Most Chiefs fans thought Trent Green was a bust after the '01 season. Many on this BB called him TrInt. But, in 2002 the
personnel around him improved. Priest became our
full-time RB. Also, Trent had another year in the system as the starting QB. In 2002 he broke out and had a great season.
I think Matt Cassel is in a similar situation this year. The
personnel around him is improved at almost every position. I think he's going to take a significant step forward, just as Trent Green did.
Prediction:
15 1/2 games played
3675 yards
22 passing TD
1 rushing TD
9 INT
62% completions
87.0 QB rating
The offensive players compared to last year.....
WR Bowe - better - most say he had a great camp and will have a better year
WR Chambers - better - having him all year is better than the revolving door of chumps that we had last year
WR McCluster - better - the not so secret weapon
RB Charles / Jones / McCluster - better - far better than Johnson / Charles
O-line - better - collectively better than the trial and error approach to last year's O-line
FB - same - Castille
TE's - same / better - if Moeaki is injured our TE's will be the same as last year, if Moeaki plays our TE's will be better
KR / PR - better - Arenas / McCluster will give Cassel a short field very often
Defense - better - our D may not be world beaters, but I'm sure they cause more turnovers than last year and give Cassel more opportunities
Offensive Coordinator - better - Weis will be better than Haley was last year, Haley was "wearing too many hats" and couldn't do the job justice
Even if Matt doesn't improve much as a QB, everyone around him is better which will make him better by default. But, I do think he'll improve his own game somewhat.
If Cassel doesn't show significant improvement this year, he's done, and he's a bust. We'll need a new QB for 2011.
http://www.pro-football-reference.co...G/GreeTr00.htm
http://www.nfl.com/players/mattcasse...e?id=CAS541133
Discuss.....
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The discussion of Cassel is a good one. But, most of you are missing two of my main points.
1. Do you agree that Cassel's stats should improve this season, simply due to the better talent around him? Maybe not the numbers that I predicted, but a marked improvement none the less. To achieve the numbers that I predicted, Cassel would need his own personal improvement in conjunction with the improved talent around him.
2. At the end of this season, if Cassel does not improve, even with better talent at almost every position around him, he should be declared a bust, released and Haley should seek a new starting QB for 2011. Agree?