Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel once again was not a big part of the solution in a victory. The Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday but it wasn't thanks to Cassel's miserable first half.
The second half was a little better but, boy, that first half was brutal. I think most are coming away from this game thinking Cassel has played like a weak link
First half: 8-of-16 for 60 yards, two interceptions
There's really not anything positive in this half. Cassel looked like he did in week one -- bad. The problem is that last week it was a monsoon during the game -- which those in charge of defending Cassel quickly pointed out. This week, there are no excuses. The interceptions -- one of them a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage -- can be explained away but it would just be a whole new set of excuses for Cassel.
Things picked up in the second half to the point where they were on the verge of being acceptable.
Second half: 8-of-12 for 116 yards
Cassel had two drives that spanned 11 or more plays and 60 or more yards. They weren't able to punch it in on either of those but, hey, I'll take it. The first half makes it hard to remember some second half positives but, as a whole, it wasn't his best performance.
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The optimist in me says Matt Cassel is the guy that drove them over 60 yards on two occasions and just needs to work on punching it in. The pessimist -- and maybe the realist, too -- inside of me says Cassel can't make a decision on the field quick enough and is ultimately holding the Chiefs down. The stats would point to the latter being correct.
I've been cautious of my criticisms of Cassel at times because there's no viable option to replace him. It's one thing to complain while a backup sits on the bench. It's another to complain when there's no better, or realistic, option. The Chiefs aren't looking to Brodie Croyle anytime soon.
We'll see how the Chiefs adjust their offense to make up for the things that he has shown through two games (and four preseason games) that he can not do. This was already a run-first team so there's no major philosophy change.
For now....we wait.