I feel way more confident in Matt Cassel than I did last year. The fact that he has matured, played well, and now has better weapons is a definite plus. The coaches now know him real well, and even more important is the fact that he knows himself even better. Over the last three years he has received more snaps than at any time in his entire QB career.
But you have to wonder, do the Chiefs bring in a more experienced signal caller to back up Matt Cassel or do they go with Tyler Palko and Ricki Stanzi for the rest of the year? Both back up QBs have little to no NFL experience, and with all the talent and money the Chiefs have in players like, Charles, Bowe, Baldwin, Hali, Moeaki, and Flowers, you don’t want to waste a year should something happen to your starting QB. You most certainly should have a better back up plan than the one the Chiefs currently have.
More after the jump…
Tyler Palko has extremely limited NFL experience at with 4 completions for 35 yards, zero TDs and Zero interceptions in four games. While in college,Tyler saw action in 41 games (35 starts) at Pittsburgh. He completed 645 of 1,075 passes for 8,343 yards with 66 TDs, and left Pittsburghwith the highest total passing yards in school history and his 66 TDs trail only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (79). Pretty impressive, right? Well “this isn’t college”. The fact of the matter is Palko is really a third stringer at this point in his career and I believe it would be professional suicide for Haley to go with just Tyler Palko at number 2.
Ricki Stanzi, as a recent draft pick, is a younger better prospect at this point than Palko. While in college with the Hawkeyes, Ricki Stanzi appeared in 39 games and started his final 35 contests. He completed 542-of-907 passes (59.76%) for 7,377 yards, 56 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. He posted a 26-9 record during his time as a starter and saw action in 1,067 plays, generating 7,373 yards of total offense (189.05 avg.). His 542 pass completions rank fourth in school history. He completed 64.06% of his passes in 2010, the fifth-best season average by a Hawkeyes quarterback. He closed out his career with a 141.62 pass efficiency rating and set the school record by throwing at least one touchdown pass in 21 consecutive games.Pretty impressive, right? However, it too would be professional suicide to make this rookie, with absolutely no NFL experience, your number two QB as well.
I would feel more comfortable with a more experienced QB as the number two, with Stanzi at number three and Palko on the practice squad.But it seems too late for that. The experienced signal callers are gone. For all intents and purposes, the Chiefs are going thin on experience at number two and three. They are going to roll with Palko and Stanzi.
To say that I am a little “concerned” about the Chiefs QB depth right now would be an understatement. I wonder if Bowe, Baldwin, Breaston, Moeaki and others feel the same? Any thoughts?