Chiefs Matt Cassell -- My Assessment - Page 8

Amnorix · 02-28-2009, 04:15 PM

I've posted at some length about Cassell before in some no doubt long forgotten threads. Given the latest developments, however, I'll try to repeat my thoughts.

I think Matt Cassell has a better than average opportunity to succeed as a starting QB in the NFL. I think, therefore, he represents a much lower risk than nearly any pick that is taken in the draft.

Cassell's season with the Patriots last year showed much about him. It was really a tale of two seasons -- the early part, when he more or less stunk, and the latter part when he came into his own, the coaches and team played to his strengths and stayed away from his weaknesses, and the game clearly slowed down for him and he became more confident and capable in his position and play.

The GOOD:

1. Cassell CLEARLY has all the physical skills. He is big, tall, strong and tough. He takes a wallop and gets right back up. He has the arm strength to throw all the passes -- the deep out or the deep ball. He is reasonably shifty in the pocket (but note pocket presence/timing below) and has good speed in running out of the pocket. There is no physical limitation in his game.

2. Cassell appears to have good leadership skills. Everything I saw/read about Cassell suggests a mature and intelligent individual to whom the team responded. A veteran team, the Patriots players could have folded their tent on him, but he appeared to get the team to buy into him -- both coaches and other players.

3. He isn't a rookie. You may not appreciate this much, but rookies, whether QBs or any other NFL position players, take a hell of a lot of time to understand what the NFL is all about. It's relatively rare for players to have tremendous impact in their first years for precisely this reason. He not only isn't a rookie, but he has been well coached and has seen the best in the game conduct his business.

4. Patience/coachability. He clearly is very coachable. His tremendous improvement as 2008 went along is evidence of that, as well as all the statements made by the Patriots coaches and other players. He also took a beating early in the season, which was partly his fault and partly the fault of the OLine, but continued to progress and elevate his game.

The BAD:

1. He had no touch on the long ball. None. Whenever he went deep to Moss or anyone else, whether they were open or not, they were completely incapable of hooking up. I imagine that was a timing thing as much as anything, and it may be that having a full training camp/preseason to work on this will help tremendously, but I can't tell you how aggravating it was to see Moss 5 yards behind the entire defense running free and to have the ball overthrown, or whatever. It happened time and time again.

2. Timing/pocket presence. Although it got better as the year went along, Cassell took far too many sacks, held the ball too long, and didn't seem to have a good feel for the pocket. Note that this DID get better as teh year went along, and my main source of comparison was Tom Brady, who has about the best pocket presence since Dan Marino, so I may be a bit unreasonable here.

3. Needs the shotgun. As a result of item 2, above, the Patriots starting putting Cassell into the shotgun. ALOT. A whole lot. That definitely helped him quite a bit in terms of seeing/processing the field of play, making quicker decisions, avoiding sacks, etc., but the shotgun also limits the offensive playcalling a fair bit.

In summary, I think he has a better than average chance to be a high quality NFL starting QB. His ceiling is not yet determined, but I think it is quite high.

**DeezNutz** · 02-28-2009, 09:07 PM

Lack of touch, eh?

I'm assuming his overall accuracy is thus below average, no?

BradyFTW! · 02-28-2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Lack of touch, eh?

I'm assuming his overall accuracy is thus below average, no?

Nope. He's very accurate on short-intermediate throws. It's just the long ball that he has trouble with. Considering that he didn't have much TC or preseason time to develop chemistry with Moss and Welker, though, it might not be a big deal. hard to say, really.

Just Passin' By · 02-28-2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdeg

Other pats fans said he locks onto targets- how bad is he about this?

When the season started, he was a 1-2 read quarterback, which is one of the reasons he took so many sacks. As the season progressed, he got much better at going through the progressions. By the end of the season, he was a 3-4 read quarterback. It should be noted, for full disclosure, that the offensive line was also playing much better with the return of Neal at right guard.

kcpasco · 02-28-2009, 09:10 PM

Coaching my friends

Lets see if Haley can deliver with Cassel

BradyFTW! · 02-28-2009, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad

IMO they're more pissed about Vrabel.

Yeah, I'm not really pissed about either one of them. The fact that the Pats traded Cassel is good news, as far as I'm concerned, since it means that Brady's definitely healthy and ready to go for next year. I like Cassel a lot, but Brady is Brady, and I was never a big fan of tying up $30M at QB like some people were. I'm more disappointed to see Vrabel go, since I thought he could really help us make a SB run this year, but I also hope that this means that the young guys at OLB (Shawn Crable, Pierre Woods) have made good progress.

**DeezNutz** · 02-28-2009, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradyFTW!

Nope. He's very accurate on short-intermediate throws.

Thigpen just became angrier.

**notorious** · 02-28-2009, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcpasco

Coaching my friends

Lets see if Haley can deliver with Cassel

Exactly. Coaching.

kcpasco · 02-28-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Thigpen just became angrier.

Oh No, that really puts Pioli in a bind

Halfcan · 02-28-2009, 09:17 PM

So what if Tom does not come back ????

rad · 02-28-2009, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfcan

So what if Tom does not come back ????

Then we ship them Thigpen for a 5.

unlurking · 02-28-2009, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad

Then we ship them Thigpen for a 5.

1st.

**Dave Lane** · 02-28-2009, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

He better peform like the guy who wore #16 here instead of the one who wore #10.

You didn't think Green did a good job here?

Mecca · 02-28-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

You didn't think Green did a good job here?

He was a nice player but he also played in a situation many QB's would have killed for.

unlurking · 02-28-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

He was a nice player but he also played in a situation many QB's would have killed for.

Point.

**Dave Lane** · 02-28-2009, 09:35 PM

47 sacks in a season is pretty troubling. Thats number 1 in the NFL.

02-28-2009, 04:15 PM
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	Matt Cassell -- My Assessment I've posted at some length about Cassell before in some no doubt long forgotten threads. Given the latest developments, however, I'll try to repeat my thoughts. I think Matt Cassell has a better than average opportunity to succeed as a starting QB in the NFL. I think, therefore, he represents a much lower risk than nearly any pick that is taken in the draft. Cassell's season with the Patriots last year showed much about him. It was really a tale of two seasons -- the early part, when he more or less stunk, and the latter part when he came into his own, the coaches and team played to his strengths and stayed away from his weaknesses, and the game clearly slowed down for him and he became more confident and capable in his position and play. The GOOD: 1. Cassell CLEARLY has all the physical skills. He is big, tall, strong and tough. He takes a wallop and gets right back up. He has the arm strength to throw all the passes -- the deep out or the deep ball. He is reasonably shifty in the pocket (but note pocket presence/timing below) and has good speed in running out of the pocket. There is no physical limitation in his game. 2. Cassell appears to have good leadership skills. Everything I saw/read about Cassell suggests a mature and intelligent individual to whom the team responded. A veteran team, the Patriots players could have folded their tent on him, but he appeared to get the team to buy into him -- both coaches and other players. 3. He isn't a rookie. You may not appreciate this much, but rookies, whether QBs or any other NFL position players, take a hell of a lot of time to understand what the NFL is all about. It's relatively rare for players to have tremendous impact in their first years for precisely this reason. He not only isn't a rookie, but he has been well coached and has seen the best in the game conduct his business. 4. Patience/coachability. He clearly is very coachable. His tremendous improvement as 2008 went along is evidence of that, as well as all the statements made by the Patriots coaches and other players. He also took a beating early in the season, which was partly his fault and partly the fault of the OLine, but continued to progress and elevate his game. The BAD: 1. He had no touch on the long ball. None. Whenever he went deep to Moss or anyone else, whether they were open or not, they were completely incapable of hooking up. I imagine that was a timing thing as much as anything, and it may be that having a full training camp/preseason to work on this will help tremendously, but I can't tell you how aggravating it was to see Moss 5 yards behind the entire defense running free and to have the ball overthrown, or whatever. It happened time and time again. 2. Timing/pocket presence. Although it got better as the year went along, Cassell took far too many sacks, held the ball too long, and didn't seem to have a good feel for the pocket. Note that this DID get better as teh year went along, and my main source of comparison was Tom Brady, who has about the best pocket presence since Dan Marino, so I may be a bit unreasonable here. 3. Needs the shotgun. As a result of item 2, above, the Patriots starting putting Cassell into the shotgun. ALOT. A whole lot. That definitely helped him quite a bit in terms of seeing/processing the field of play, making quicker decisions, avoiding sacks, etc., but the shotgun also limits the offensive playcalling a fair bit. In summary, I think he has a better than average chance to be a high quality NFL starting QB. His ceiling is not yet determined, but I think it is quite high.
Posts: 43,125

02-28-2009, 09:10 PM	#109
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $7673463	Coaching my friends Lets see if Haley can deliver with Cassel
Posts: 15,512

02-28-2009, 09:17 PM	#114
Halfcan In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7327995	So what if Tom does not come back ????
Posts: 43,200

02-28-2009, 09:35 PM	#120
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	47 sacks in a season is pretty troubling. Thats number 1 in the NFL.
Posts: 40,584