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Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel was not on the 2011 Pro Bowl roster and that this is surprising to some of us shows how far he and the Chiefs offense have come in the last year. But to be so close and not get it...it's gotta be a little disappointing.
When asked about missing out on the 2011 Pro Bowl on Wednesday, Cassel stuck to the company line emphasizing the team over individual awards.
"I know that there's a lot of great quarterbacks in this league and especially the AFC," Cassel said. "For me, I'm just happy our team is where they are. Team goals come way before personal accomplishments. I think our accomplishments we made this year as a team go way beyond what anyone could give me in terms of a personal accoloade."
That he was being considered a Pro Bowl candidate was one thing. But that we've heard some prominent media folks, like Peter King of SI.com, label him an MVP candidate as well.
"I didn't know I was mentioned [as an MVP candidate] but that's kinda cool," Cassel said. "It speaks again to the team and what we've been able to accomplish. All these things go unnoticed, I think, if you go out there and you don't play well and you don't win ball games. You get all the personal accolades and people get mentioned in certain categories because of our team's success."
I think he's right in that regard. You're more likely to get noticed and become a Pro Bowler if you're playing on a good team. The Chiefs are sort of an unique case since they were so bad for three years before turning into a good team this year.
That just means we'll probably see the number of Chiefs Pro Bowlers increase if they can have some sustained success.