Get of Mark Castle's back!

[pr_capone]

First and foremost... I am no Cassel apologist but I am tired of reading posts just bashing Matt left and right.

Here are the numbers. And before I get started... **** all this "garbage time" bullshit. EVERY QB in the league has garbage time stats so let's not get too wrapped up in that. It's not like teams have replaced all their starters with 2nd and 3rd stringers at the end of games on us.

This is a statistical comparison of current QB's 2nd season as full time starters. Cassel, Ryan, & Flacco's stats are projected numbers of 16 games played in a season.

Pay special attention to the TD, INT, and Sack numbers.

Completions
Cassel - 286
Ryan - 312
Flacco - 366
Brady - 373
McNabb - 285
Rivers - 277

Attempts
Cassel - 514
Ryan - 514
Flacco - 564
Brady - 601
McNabb - 493
Rivers - 460

Completion Percentage
Cassel - 55.6
Ryan - 60.9
Flacco - 64.9
Brady - 62.1
McNabb - 57.8
Rivers - 60.2

Yards
Cassel - 2871
Ryan - 3568
Flacco - 4088
Brady - 3764
McNabb - 3233
Rivers - 3152

TDs
Cassel - 23
Ryan - 26
Flacco - 24
Brady - 23
McNabb - 25
Rivers - 21

INTs
Cassel - 11
Ryan - 20
Flacco - 14
Brady - 14
McNabb - 12
Rivers - 15

Sacks
Cassel - 62
Ryan - 24
Flacco - 32
Brady - 31
McNabb - 39
Rivers - 22

What I get out of the stats.

While Cassel could certainly stand to improve his completion percentage and total yardage, he is doing a damn fine job of producing in this ****tarded offense. His completion and total yardage stats have been killed due to the fact that the man has zero time to set up and find an open receiver as shown by the sack numbers. I would love to know the number of times each QB was hurried and forced to run but if the sack numbers are any indication, Cassel would nearly double the amount of any of the QB's listed in this comparison. His mobility has likely saved him from another dozen or so sacks at the halfway mark.

People dog Cassel for being unable to throw the deep ball. Hopefully that argument was squelched a bit after the long pass to Chambers today whom he hit in stride for a TD. It is amazing what a competent QB can do when he has a bit of time and a receiver with reliable hands & a touch of speed.

Lastly, and probably of most importance for a team like the Chiefs who are in transition on both sides of the ball, Cassel takes care of the damn ball while still throwing TD's. Cassel is on pace to throw fewer interceptions than any of the QB's listed in the comparison despite his o-line's inability to keep him on his feet. In fact, he has thrown interceptions in only 2 of his 7 games played so far this season. Oh yeah... and though he has been sacked more than any of the QB's listed he has yet to lose a fumble.

I don't know what more you want from the guy.

It's not his fault 3/5 of his offensive line would not start on ANY other team in the NFL.

Its not his fault that his coach is calling a limp dick game offensively.

Its not his fault that his featured RB averaged a whopping 2.7 yards per carry with 0 TDs prior to his suspension and release.

Its not his fault his receivers can't get open.

Its not his fault he is having to pick himself up off the ground on half the passing plays.

I'm not claiming that this guy will be the next Manning, Brees, or Brady. I'm saying this guy COULD be a solid QB for seasons to come if he only had some protection.

I like to bitch about the team as much as the next feller but let's bitch about the players that deserved to be bitched about.

[/rant]

[CoMoChief]

Ever since the BAL game I've been wanting Croyle to start to be honest.

Giving Cassel that huge contract is eventually gonna backfire on us. I think it was a dumb decision. He has no help here like he did in NE. NE has a great core of WR's and a great OL and he still got sacked more than anyone in the league.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by POND_OF_RED

I for one would like to see him throw to the first down marker on 3rd down. Not sure if this is all on him or on the coaching but it just pisses me off to see a QB throw 10 yards short of the 1st down marker on 3rd down. Of course you're not going to throw many INT's when you are throwing check down passes well short of the marker.

I know you have got to understand football better than this. It's not like every single WR is running short of the marker! It is typically the case that we are in 3rd and long, correct? So this tells teams that we are either going to (A)run the draw up the middle, or (B) throw for the first.

The draw up the middle scares no one with our OL, so teams go with option (B) and "pin their ears back" so to speak. Basically, we get in too many 3rd and longs for whatever the reasons, and once we are in that situation we are one dimensional with a very subpar OL (understatement).

It does not take a lot of imagination to see that once the blitz is on our OL crumbles (even without a blitz) and Cassel has little time to drop back, go through his reads, then throw the ball. This short amount of time is either going to cause him to throw an inaccurate pass or throw early to unanprepared/covered WR, or god forbid, force him to throw to the check down or the under route as his other WR's have yet to create any separation or make their cuts.

It is pretty easy to see with our group of WR's why if Cassel has little time to throw, they are not open yet. None of them are speed demons (maybe Chambers now) so it is pretty unlikely to see Bowe streaking down the sideline with a step or 2 on his man just one second after the snap. Now consider that teams can press the WR's at the line and this really starts to slow things down.

If teams don't blitz they can easily cover all our WR's in man or zone, and allow the 4 DLman to get enough pressure to get a sack or force a tough throw since our garbage OL can only block for about 2 seconds it seems.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Coogs

I see him under pressure, but not constant pressure. I see him avoid pressure on occasion. I see him missfire a lot in those situations. More so than not.

I see him face 3rd and long a large number of times. Some of those are a direct result of his decisions/throws.

LJ and his 2.7 didn't help the cause much.


Do I need to call a TV repairman?

Nope, your TV has the same problem as mine, Cassel is not playing up to his contract.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Ever since the BAL game I've been wanting Croyle to start to be honest.

Giving Cassel that huge contract is eventually gonna backfire on us. I think it was a dumb decision. He has no help here like he did in NE. NE has a great core of WR's and a great OL and he still got sacked more than anyone in the league.

If Croyle didnt have an injury history like Bob Sanders, I would agree with this. No team can pin their starting qb hopes on a guy that cant make it through a game healthy.

Once he was traded for, he was to be the starter for at least two years, for better or worse.

Think for one second how bad it would look if we pulled Cassel for Croyle this week and he went out and got hurt in the first half.

Hunt would be looking at Pioli like "what the **** are you doing with my $$$?"

[HemiEd]

And the answer would be very easy. "Trying to win a ****ing game so you can get some asses in the seats."

Pretty simple.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by tooge

His completion percentage stinks. He takes more sacks yes, but much of that is he holds onto the ball waaaaay to long. I would bet the guy ends up being a qb with a career passer rating of about 80 when its all said and done. Not bad, but not worth 60 million bucks.

thats it, i'm buying a stop watch and i'm going to settle this.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

thats it, i'm buying a stop watch and i'm going to settle this.

So you honestly feel he doesn't take too much time? One thing I have noticed over the years, that good successful QBs, when being confronted with a blitz, will find a quick hot read and sling it.

Cassel will look, then look for another, then get swallowed up. He needs to burn the blitz a few times, for them to back off IMO. He is starting to resemble the Huard fetal position a lot.

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

So you honestly feel he doesn't take too much time? One thing I have noticed over the years, that good successful QBs, when being confronted with a blitz, will find a quick hot read and sling it.

Cassel will look, then look for another, then get swallowed up. He needs to burn the blitz a few times, for them to back off IMO. He is starting to resemble the Huard fetal position a lot.

He does take a lot of time. It's my opinion he's been coached to take a sack rather than force a last second pass that results in a fumble or INT.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

He does take a lot of time. It's my opinion he's been coached to take a sack rather than force a last second pass that results in a fumble or INT.

He doesn't go through his reads quick enough

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Think for one second how bad it would look if we pulled Cassel for Croyle this week and he went out and got hurt in the first half.

If Cassel continues operating on FAIL for the first three quarters... as he has in pretty much every game... what would be wrong with putting Croyle in for quarter number four? Better not be a fear that he may look better than the starter and start a QB controversy, 'cause like it or not the continued pattern of play by Cassel is going to bring one on anyway.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by Coogs

If Cassel continues operating on FAIL for the first three quarters... as he has in pretty much every game... what would be wrong with putting Croyle in for quarter number four? Better not be a fear that he may look better than the starter and start a QB controversy, 'cause like it or not the continued pattern of play by Cassel is going to bring one on anyway.

Cassel started hitting his stride last season at about the midway point, he is actually doing better up to this point of the season than he did last year to this point.

If he hasn't shown improvement by years end, we can start to think the sky is falling.

It is evident to me though, that he could continue to produce nothing for years and some people here would still defend his poor play with ridiculous excuses. I cant really blame them though, I defended Thigpen through most of last year with similarly foolish excuses too. All in all, we are all Chiefs fans (except the resident fans of other teams) and we are in this together. Win or lose we all show up here and show passion for our team, however that passion is utilized is what makes this fan base diverse and therefore GREATEST IN THE NFL!!!

GO CHIEFS!!!

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

So you honestly feel he doesn't take too much time? One thing I have noticed over the years, that good successful QBs, when being confronted with a blitz, will find a quick hot read and sling it.

Cassel will look, then look for another, then get swallowed up. He needs to burn the blitz a few times, for them to back off IMO. He is starting to resemble the Huard fetal position a lot.

IMO on about 20% of the hits he takes (not just sacks) i think he takes too long. on the rest the rush is there too quickly. the MAIN problem wth a hot read is the our WRs dont seem to get it and never look for the ball. And huard would fall down BEFORE being touched, i have seen that from cassel a total of once this year

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by BossChief

he is actually doing better up to this point of the season than he did last year to this point.

At least he had somewhat of an excuse I guess last year. Now he has 22 starts under his belt.

[MahiMike]

I'd say this thread has a lot of moot points in it myself. I mean, how can we possibly know what Haley is teaching Cassel to do? Is he telling him to always check down and play it safe? Throw it only if the guy is 5 yards open? Force it to Bowe even though he's covered? Who really knows. I'm guessing Haley is holding him back because a) our defense sucks, b) our line sucks, c) Bowe can't get free and d) Haley doesn't want to have a 5 pick game like Sanchez and Stafford. We're not good enough to overcome the turnover ratio.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

I'd say this thread has a lot of moot points in it myself. I mean, how can we possibly know what Haley is teaching Cassel to do? Is he telling him to always check down and play it safe? Throw it only if the guy is 5 yards open? Force it to Bowe even though he's covered? Who really knows. I'm guessing Haley is holding him back because a) our defense sucks, b) our line sucks, c) Bowe can't get free and d) Haley doesn't want to have a 5 pick game like Sanchez and Stafford. We're not good enough to overcome the turnover ratio.

So you are OK with his crappy play because you don't know what Haley is teaching him? Then I guess you are OK with Brown's play? Rudy's play? _____________ (fill in the blank)'s play?