Building A Cassel
To The Critics of Matt Cassel:
Matt Cassel looks really good so far considering the crap he has to deal with. Sure he has a few overthrows, but overall he looks good. He is cool under pressure. He is a competitor. For better or worse, he does not want to give up on a play. He wants to keep fighting. I like his style.
It appears to me that Matt Cassel has the tangibles and intangibles to be a great QB. His foundation is there. However, this Cassel needs fortifications. It is obvious that those fortifications are not present on the team this year. He needs another quality receiver opposite Dwayne Bowe. He needs at least three (3) new linemen, (a center, right guard and right tackle), he needs an upgrade at tight end, and he also needs, and I hate to say it, a better running back. (Sure LJ is getting older, but for God’s sake did you see good old Ricky Williams on Monday night running with speed, power and without hesitation. LJ does not run like that anymore.)
By my count, that is six out of eleven offensive players needed to “build this Cassel”. Matt Cassel’s win column and even stats are not going to be pretty in this first year. But I can tell they will improve when the help arrives. Some of you may recall TrINT Green’s first season (71.1 rating; 56.6% completion rating; 17 TD to 24 Ints). He looked terrible, and I could not tell if he would improve. I can with Cassel. Can you?
Just think about the abovementioned when you begin to criticize or doubt Matt Cassel. Ask yourself: would Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or even Drew Brees fair that much better with the Chiefs’ surrounding talent?
I have no problems with Cassel. I definately think with six good players that you mentioned surrounding him if that is even possible over the next year or two, would definately give us a Castle on offense. I would love to see us focus more on offensive needs next year just because we have a very young D and with better coaching I believe they could become great some day especially if they got a little help at surtain positions. (NT,S,LB)
October 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pmMatt Cassel will probably be okay as our franchise QB but he will never be a John Elway, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning or even a Drew Brees. Cassel is being paid a lot more than he is worth but that is just the way it goes sometimes.
I am very ready to ditch LJ and have felt that way for quite a while now.
Break out the Battle Ax!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:19 pmYes those other quarterbacks you mentioned would do better. They would get the ball out quicker. Yes, Cassel is playing behind a terrible offensive line, but he has to start reading defenses better and getting rid of the ball quicker. Remember he was sacked something like 48 times last year in New England. He needs to start making better and quicker decisions. There were times when the line blocked well last Sunday and yet he faced pressure or went down because he didn’t pull the trigger.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:20 pmDD
The battle Ax has been placed on IR for the year.
Break Out the Jamal Charles maybe?
October 14th, 2009 at 3:24 pmDD:
The Battle Axe just went back to the repair shop. He is done for the year. Kolby Smith anyone? Savage? Charles? Buelhe, Beulher? anyone?
October 14th, 2009 at 3:25 pmdbk301: “He needs to start making better and quicker decisions.”
He is making good decisions. I will consede that they need to be quicker, but maybe they aren;t as fast as they should be becuase he is making good decisions.
What do you think? He is holding on to the ball, becuase his first and second reads are not open.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:27 pmCall me a “Defender of the Cassel” hahaha
October 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pmMerlin excellent point, We need Kolby now, right?
October 14th, 2009 at 3:29 pmIt’s going to be interesting to see what type of player Kolby is coming back from his injury. I think Cassel does hold onto the ball too long, but he is not the problem. We need at least two new offensive lineman plus some more receiving talent. We may need a RB, but the rest of the season will tell us. I am hoping for less holes, not more.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:42 pmJeremy/Merlin,
Thanks (I think?) for the injury update on Battle. Must have missed that. We’re in a world of hurt.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:53 pmI had no clue either. What happened?
October 14th, 2009 at 4:26 pmJackie Battle allegedly hurt his shoulder and is going to need shoulder surgery.
October 14th, 2009 at 4:32 pmJeremy a better decision would be throwing the ball downfiled to try and make first downs. He constantly throws a two yard pass on third and long. A better decision would be reading a defense, making the correct audible and getting the ball out of his hands quickly. I didn’t want Cassel before the Chiefs got him and he has done nothing to make me think he is a franchise quarterback. Giving him $60 million was a joke.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:16 pmWhile he is certainly overpaid, I am happy with the fact that he overthrows instead of under throws, which can be a cause for more interceptions. Your team additions are right on, and if we do not draft to rebuild the O line, my head may just explode this year. We need another receiving threat, to remove the double team we see on Bowe, and we also need receivers to stop dropping passes.
However, LJ quit on this team the day the ink dried on his new contract. I have sat in arrowhead for the last two years and watched his lackadaisical running and have seen him actually pull off from catching a ball that could have been a touchdown during the Oakland game. That guy needs to be sent down the road, have his diapers changed, and see if anyone else wants his pouty little butt.
Huscarl
October 15th, 2009 at 10:17 amNice Huscarl, and welcome to the site. Keep’em coming
October 15th, 2009 at 4:20 pmI don’t want to appear to be making an excuse for the passes Cassel is making. I also wonder if he had better protection and open targets if he would have deeper receptions.
Many of the negative plays we have are from defenders being in the backfield disrupting the plays. How many times have we seen our running backs tackled for a loss before they even really get going?
One of the best looking and successful plays we ran on the Cowboys had the entire offense moving to the right after the snap. This play was the tying touchdown in the 4th quarter. There wasn’t a single Cowboy near Cassel. He set up on the run and delivered the ball right where it needed to be in the back of the endzone.
Most of the day he seemed to be running from defenders in the backfield.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pmAdditionally, for a pass play to be a 1st down the reciever needs to be beyond the marker and have separation. I haven’t seen much of either to date. Cassel just doesn’t to have enough time to go through a progression and find an “open” reciever.
He can barely look at his primary and then be ready to dump it underneath, because if he doesn’t he’ll be sacked.
While the Washington offense may not be much, their defense seems to be doing very well (tied for 5th overall defense, 3rd in defending the pass). Although they will now have faced 5 consecutive teams with losing records, and are 2-3, this may have something to do with their D stats.
If we are going to get a win, now is the time. With the Chargers, Jaguars, and Steelers coming up, the next good chance is then the Raiders in week 10.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:52 pmsgt_ducttape: Great Points.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:54 pmDD: You inspired a long response from me that was lost, due to computer lock-up coinciding with “Submit Comment.” *sigh*
I usually end up defending LJ, because folks mostly say “He’s lost a step,” a claim with which I disagree, even though I didn’t like drafting a 1-D RB in the 1st round nor did I like giving him a fat new contract, on a cap-strapped team with other, more urgent, needs.
As for Cassel, I don’t think his salary is CRAZY outta whack, but I don’t think they set the table for him, and he may be REGRESSING from the QB I saw last year playing for New England. He looks a lot like McNabb used to look, playing behind a porous O-Line in Philly.
It’s easy to say he isn’t getting protected very well, and it’s true, but it’s to the point where he’s uncertain of himself against 3- and 4-man pass rush, forcing the ball out quickly into 7- and 8-man coverage packages too early. QBs like Cassel and (a younger?) McNabb should be able to READ the 3- and 4-man rush, and KNOW that they can buy extra time with their feet.
Cassel pulls the ball down prematurely, time to time, which was something that he did LESS often last season, when I was reviewing game tape in my scouting. This was a difference between Thigpen and him that is no longer much of a difference. Cassel has “happy feet,” I’m sorry to say. But I never thought McNabb sucked, nor do I think Cassel sucks. But in Cassel’s case, where he’s still developing, I’m concerned that he’s regressing.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:51 pmAlso, LOTS of QBs face a man coming free in all-out blitz situations, and SOME of them are able to beat it over the top, like Chad Henne did Monday night versus the Jets. If you can NEVER beat the blitz overtop, there’s no reason to ever stop blitzing you, and some of the responsibility for this is on the shoulders of the QB and receivers. If a man’s comin’ free on the blitz, somebody oughta be open for a big gain, or at least potentially a big gain.
Bowe certainly isn’t gettin’ behind anybody very quickly. Not very good at getting separation. Just good at winning the battle for the ball when it’s a tie between him and the defender. Almost amounts to the same thing, except without separation, the percentages aren’t as good.
Cassel and his receivers ALL need to see the field the same way, and understand the main chance in any given situation, especially the obvious ones. This is something Payton Manning does all the time, and everybody thinks he’s such a genius, but most of what he does is pretty obvious.
Maybe the demotion of Ward will help get the QB and WR communication to improve. Maybe they’ll start playin’ smarter on the perimeter on BOTH sides of the ball.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:01 pm