ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Cassel and Whitlock = BFF's

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Let the hate begin!

Quote:

Posted on Tue, May. 26, 2009
I’m starting to get cold feet about Cassel
JASON WHITLOCK COMMENTARY

If this is an audition, it’s a very expensive one.

When Scott Pioli struck the deal for Tom Brady understudy Matt Cassel, the experts lauded Pioli for acquiring the one-year wonder for such a “reasonable” price, a second-round pick.

Three months later — with Cassel still unsigned to a long-term deal — the price tag is losing quite a bit of its discount value. In fact, you could argue that Cassel inked a rather generous prenuptial agreement and Bill Belichick unloaded a potential headache.

It appears the Chiefs have little interest in signing Matt Cassel to a long-term contract before the start of the season. Or, more likely, Pioli lost interest in signing Cassel to a long-term contract once Kansas City’s first-time general manager learned Cassel and agent David Dunn’s asking price.

Given Cassel’s and Pioli’s New England relationship, I just assumed when the Chiefs traded for Cassel, the parameters of a long-term deal were agreed upon before the trade. I assumed wrong. Or, more likely, Cassel and Dunn elevated their contract demands after perusing the Chiefs’ roster and salary-cap situation.

The Chiefs have enough salary-cap room to house, feed, clothe and entertain most of Canada. And Kansas City’s current offensive personnel would make any rational QB demand hazardous-work pay.

Whatever the cause, Pioli and Dunn can’t agree on Cassel’s worth. The rumor around the Loch Lloyd golf course is the Cassels are renting, not buying.

Can you really blame them in this economy and with a fickle housing market?

But whom should we blame for this expensive experiment?

As of right now, Cassel is scheduled to earn nearly $15 million for the 2009 season. That’s his franchise-tag number.

Had we known in February that Cassel would cost $15 million and a second-round pick for one season of play, would we still regard his acquisition as a wise move?

Of course, if he plays lights-out and proves that his one good, Randy Moss-Wes Welker-fueled season was no fluke, no one will complain about the acquisition price and no one will care what the Chiefs have to pay next season to keep him.

The problem is, I just can’t imagine him putting together a magnificent or even solid season in 2009.

Tony Gonzalez is gone. Larry Johnson is still here. Brian Waters is somewhere brooding. The Chiefs drafted a bunch of defensive linemen.

The way Pioli has assembled offensive talent (36-year-old Bobby Engram is the big-ticket free-agent signing) makes me believe he’s negotiating with Dunn and Cassel.

No offense to Cassel, but he’s a college and NFL bench-warmer who had the luxury of playing quarterback alongside the greatest offensive force (Moss) the league has seen since Jim Brown.

Last season Cassel stepped into a moving vehicle and did a good job of not running off the road. Kansas City’s offense has been stuck in neutral since Dick Vermeil left. And now the one reliable tire left on KC’s car moved to Atlanta.

This smells like 15 TDs and 20 interceptions, doesn’t it? Or maybe seven TDs, 12 interceptions and a season-ending injury halfway through the season.

It’s not even June, and I can already hear the Tyler Thigpen chants in the distance. By October, the talk-radio shows will be filled with Grbac-Gannon analogies.

The official Vegas over-under line on when I’ll write my first Jeff George column is Oct. 3. I’m playing the under if you must know.

For the record, my official position is I’d prefer to see the Chiefs draft and develop a quarterback. The Chiefs keep trying to convert backups — even Joe Montana was Steve Young’s backup in San Fran — into Super Bowl quarterbacks.

You ever break up with a girlfriend/boyfriend, date their best friend and then complain about the same problems? It’s stupid. It’s just as stupid to keep dating the exact same quarterback.

Most backup quarterbacks are backups for a good reason. They don’t marinate on the bench for eight years waiting to be discovered.

My problem with Cassel is he didn’t transfer out of USC when he was stuck behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. The great ones generally have massive egos that can’t be satisfied riding the pine.

Man, I hope I’m wrong about this $15 million audition.