NFL Pro Bowl, The Chiefs And Chicken Little
The sky is falling in Kansas City!
Are you all listening to me? I’m serious! The SKY IS FALLING IN KANSAS CITY! AHHHHHHHH! RUNFORYOURLIVES!(#@$(@
Ok, got that out of your system? Good.
Actually I shouldn’t direct that minor freak out at all of you. I am sure, for the most part, you all realize that anything that happened in Hawaii last night stays in Hawaii. It’s just like Vegas but without the herpes.
As I write this I am sure Kansas City talk radio is ablaze with arguments about Matt Cassel and Eric Berry’s play in last night’s Pro Bowl. Many of the same folks that spent the last week talking about how boring and meaningless the Pro Bowl is will suddenly point to a couple poor throws by Matt Cassel as evidence that the Chiefs QB is a bum. They may also point to Eric Berry missing a tackle on Steven Jackson and getting beat in coverage by Tony Gonzalez in the endzone as evidence that KC’s first round pick from last year isn’t as good as we thought.
Don’t buy it. Don’t buy any of it. We have more important things to worry about. Like the draft and the collective bargaining agreement.
The craziness even started to seep into AA’s live game chat last night. We were havi9ng a jovial time, cheering on the Chiefs and making fun of Philip Rivers. Then suddenly at the end of the game folks were dropping by to call Matt Cassel rubbish. They pointed out that he had an excellent line and receivers in the Pro Bowl and that he wasn’t playing well, lending proof that he can only beat up on weaker teams but that he is a bust vs. top competition.
Pshaw, I say. PSHAW!
Yes, Matt Cassel threw a couple of interceptions in last night’s Pro Bowl “football game.”
Let’s run down a few other things that happened:
– The final score was 55-41. 55 to 41!!!!
– Phil Rivers threw 2 picks.
– Peyton Manning only threw 5 passes and completed 2, well 3 if you count his interception.
-Jamaal Charles’ average of 7.2 yards per carry was nearly as high as manning’s QB rating of 8.3.
-All told Pro Bowl QB’s threw 6 interceptions (5 from the AFC) and 6 TD passes. Matt Cassel had 2 of the TD’s and 2 of the picks.
-Near the end of the game, Cassel threw a pass to Bowe who latter led to someone else, I can’t remember who and I am too lazy to look it up and it also doesn’t matter and this is also a really fantastic run-on sentence and then this guy, whoever he was, lateraled the ball to Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack who took it 40 yards for a TD.
-Who gives a rat’s ass?
The Pro Bowl is a big joke. It was kind of fun to see some Chiefs players running around playing backyard football and I sure enjoyed watching Alex Mack rumble 40 yards for a score but other than that there was no real football being played.
Most of the guys in the Pro Bowl are messing around, going for strips and picks and trying to not get hurt. A few others, mostly the running backs, are actually trying and running pretty much full speed. The guys trying to tackle them aren’t laying wood and they aren’t going low because they aren’t trying to bust up anyone’s knees in a meaningless exhibition game.
Seriously guys, the Pro Bowl means less than the last preseason game.
If you believe for a single second that Eric Berry would try to tackle Steve Jackson high when he was coming in from the side with a perfect opportunity to either nail him or take out his knees, you’re high.
If you think Matt Cassel throwing some picks in a game where he throwing to guys he practiced with on a very limited basis for a couple of days in a game where everyone was chucking the ball all over the place trying to make big plays means he is a bad QB, you have brain damage.
It also means Philip Rivers sucks and Peyton Manning is a bum.
I’m no Cassel apologist. Folks who read this site all through last season know I was very critical of Matt Cassel through most of the first half of the season. Those same folks will also tell you that while I think Cassel improved that I still hold some reservations about him, mainly his ability to take his game to the next level against the league’s top defenses. This article isn’t written by a guy who blindly supports the Chiefs and their players regardless of what they do or how they play.
That being said, if you think the Pro Bowl…the PRO BOWL is any accurate way to measure the talent of a football player, well, you don’t know a dang thing about football.
My questions about Matt Cassel will be answered next season (if there is a season) when Cassel leads the Chiefs against the league’s 3rd toughest schedule. Until then, Cassel I is a Pro Bowler, the Chiefs are the defending AFC West champions and Cassel is KC’s best option at the QB going in to 2011.
Now enough foolishness. Back to your regularly schedule Chiefs addiction.