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Tribal Warfare
07-29-2010, 04:45 AM
Time For Cassel To Shine … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs (http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/time-for-cassel-to-shine-%E2%80%A6-thursday-cup-o%E2%80%99chiefs.html)
July 29, 2010 - Bob Gretz

The easiest way to win a Super Bowl is with a franchise quarterback. In the last decade titles were won by names like Brady, Brees, Manning (both Peyton and Eli) and Roethlisberger.

But in the 2000s, teams were able to win Super Bowls with quarterbacks that would never be considered among the best in the game. Tampa Bay won in 2002 with Brad Johnson leading the offense. In 2000, the guy handling the Baltimore offense with that great Ravens defense was Trent Dilfer, who had failed in his first NFL seasons with the Buccaneers.

The numbers from the last 10 years sound about right: it’s 60 percent tougher to win a championship without a franchise quarterback.

The Chiefs haven’t had a quarterback of the franchise stature since the retirement of Hall of Famer Len Dawson. Yes, Joe Montana was around for two years, but that was at the end of his Hall of Fame career and he was not the Super Bowl winning Joe Montana. Trent Green had five pretty darn good years and established his name in the team’s record book, but he didn’t reach the level of a Brady, Brees or Manning.

Can Matt Cassel be that man?

While his $63 million contract certainly puts him at the top of the pay window for quarterbacks, his accomplishments as a player have been average at best. Cassel has 30 NFL starts and last year rode the roller coaster of inexperience; he was down (four interceptions against Buffalo) and up (2 TD passes, 0 interceptions, 8.27 yards per attempt against Pittsburgh.)

For Cassel the 2010 season is huge, and it starts with the first practice of camp on Friday in St. Joseph. Actually, it started months ago when Cassel sat down with head coach Todd Haley and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and reviewed what he did in 15 starts last season. It continued through the off-season program and even in the weeks afterwards leading up to the team’s trip to Missouri Western State University.

There were a lot of excuses available to explain Cassel’s less than average performance last season. His 69.9 passer rating ranked 25th among league quarterbacks; that’s the bottom 25 percent of last year’s passers. There was offensive turmoil, with the coordinator getting fired 10 days before the regular season opener. There was poor pass protection in the first half of the season and a league leading number of dropped passes by the Kansas City receivers. It was a brand new world for Cassel coming to Kansas City after spending four years in New England – transitions are always tough.

All of those excuses are legitimate parts of any conversation about Cassel’s performance last season.

None of that matters this year for him. He knows the lay of the land and the offense has been stabilized with the addition of Weis as coordinator. As for the production of his teammates, great quarterbacks lift their offenses and teams to performances that will be remembered. They make the players around them better. Good players become great, average becomes good and poor becomes average.

That’s part of the quarterback equation and it’s time for Cassel to establish himself as that type of a player. It doesn’t have anything to do with matching the numbers of a Brady, Brees or Manning. Passing for 4,000 yards does not guarantee a Super Bowl – last year there were 14 quarterbacks who threw for more than that number – one won the championship (Brees).

What the quarterback influences with his play is points and protection. To win, a team must score touchdowns; lots of them. It’s his job to take advantage of the opportunities to score when they are presented. Protection has more to do with the pass blocking he receives from the guys around him. It has to do with the quarterback protecting the ball and his team. It’s about not throwing interceptions, not fumbling, not scrambling around and still getting sacked giving his team even worse field position.

There’s plenty of evidence that Cassel does not have a wealth of offensive weapons around him – his wide receivers are mediocre and he doesn’t yet have a reliable receiver at tight end. RBs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are a big help; they are the kind of guys that can be the quarterback’s best friends.

But if Cassel is the quarterback the Chiefs need, he must overcome this lack of offensive weaponary. He has to lift those mediocre receivers to a higher level. He must make sure he does not give the ball away. He must protect his offensive line and field position by getting rid of the ball quicker, thus avoiding the sack.

This needs to happen now and there are several reasons why. First, for the team to show improvement, Cassel must raise his level of play. Second, there has been much invested in him over the last 18 months. One part of that is money and there’s a fork in the contract road at the end of this season for Cassel. He signed the six-year, $63-million deal last summer and he’s already collected a $10 million roster bonus and $5 million in base salary for last year. For this season, he’ll make $12 million, including his workout bonus. That’s two years, $27 million.

But in 2011 he has a $7.5 million option bonus due. Without a better performance, he’d force Hunt/Pioli/Haley to make a decision on his Kansas City future.

Three, he’s not getting any younger. Yes, he has only 30 NFL starts, but Cassel is already 28. That’s the age when top NFL quarterbacks are coming into their most productive seasons.

No one who has watched him work questions that Cassel has what it takes when it comes to the intangibles. He’s sincere, diligent, competitive, hard working, studious and acts like a leader.

Starting Friday, he has to be something more.

ST. JOSEPH TRAINING CAMP DAY NO. 1

The Chiefs will take care of their physicals and conditioning test at the team’s facility in the Truman Sports Complex before heading up I-29 for their first night at Missouri Western. They’ll have dinner, meetings and then get under the covers for curfew to get ready for Practice No. 1 on Friday.

Second round picks Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas signed four-year contracts on Wednesday. That leaves first-round S Eric Berry unaccounted for on the contract front. The Chiefs haven’t announced the signing of third-round G Jon Asamoah, but supposedly a deal was agreed to with him last week.

Also, restricted free agent Jarrad Page remains in limbo. He cannot participate until he signs his tender offer. His agent/brother has asked the Chiefs to trade Page.

Also, Scout.com reported Wednesday night that the Chiefs have released TE Brad Cottam (left) after he failed a physical. Cottam is coming off the broken neck he suffered against Cleveland on December 20 that required surgery. He was held out of practices during the off-season.

They also re-signed TE Leroy Banks, who was with the team during the off-season.

NFL PERSONNEL MOVES & FOOTBALL NEWS FILE FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

* BENGALS – signed 2nd-round draft choice DE Carlos Dunlap to a 4-year, $3,010,000 contract with $1,779,000 in guaranteed money – he had nine sacks last year for Florida and was 1st team All-SEC; released WR Freddie Brown – a 7th-round draft choice from last year who spent time on the practice squad.
* BILLS – signed 2nd-round draft choice NT Torell Troup to a 4-year, $4,610,000 contract with $2.650,000 in guaranteed money – coming out of Central Florida, he’ll challenge for playing time right away in Buffalo.
* CARDINALS – released OT Devin Tyler – an undrafted rookie out of Temple.
* CHARGERS – signed TE Antonio Gates for a contract extension through the 2015 season – according to Internet reports, the deal is worth more than $36 million and has $20.4 million in guaranteed money.
* COLTS – signed 4th-round draft choice G Jacques McClendon to a 4-year, $2,225,000 contract including a $435,000 signing bonus – overcame not being invited to the NFL Combine to a chance to make the Indianapolis roster; claimed OT Chris Marinelli off waivers from the Broncos – right tackle prospect out of Stanford who was not drafted; released K Brett Swenson – he was sent to the waiver wire with an injury, so if he goes unclaimed, he’ll revert back to the Indianapolis injured-reserve list.
* DOLPHINS – signed DE Charles Grant to a 2-year contract – released in March by the Saints, he is still rehabbing a torn triceps muscle.
* EAGLES – released OLB Alex Hall – obtained from the Browns as part of the Sheldon Brown trade before the NFL Draft, Hall just didn’t fit with Philadelphia’s style at outside linebacker. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t get a look see from the Chiefs, given the fact coordinator Romeo Crennel was the Browns head coach when Cleveland drafted him in the 7th-round. He also has good size at 6-5, 250 pounds.
* JETS – signed QB Mark Brunell to a 2-year, $2,000,000 contract – the veteran had to wait until now because of NFL rules that were in place during this uncapped season that kept the top eight teams from last year out of the free agent market. Brunell was with New Orleans last year.
* PANTHERS – signed 2nd-round draft choice QB Jimmy Clausen to a 4-year, $4,323,000 contract with $2,533,000 in guaranteed money – the Notre Dame product will battle to be the backup to starter Matt Moore in his rookie season; released LB Brett Warren
* PATRIOTS – agreed to terms with 1st-round draft choice CB Devin McCourty on a 5-year, $13,200,000 contract with $7,825,000 in guaranteed money – he should get immediate playing time as nickel back and on special teams; released LB Shawn Crable – a ’08 draft choice who spent two years on the injured-reserve list and still wasn’t able to get doctor’s clearance to practice right now.
* RAMS – signed 2nd-round draft choice OT Rodger Saffold to a 4-year, $6,300,000 contract with $3,900,000 in guaranteed money – the first player selected in the second round, the Indiana product is expected to battle for the starting job at right tackle.
* SAINTS – signed 3rd-round draft choice TE Jimmy Graham to a 4-year contract – all upside with this former basketball player out of the University of Miami. Just one year of football or the Hurricanes showed New Orleans enough; signed QB Patrick Ramsey to a 1-year contract – journeyman type who has been part of three other teams over his career.
* SEAHAWKS – signed 2nd-round draft choice WR Golden Tate to a 4-year, $3,261,000 contract with $1,471,000 in guaranteed money – with the new Seattle coaching staff, Tate figures to be an immediate contributor in the offense.
* STEELERS – signed Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert to a 5-year contract extension, terms undisclosed – Colbert is Pittsburgh’s GM and has been since 2000. To give an idea of what the Rooneys think of him, his extension is three years longer than the one signed earlier this summer by head coach Mike Tomlin; signed 2nd-round draft choice OLB Jason Worilds to a 4-year contract, terms undisclosed.
* TITANS – have learned that QB Vince Young will not be suspended for the incident at a Dallas strip club that happened last month. Young was cited for misdemeanor assault because of his behavior; head coach Jeff Fisher shuffled his staff after the departure of running backs coach Kennedy Pola to Southern Cal. Craig Johnson, who was the quarterbacks coach will now handle the running backs and offensive assistant Dowell Loggains will take over as quarterbacks coach.
* VIKINGS – signed 5th-round draft choice G Chris DeGeare to a 4-year contract – a three-year starter out of Wake Forest, he’s big and broad and fits the Minnesota offensive line style; signed 6th-round draft choice QB Joe Webb to a 4-year, $1,882,000 contract with $92,515 in guaranteed money – he was drafted as a college QB who was moving to WR in Minnesota. But the Vikings sent him back to quarterback after getting a look at him every day in the off-season.

-King-
07-29-2010, 05:49 AM
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1318/popcorn1.gif

http://www.mywebpower.com/graphics/thumbs/michael-jackson/michael-jackson-thriller-eating-popcorn-animated.gif

10 pager?
5 at least.

Marcellus
07-29-2010, 06:07 AM
There was something in this that hasn't been stated before?

Tribal Warfare
07-29-2010, 10:34 AM
Okay, I'll start Cassel sucks more cock than a Singapore hooker during shore leave

ModSocks
07-29-2010, 10:42 AM
We've done this dance a thousand times already. Nothing new to say here. Training camp needs to hurry up and get here. Friday can't come soon enough.

Tribal Warfare
07-29-2010, 10:46 AM
We've done this dance a thousand times already. Nothing new to say here. Training camp needs to hurry up and get here. Friday can't come soon enough.

and we are going to have tired feet and bleeding ears, because this issue will be a constant.

ModSocks
07-29-2010, 10:50 AM
and we are going to have tired feet and bleeding ears, because this issue will be a constant.

I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I've trashed him enough on here just like everyone else. There is nothing left to be said. Im over it already. Hopefully he can get his shit together and have a good camp.

There is plenty of time to talk shit during TC when he starts throwing picks and balls start hitting the ground.

DeezNutz
07-29-2010, 10:53 AM
and balls start hitting the ground.

Plenty of posters will make sure this never happens to Cassel.

SDChiefs
07-29-2010, 11:00 AM
Bottom line: Cassel sucks and he needs to shit or get off the pot.

Crush
07-29-2010, 11:00 AM
Plenty of posters will make sure this never happens to Cassel.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5274/f7c7ac72abbc.gif

Crush
07-29-2010, 11:02 AM
Three words: NO MORE EXCUSES!!!

rambleonthruthefog
07-29-2010, 11:25 AM
i'll start with the mandatory, but his contract was front loaded. pioli did this on purpose so he could drop him after this season if he still sucks. another great pioli move.

Deberg_1990
07-29-2010, 11:35 AM
Unless Cassel improves that 69.5 passer rating, everyone can forget about the Chiefs winning more than 4 or 5 games.

Tribal Warfare
07-29-2010, 11:37 AM
Unless Cassel improves that 69.5 passer rating, everyone can forget about the Chiefs winning more than 4 or 5 games.

Or QB efficiency in general