According to Chiefs beat writer Kent Babb, Matt Cassel (knee) is still looking a little gimpy.
Cassel practiced Thursday and likely will play Sunday. But Babb said Cassel was running with a limp during hurry-up drills. Playing in Baltimore isn’t a good time to be limping around.
Source: Kent Babb on Twitter
Ok Addicts, Should we start a gimpy Cassel against the Ravens or should we sit him another week to allow him to heal? What would you do and why?
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sit em, let thigpen run for his life.
sit him and let brokie and tyler run around for four quarters. hopefully we won’t need guiterrez to go in!
SIT HIM protect our assetts. If its a close game we can always put him in to seal the deal. Watch to see how our offensive line protect Thiggy.
If he is not 100% they should sit him.
P.S. I wish everyone would quit acting like Baltimore is the 1985 Bears.
Initially I thought we should sit him. BUT, We could squeak out a win on Sunday, and we need Cassel to do it.
If he is able to run around without further injury then start him. He is our #1 QB and gives us the best shot to win the game. We play to win the game. This is his team, and he can send a message by playing in a game in which everyone thinks he should sit.
There is a difference between being hurt and injured. If he is hurting then he should play. That is what good starting QBs do. If he is injured then he should sit.
Also, Jojo, you are right! Ravens haven’t proven a thing this year, especially since Bart Scott is gone and so is Rex Ryan. Ray Lewis is old and no one, not one team, brought him in for a look see this offeason. Hmmmm.
Go Chiefs!!!!!!!
We could squeak out a win on Sunday, and we need Cassel to do it.
Jer I am on the fence, its not going to be a life changing event either way. A win against the Ravens would be SO sweet. My mental block is Ray Lewis.
Jeremy,
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???? Absolutely NOT. We better not start a $63 Million Dollar QB with any type of a limp. That is how you end up with guys getting season ending injury’s. Let him rest this week and then turn him loose on the faiders.
JOJO,
The 85 Bears? Of course there not them. Different time and a totally different game has evolved since then. But there isn’t an analyst out there that, hell I don’t think there is a COACH out there that doesn’t believe that Baltimore has one of the top 5 defenses in the league. The front seven of the Ravens are all pretty much returning and our line is in flux. I am worried about Detroit’s defense playing our line, from the center to the right tackle anyway.
If they start Cassel, we will be looking at a hurt QB turning into a season injury. Those types of injuries can become serious if they don’t let him get 100%. I seriously wish he was 100% so he could play, but why take a chance on making him a bust due starting him too soon and getting his injury aggravated, or worse, escalated!????
The only chance the Chiefs have of winning this game is by turning it into a rumble. Any of our backups are more than adequate for that. Putting Cassel in this game is not going decide the outcome of it one way or the other. In fact, if his knee sprain is slowing him down at all, he actually becomes a liability. Sit him.
As in most games the key will be turnovers but they are a bit more relevant based upon these stats:
Since 2000, Baltimore is 61-2 in regular season games where they are positive in the turnover ratio. By contrast they are 8-46 over that same span when their turnover ratio was negative. I don’t know what their record is when the turnovers are even but you get the point.
I am hoping that Cassel is close to 100% and can go because we all know what turnover machines Croyle and Thigpen can be. If the Chiefs protect the ball and play good run defense (I’m not sold on Flacco or the Ravens group of WRs) they have a fighting chance.
Vrod, maybe I have lost my mind a little
But pro football is just as mental as it is physical. There is a lot of pride on the line. Team pride. Now one is going to cower to another team. I expect Haley and the Chiefs to go out and give 100% and not bow to the Ravens.
Haley could lose credibility if he gets up before his team and says “Cassel could play if we needed him to, but because we are going to possibly lose to the Ravens, and thier defense is too much for our O-line, we will sit him”. That is not Haley’s style or even the message he has been delivering all pre-season.
What I expect Haley to say is “if Matt is able to play, Matt will play, and we will all do our jobs like professionals.” “You will play your heart out, and I will call plays that put us in the best position to win and not expose our weakneses”.
Every game must be played to win. Everyone’s job is on the line. Haley will have a lot of TE blocking help on the right side. Look for TE Ryan to help RT Ndukwe all day. You will see a lot of runs, short throws to the middle, and screens. There won’t be enough time to drop back and throw the long ball, and in the immortal words of HermEdwards…..”that’s OK”.
I say if Cassel can play, he should play. It delivers a strong message! If our O-line can’t protect him against this, they won’t protect him the next week and so on.
I predict a close game. No 13 point underdog here! F@#K Vegas Odds Makers! Go Chiefs!
Vrod’s got a point. The Dynamic of the game has changed since ‘85. Ray is getting older but you can’t tell me he doesn’t pose a threat. Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Dawan Landry? Just name dropping a few of the top tier talents the Raven’s D boasts. And Rex Ryan or no Rex Ryan, do you really think they are not going to exploit the weaknesses on our line?
This is a team that believes it is a playoff/superbowl contender and Ray Lewis is heading that march. Saying there will be blood is the tip of the iceburg. Don’t sink our ship throwing our franchise QB to the wolves. No they’re not the “Bears” but they are damn good at what they do. We have a chance to prove we’re on the right track by playing well against them. Acting like they’re overrated seems a bit fool-hardy to me tho.
But a close game would BE VERY NICE!!! And I would love to see an upset! Nice post JH =)
JH,
We need to run LJ and Battle right up the gut. A lot.
Focus of passing game should be with screens and hitting the edges. Throwing to the middle of the field will get us nowhere and would probably be disastrous.
Our best shot at winning comes by keeping it close and “uglying it up.”
Via Bob Gretz:
Cassel said today: “It’s doing well,” Cassel said of his knee. “I’ve been working hard. I’ve been out there each day at practice. I feel like I’m making progress every day.”
Haley said today: “I don’t think one of those players (QBs) is 100 percent, so to talk in percentages is just playing mind games,” said Haley. “Our job as coaches is to try and figure who gives us the best chance to win on any given Sunday. That’s what we do through the week and hopefully on Sunday we get it right.”
Sit him, it’s not even a realistic move to start him. We have little chance in this game anyway. Oakland next week is far more important. We need him for that game.
I agree 100% DD. Dink and dunk, get the ball out fast. A few quick passes, and turnovers on D.
Brandon Flowers needs to show up and he will!
I cannot believe some of you guys want Thigpen to play. Seriously? Let go of the dream. His 50% completion percentage isn’t going to improve …
What the hell. PIOLI and HALEY are fighting for their jobs just like the players. I will trust them (yikes) to do the right thing and hope it works.
A win would be SO sweet. Matt has the potential to be the qb we have hoped would come along for years, we need to do this right.
Start Him
no players are 100 percent
if he had major re injury risk he wouldnt be practicing this week.
if you plan to protect the QB from his own line, you will alienate the entire team….
start him…period…if he cant make it in warm ups, then dont, if he can , play him, any sign of a limp, and pull him….
but he needs to play…he is this offense…no one gets that yet.
I truly think a lot of you are still living in the Herm Edwards “it’s okay to be mediocre” era. I don’t care if he’s 80%, he’s the starting freakin’ quarterback. What kind of message does it send to the other players who are “hurt” on this team. “You guys need to suck it up and deal with it, but we’re going to pamper Matt because he’s our savior.” Bull! If Matt thinks he can play and Matt is our best chance to beat the Ravens, then Matt should play. I wouldn’t call this game a wash yet, boys. Everyone counts and an opening day victory agains the ‘85 Bears…er…um…I mean the ‘09 Ravens would be sweet.
little chance in this game?
week one is THE WEEK that you shock someone
especially with a new OC/DC head coach and ST coach….
that means all new plays, schemes, ideas, players…
the chiefs have an element of surprise that should work for them early on
I hate anyone who calls themself a fan, but then says we stand no chance….
we stand a darn good chance….I hate the attitude that we should pack it in for next week…thats so why this team hasnt won a playoff game in 10 years.
Right on, SDChief! That’s exactly what I’m saying. Herm has infected the fans. Worst thing to ever happen to the team, that guy was. And, he’s a crappy commentary guy too!
sit sit sit
the ravens will eat whatever qb we run out there alive behind our terrible o line
I couln’t agree with you more SDChief, Herm was the worst thing to happen to the team snd Broken croyle who set us back for years i hope his gone soon.
I agree if he can play, then play him. If he has the slightest hint of a limp, PLEASE GOD SIT HIM!!! Not trying to justify coddling him AT ALL. If the coaches and Matt say he is ok to play, then BY ALL MEANS PLAY HIM!! Keep in mind that the absolute LAST running back to rush for 100 yards plus is…….drum roll……our very own Larry Johnson. We could win this game if he gets rolling and whoever plays QB “manages” the game by NOT giving the ball away. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY!
Don’t be a hater SDChief. For a lot of us, it’s simply the question of whether we’re willing to have Cassel sit injured for 1 game and play 15 or have him play 1 and sit injured for 15? Plain and simple, he’s going to be moving slower than he would be if he were 100% and given the that we don’t have an OL that’s good enough to protect him (FACT!), why be stupid?!? It’s a long season, let’s not make it any longer than it needs to be.