Andrew Crocker, Co Lead Blogger of the normally brilliant and informative Kansas City Chiefs Blog Arrowhead Addict, along with ESPN, continues to perpetuate the absurd idea that the Chiefs will dump Matt Cassel and draft former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen.
Crocker defends his stance by suggesting that by releasing Mike Goff, Chiefs GM Scott Pioli is trying to rectify some of the mistakes he made last season. Crocker implies, via pictures, that he thinks there is a good chance Pioli is about to jettison Cassel to draft Clausen.
The rumor has been running rampant for some time. The essential idea behind the madness, is that Pioli, whose first move as the Chiefs GM was to trade a 2009 2nd round draft pick for Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel, is going to try to draft Clausen if available and then trade Matt Cassel and his large contract, possibly to division rival Denver. The Chiefs would then continue on with Clausen as their franchise QB, the idea being that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis can make Clausen into the next Peyton Manning.
It continues to baffle Chiefs fans why ESPN and Crocker think that Pioli would trade a man he thought a season ago could be his franchise QB, to a division rival only 16 games later. It seems not to phase Crocker or ESPN that division rivals rarely trade with one another. More specificaly, it would be considered folly by most in the NFL, to trade a guy to a rival that you have to play twice a year when your rival thinks the guy can be their franchise QB for the next 10 years.
Pioli’s affection for Cassel seems to stem from their time in New England. When Tom Brady went down with a knee injury in the opening moments of the first game of the 2008 season, ironically against the Chiefs, Cassel stepped in and lead the team to a victory. He would do the same thing 10 more times that season as a starter. After Cassel was traded, Brady returned in 2009 and lead the Patriots to only 10 wins, with essentially the same cast of characters that Cassel played with.
Pioli seems to believe that while Cassel struggled in his first season with the Chiefs, that the young QB has already proven he can succeed on a properly equipped team. Most NFL types seem to agree that Pioli’s next move is to continue to surround Cassel with more talented players so that the QB may grow with the team.
Crocker and ESPN, however, never seem to mention these facts as they continue to spread fantasy.
One voice of reason seems to be Arrowhead Addict Co-Lead Blogger, Patrick Allen. Allen has gone on the record that he vehemently disagrees with both Crocker and ESPN. To further his commitment to the light side of the force, Allen has promised that if the Chiefs draft Clausen, he will eat 50 hot dogs from Nathans on Coney Island. Allen claims that as soon as he finished the hot dogs, he will ride the famous roller coaster the Cyclone, which will likely cause him to vomit all over himself. Allen promises to film the entire episode and to post it on AA.