We've been talking lately about being wrong on Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel and the strides he's made this year. One of the folks that was vocal on Matt Cassel's struggles this year (and the year before) is Cris Collinsworth.
The NFL broadcaster is featured on the video game, Madden '11, saying, "Matt Cassel and the Chiefs passing game has got to be better this year." And back in November we collected some quotes from Collinsworth on Showtime's Inside The NFL where he was less than impressed with Cassel's play.
"He's fine at what he does," Collinsworth said then. "It's a running football team that plays well on defense and he gets a lot of single coverage. When they absolutely have to throw the ball he can throw it out there and complete a pass every once in a while. They're not winning games with the passing game."
An AFC offensive player of the month award and MVP candidacy later, and Collinsworth is eating crow. Wednesday night's edition of Inside The NFL featured a Cris Collinsworth wearing....well, see for yourself:
With a heavy dose of sarcasm, Collinsworth explained that Chiefs OC Charlie Weis called him and said he needed to give Cassel and WR Dwayne Bowe a little "oomph" to get going so he asked him to dish out some criticism of those two.
After he was done explaining this, co-host Phil Simms asked Collinsworth to close his eyes because "we've got a little surprise for you." The surprise....
Matt Cassel.
Collinsworth: "Matt, how are you, my man?"
Cassel: "Cris, my man!"
Collinsworth: "Thanks so much for the jersey. It was awesome. I love this thing."
Cassel: "I'm glad you got it for Christmas. I know you've been one of my biggest supporters. I just wanted to surprise you and tell you how much I appreciated the love and the support and all that. I'm happy."
Collinsworth: "I can feel the bond growing between us as we speak right now. I don't know if Charlie mentioned it or not that he asked to kind of give you a couple zingers there to get you motivated. It worked. You don't need to send a thank you note or anything. And tell Dwayne I'm happy, too."
Cassel: "Charlie, from day one said, 'Cris Collinsworth is out there and he wants you to know this....' Haha, thanks again for your support."
After Collinsworth said he's hopping on the Chiefs bandwagon, Cassel politely told him they've been doing pretty well without him. Great segment.
(You can check out video of the exchange courtesy of reader bfett81).