Lack of quality WR's hurting Cassel & Chiefs

[KChiefs1]

http://arrowheadaddict.com/2010/11/0...ng-the-chiefs/

Lack Of Quality Receivers Hurting The Chiefs
Updated 11/09/2010 10:58 AM
by Patrick Allen


It is time to throw Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel a bone.

If you've been reading this site for more than a couple of weeks, you know that I have been highly critical of Cassel. I have particularly been hard on him about his completion percentage which has spent more time on the wrong side of 60 percent than I would like. However, now that we are halfway through the season I think it is time to give the Chiefs signal caller another look.

After giving it much thought I think that Matt Cassel is in a very tough position with this year's team. He is a Quarterback with no receivers.


Scott Pioli has had a lot of his bets pay off this season but one of his failures has been the resigning of WR Chris Chambers. I think even Pioli was worried about Chambers which is why he waited so long to resign him and in the interim, tried to trade for Anquan Boldin. It came down to the Chiefs and the Ravens battling for Boldin's services and in the end, the Ravens were willing to give up more draft picks than the Chiefs. For the record, I think Pioli did the right thing, especially considering the talent level of his 2010 draft class. Boldin woul dhave helped out a lot this year but these rookies will be more valuable in the long run.

After failing to make the trade for Boldin, Pioli resigned Chris Chambers. He also drafted WR Dexter McCluster who he figured could be a solid outlet for Cassel in the slot.

He was kind of right.

McCluster is a dynamic weapon but he wasn't ready to step in and be an impact receiver from day one. Most of the damage McCluster has done this season has come when he has lined up in the backfield. That doesn't mean that McCluster isn't going to turn in to a good receiver, it simply means he is a rookie who wasn't that experienced at receiver to begin with, learning to play the position at the NFL level. It was always going to take time.

The other side of the Chambers/McCluster bet, however, is what has hurt the Chiefs and Cassel the most. Chambers is a bum. I don't know if he just got old or if he really does quit once he gets paid. I'm not sure what goes on in the head of a guy who would get a restraining order against a woman and then marry her a few months later. All I do know is that they guy hasn't shown up this year and it doesn't appear he is going to show up any time soon. He is dead weight but unfortunately, he is all we've got.

Before being overly critical of Cassel, you have to look at what the dude is working with. He's got Bowe and then…er…

McCluster (injured)

Terry Copper

Chris Chambers

Verran Tucker

Seriously? Look, the way Chambers is playing he would probably get cut by most NFL teams at this point. Tuker and Copper wouldn't even BE on other NFL teams. Maybe Copper would sneak on a squad as a special teamer but you can bet your behind he wouldn't be lining up at receiver.

Cassel is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. The last two games he has had three targets:

Dwayne Bowe

The team’s best receiver is actually having a pretty decent season. He has a few drops but for the most part, he has been very productive.

Tony Moeaki

Moeaki is the Chiefs second best wide receiver and he is a freaking tight end!

Jamaal Charles

The team’s third best wide receiver, Jamaal Charles, is also the leagues best second string running back.

When McCluster comes back, he’ll slide back in tot he #3 slot and Charles can go back to being a backup running back.

And before you all start going gaga over Verran Tucker, remember that his spectacular TD catch from Sunday is his ONLY catch in the three weeks that he has been active. This isn't an indictment on Tucker. The dude has potential but he isn't getting open and right now, that is what Cassel needs.

The reason the Chiefs threw so much against the Raiders is because Oakland wasin single coverage all day long with no safties. People have been talking about how Oakland's strategy was an indictment on Cassel. They've been saying the Raiders didn't believe Cassel could beat them. I disagree with this. I think the Raiders believed the Chiefs receivers couldn't beat them and they were right. Look Bowe has never been a burner but you are telling me not Chambers, Copper or Tucker could put a good enough move on their man to blow by them and get wide open over the top? If the Raiders tried that kind of crap on the Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning would throw for 37 touchdowns. Every time Cassel completed a pass Sunday, his man was covered pretty well. There were very few passes that went to wide open receivers.

While watching Sunday's game, the guy across from me kept bemoaning that Cassel wasn't throwing the ball. He wasn't throwing it because he can't see wide open receivers. He wasn't throwing it because there were no open receivers. It is obvious that the Chiefs and Cassel have made it a priority to take care of the football. Cassel is under strict instructions not to force passes and to get rid of the ball if he senses trouble, even if that means throwing it away. He has been doing that and the results, for the most part, have been positive.

Cassel is doing a fine job of hitting Moeaki and Bowe when they are open. He is fairly efficient at hitting Charles when he comes out of the backfield. Before Dexter McCluster got injured, Cassel started finding him more down field as well. He just doesn't have the tools he needs in the receiving game. Philip Rivers might be able to succeed with receivers off the street but Cassel is no Philip Rivers. * I think the Chiefs passing game is going to continue to struggle until they get Dexter McCluster back. I think the presence of McCluster helps both Bowe and Moeaki. It will also keep Jamaal Charles in the backfield where he belongs. With the absence of McCluster, the Chiefs have been using Charles a little more in the passing game because they know they need another threat out there. *

The*Cassel lead Chiefs will likely never be a passing team but if they don’t get some more help at the WR position soon, KC’s air attack will stay grounded.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by donkhater

That's part of the problem. You're actually looking for something to complain about. If you did that for 2/3 of the league's QBs you find a lot of the same faults. Try it sometime. Replay that Oakland game and watch Campbell for starters.

Stevie Wonder can see that Matt Cassel is not a good QB.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by BossChief

I will always wonder how much better we would be with Thigpen if we had kept him.

With the effectiveness of our running attack and his propensity to run if everybody is covered, I think this offense would have been quite hard to stop.

I also wonder if Weis would have been able to get Thigpen to improve...I dont think thats too far fetched given how Cassel has.

Oh well...whats done is done.

We will never know.

I think Colt McCoy is making a lot of coaches re-evaluate whether it's really as impossible as people believe to teach a spread monkey QB a pro style offense.

I agree--I've always wanted to see what Thigpen could do behind a good QB coach and an offense that can run the ball as well as we can. But the caveat is that we couldn't run a shotgun offense without limiting our running game. I think Thigpen was capable of playing under center, but he'd have to prove it.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by donkhater

I should know better than get into discussions with certain people on this board. To many are just too quick to meltdown.

Stupidity as obvious as yours has that affect on me.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by donkhater

Do you? You just put a vote in for Croyle.

[donkhater]

Originally Posted by BossChief

it comes back to the fact that some of us have higher standards for this team and its players because we want to see signs that we might have a shot at WINNING IT ALL at some point and not just get as far as we have in the past..

Some are totally ok with the status-quo.

And you actually thought that was going to happen THIS year with Cassel at QB?

Cassel is very average. I don't see a time when he'll improve to the point to win a playoff game. But as long as this coaching staff keeps putting him out there, I ain't gonna have a conniption every time he passes the ball and dissect if it was too high or behind the receiver. He's the QB. I wish we had a better one, but I'm not GM for the Chiefs.

[ForeverChiefs58]

Originally Posted by donkhater

That's part of the problem. You're actually looking for something to complain about. If you did that for 2/3 of the league's QBs you find a lot of the same faults. Try it sometime. Replay that Oakland game and watch Campbell for starters.

Looking for something eh? Like throwing the ball 10 yards over a WR's head 5yards behind them at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and long?

Ha. Funny you should pick Campbell, cause Campbell > Cassel and if you have watched Campbell at all in his career, you know him and consistency have not been introduced and have no plans to be friends.

[donkhater]

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

Looking for something eh? Like throwing the ball 10 yards over a WR's head 5yards behind them at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and long?

Ha. Funny you should pick Campbell, cause Campbell > Cassel and if you have watched Campbell at all in his career, you know him and consistency have not been introduced and have no plans to be friends.

Campbell and Cassel are the same damn player.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by milkman

All you have to do is look at my posts about Cassel in '09 to see that I understand that the Patriots played a lot of shotgun before McDumbass changed things.

He did increase the usage of shotgun, though, and that as much as the return of Neal, played a role in the sack numbers falling.

I'm sorry, but that's just not correct. The move to shotgun had an impact, no question, but there's a reason that sack numbers plummeting coincided precisely with Neal's return to the starting lineup.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by donkhater

And you actually thought that was going to happen THIS year with Cassel at QB?

Cassel is very average. I don't see a time when he'll improve to the point to win a playoff game. But as long as this coaching staff keeps putting him out there, I ain't gonna have a conniption every time he passes the ball and dissect if it was too high or behind the receiver. He's the QB. I wish we had a better one, but I'm not GM for the Chiefs.

nobody is having a conniption here, we are just on a message board discussing this team and some of us are naturally more animated than others.

Originally Posted by donkhater

Campbell and Cassel are the same damn player.

No, they arent.

Campbell is what Cassel can be in a year or so if he continues on the path he is on IMO and THAT AINT GOOD ENOUGH

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

I'm sorry, but that's just not correct. The move to shotgun had an impact, no question, but there's a reason that sack numbers plummeting coincided precisely with Neal's return to the starting lineup.

bullshit

the sacks went down almost immediately after they moved to an almost exclusive shotgun spread in the second half of 08.

How is that even a debate?

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by BossChief

bullshit

the sacks went down almost immediately after they moved to an almost exclusive shotgun spread in the second half of 08.

How is that even a debate?

The huge jump in shotgun snaps began in the second quarter of the Jets game, when the Patriots had fallen behind 24-6 which was week 11. The sack number had begun the plummet in week 9. In fact, week 9 was the only game of the year in which Cassel was not sacked. Week 10 resulted in just one sack of Cassel.

As I've noted, I'm not saying that the increase in snaps from the shotgun didn't help. I'm simply pointing out that Neal's return was a much more important factor.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

The huge jump in shotgun snaps began in the second quarter of the Jets game, when the Patriots had fallen behind 24-6 which was week 11. The sack number had begun the plummet in week 9. In fact, week 9 was the only game of the year in which Cassel was not sacked. Week 10 resulted in just one sack of Cassel.

As I've noted, I'm not saying that the increase in snaps from the shotgun didn't help. I'm simply pointing out that Neal's return was a much more important factor.

The transition started in the game against Buffalo, and the game against the Jets was the week after that, in week 10.

[ForeverChiefs58]

I watched the games with ronnie milsap, stevie wonder, and ray charles. All three turned to me at once and said:

"Holy hell Cassell sucks! Even we could see he missed the wide open receiver!"

So, saying you'd have to be blind to not see that he sucks, doesn't even apply.

A giant pair of Depends couldn't hold all the shitting of the pants he does.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

I watched the games with ronnie milsap, stevie wonder, and ray charles. All three turned to me at once and said:

"Holy hell Cassell sucks! Even we could see he missed the wide open receiver!"

So, saying you'd have to be blind to not see that he sucks, doesn't even apply.

A giant pair of Depends couldn't hold all the shitting of the pants he does.

But did you watch it with Anne Frank?/Channing Crowder

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by milkman

The transition started in the game against Buffalo, and the game against the Jets was the week after that, in week 10.

The 0 sack game came in week 9. That was against the Colts. That was the Neal's first start of the season. The massive jump in the shotgun percentage came in the Jets game, which wasn't until 2 weeks later.

The bottom line is that the improvement was there and significant, just as it has been in Kansas City with the improved line this year. Going back and forth about how much attribution to give to the shotgun snaps doesn't really change that.

Cassel needs a line, just like every other QB in football. He's got a better one this year than last, and he's playing better as a result. Better receivers will help even more, assuming he returns next year.


Just as a tangental note, this discussion is extra amusing to me because several Patriots fans spent much of 2008-2009 complaining that the use of the spread/shotgun was the cause of an alleged high number of QB hits on Cassel and Brady.