about an old Kansas City Chief.

Former NFL wide receiver Andre Rison was arrested for public drunkenness at a San Antonio hotel.

Rison, who was selected for the Pro Bowl five times in the 1990s, was detained after police responded to a call about a public disturbance at 2 a.m. Monday, KENS-TV, San Antonio, reported. He was at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk.

Was I one of the few people that didn't really like Andre Rison when he was a Chief? Seems to me that most did when I talked to them.

Anyway, Rison got off easy.

He paid an $85 fine for the misdemeanor offense and was released, police said.

Brock Middlebrook, when will you learn?

via Flickr.com

With the news that the Kansas City Chiefs will be picking third in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and the college bowl games coming up, we wanted to throw out some defensive players to watch in bowl games this weekend.

I'm taking players from Mike Mayock's twenty top prospects list over at NFL.com. Not all of these players will necessarily be looked at hard by the Chiefs but it's good to be informed anyway, right? Don't worry about jumping into the later rounds just yet. We'll have plenty of time for that.

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via holamun2.com

Tony Gonzalez addressed the media yesterday in a candid session that demonstrates his faith in Herm and especially this offense.

He wants Herm, Chan (and his position coach) to remain because they are "good coaches" but it's "just a waiting game at this point.

On the coaching staff:

I think these guys are good coaches and will take us in the direction we need to go.  It's just a waiting game at this point.

His future is in Clark's hands:

Whatever Clark wants to do, hopefully its in the best interest of the team. I'm sure it would be, obviously.  We'll make this thing work.

He seems willing to stay:

I'm ready to see it through.

On Larry Johnson:

Larry, the relationship has run it's course and if he doesn't want to be here then the Chiefs don't want him then I say grant him his wish. If it works out, it doesn't.  And that's Larry's deal.

Shh.  Don't say the word rebuild:

As far as I'm concerned, as a veteran on this team going into my 13th year, the last thing I want to hear is the word rebuild.  I'm just not into it. If they want to blow it up, I'll be frustrated.  I'll be pissed off.  But, in reality, it's just like this year.  If they don't want to let me go they don't have to.  And I'll still have to come back and play hard.

Still the consummate professional:

Whatever team I'm on, hopefully it's this team, we can build something special.

Listen to the interview here (Link plays automatically).

This media session was no different than any other for Herm Edwards despite the perception that his job is on the line. It was the same "Business as usual" speech we've heard so many times before.

Although Herm's record as a head coach makes it debatable as to whether he should even be a coach or not, he is resilient.  He's a positive person and I can see how he's been deemed a "players coach."

Click on over to the other side to see the grade Herm gives himself on the season.

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In a microcosm of the Chiefs season, Thigpen was just short.

via static.nfl.com

The Chiefs 2008 season will be remembered as one for the record books.  The worst record in franchise history and an NFL record for the Chiefs' futility in sacks.  In an attempt to gather some silver lining from the 2008 season, let's take a look at how the Chiefs fared pre- and post-Thigpen which for our purposes means the 1st 6 games and the last 10.

Offensive output comparison

1st 6 games of the season: 12.5 points per game scored

Last 10 games of the season: 21.6 points per game scored

How often is it that your offense actually improves by 2 scores from one half of the season to the other?

Defensive output comparison

1st 6 games of the season: 27.5 points per game given up

Last 10 games of the season: 27.5 points per game given up

It's only fitting that our defense was the most consistently inconsistent part of the team.  They were terrible in the first 6 games as the Chiefs were blown out.  They were terrible in the last 10 games as the Chiefs scored more points on offense.  We've gone through the defense's troubles plenty so I won't rehash them here.

The points are there, where's the W?

12 teams scored more than 17 points in at least 7 of their last 10 games.  The Chiefs went over 17 points 9 times in their last 10 (the Cincy game being the lone misfire).  Every other team, save Green Bay, won at least 5 of those games.  The Chiefs won 1 of those games.  Evidence that we're close or evidence that our coach can't manage the game?

Margin of defeat

The first 6 games of the season, or pre-Thigpen if you will, showed just how awful the Chiefs could be.  We lost 4 of those first 6 games by more than 7 points. 

The final 10 games we lost by more than 1 touchdown just 3 times.  Improvement?  Slowly but surely.

Playing up and down to the competition

The first 6 games of the season we bowed out early when facing a good team (.500 or better).  The Patriots, Falcons, Panthers and Titans all steam-rolled the Chiefs in the first 6 games by an average of 22 points. 

The final 10 games saw the Chiefs pitted against 7 teams with records of .500 or better.  The average margin of defeat there was a shade under 5 points.  So, judging by the margin of defeat, the Chiefs did improve in the 2nd half and played up against competitive teams.

Same old Chiefs

The Chiefs' season was a tale of two halves (have you heard that before?).  But in the end, nothing that matters changed.  We won 1 game in the first 6 and 1 game in the last 10.  Though we played better statistically on offense, the W's just weren't there.