Alex Smith took the 49ers to a hair away from the superbowl.

Joe Flacco took the Ravens to a hair away from the superbowl.

The conversation should be "Can Matt Cassel be as good as Alex Smith 2011, or Joe Flacco 2011?"

If the answer is yes, we will have a big year that should be fun to watch.

The problem is Cassel has shown limited ability in sitting back in the pocket and making throws. I don't think Joe Flacco is the greatest qb of all time but we have seen him sit in shotgun and deliver the football, for example he ran the 2 minute drill and came from behind to beat Pittsburgh, one of the best defenses in the NFL. Cassel's throws as we all know come from the running game/PA. Our defense has not shown on a consistent basis that they are good enough to carry an average QB, we don't have a Ravens D.

No we won't, because our defense isn't and won't be as good as those teams.

This is a 8-12 defense, tops, not a top 5 defense.

And Cassel doesn't beat winning teams.

Flacco beat 7 last season ALONE.

Flacco has 20 wins against teams with winning records for his career, including playoff wins.

Cassel has 5.

Would you like to know more?

Cassel only has 1 win against a winning team in a Chiefs uniform, that was Pitt in 09. Why should I believe that will change? As CR mentioned we do not have a top 5 d. We do not have anyone to play in the middle on the defensive line, our CB depth is absolutely awful, and our best d player is out week 1.

Yes, If i don't like Flacco what should I like about Cassel?

Absolutely nothing.

Joe Flacco is superior to Matt Cassel in every way.

Every ****ing way.

HOLD!

He actually has two.

You need to study your textbook.

Note: neither of those teams were playoff qualifiers, and he played like dogshit in one of those games.

Can Cassel play a game like Smith played against NO in the playoffs? No.

Ah ha you are right, and he threw for 68 yards in that SD game, what a hot shit qb.

Football is a game of percentages.

No, first round QBs aren't automatically good.

But your chances of finding a GOOD QB outside of the 1st round are about equal to your chances of being struck by lightning.

Yep, Alex Smith gave me alot of hope last year. Before that I really felt like being a leader and taking a game on your shoulders couldn't be taught. I mean making the play when it had to be made. I think this is Cassel's biggest weakness. I think it was Alex Smith's to. You almost absolutely have to be able to do that to win a superbowl. The only other way is to flat out blow people out and never trail like Green Bay did when they won it a couple of years ago.

But what defines a good QB? Instead of trying to find a guy that will throw for 3 million yards, we need to fine the formula for what it takes to win. If we do that, we are onto something. There have been plenty of QBs who were Capable of winning Superbowls that didn't for various reasons.

You're right. Getting that franchise guy doesn't give you a SB. It makes your team eligible. From there it depends on the quality of the rest of the team, HC, etc.

But without one? No shot.

This is the argument of defeat - semantics.

You should just give up now.