Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has been a hot topic of conversation around here over the last few weeks. The Chiefs are winning but (per usual) most fans want to see more.
Chiefs coach Todd Haley has consistently backed Cassel and did so again in a conversation with Bill Williamson of ESPN.com.
"I’ve haven’t been in the habit of defending players but for Matt, (the criticism) has been a little over the top here," Haley said. "The No. 1 thing I look at quarterbacks is wins and losses. We’re first in the NFL in negative plays and Matt has a lot to do with that. He is getting better every week."
I agree that some of the Cassel criticism is overblown. I think we need to start thinking again about our expectations. I'm just not sure what those expectations are yet. If the Chiefs start losing, we'll have built up some ammo for why. But, for now, they're winning. For as often as Haley talked negative plays last year, Cassel helping eliminate those probably means a lot to Haley.
Check out ESPN.com for Bill Williamson's story on his Haley interview.