A Tailgater’s Opinion Of The Quarterback Dilemma

Matt Cassel. The golden boy. No skeletons in this dude’s closet. With Matt, what you see is what you get.

And what we, the Patriots, and everybody else that provided young Matt with a place to play got was just enough to get by.

Just enough to get us the Division title in 2010. Just enough to get the Patriots 11 wins when Tom Brady went down. Just enough to keep his job.  Just enough, no more no less.

Still, I can remember not too long ago when Brody Croyle lay on the turf for the last time he would ever play for the Kansas City Chiefs  that ” just enough”  seemed so far out of reach that I didn’t know if we would ever get back to a competitive level.

Matt Cassel gave us the tools to do just that.

But it’s no longer enough for your Arrowhead Adventurer.

Kyle Orton on the other hand, well, he has never enjoyed that welcome “how ya doin, glad to see ya” attitude that Matt has in Kansas City.

Kyle was not a welcome presence in Chicago. The Bears fans wanted someone named Rex Grossman.

Kyle was not welcome in Denver, either. Denver fans wanted Jay Cutler, who ironically went to Chicago, who welcomed Jay with, well at least, mostly open arms.

Then Kyle came to Kansas City, where Kyle received a welcome like he had never enjoyed before in the NFL.

His reaction? Well, he delivered us a historic win over Green Bay.  A win that  no one, and I mean no one,  gave the Kansas City Chiefs a chance to get.

The thing is, old neck-beard isn’t as squeaky clean as Matt. Google “Kyle Orton” and “Jack Daniels” and you should get some interesting search results. Here, I’ll do it for you.

And so it goes.

But, sigh, unfortunate timing again for Mr. Orton. Just when he thought he might get the chance he, (and your Arrowhead Adventurer) thinks he deserves, the lily-white, greatest-ever-to-play-the-game, but-questionably-game-ready Peyton Manning enters (sort of) the fray.

Nobody questions the wisdom of bringing a healthy Peyton Manning to Kansas City. The Patriots proved, with Matt Cassel, that the Patriots were a damn good team, with Tom Brady out of the picture for a season.

The Colts proved just the opposite when Manning left the picture in Indy.

With that in mind a healthy Manning could, no doubt, do wonders with a much better overall Kansas City squad.

But what a gamble. If we bring Manning to KC we must dump our two “will get it done” quarterbacks that we would have paid a precious amount to have back in 2008.

Leaving us with the cold, hard slap-in-the-face fact that if Manning fizzles, we are on a one-way trip to screwed land once again.

None of us really knows if the Manning thing could happen. I believe it could. But we have made steady progress over the last three years with Matt Cassel. That’s no longer enough, but it’s not time for the incredible gamble that Peyton Manning presents.

The draft? Are you KIDDING? Not with the Chiefs’ complete, total lack of historical success drafting successful quarterbacks.

Your Arrowhead Adventurer backs Kyle Orton. What about you?