ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Mark Castle Q&A 9-10

Q: How is your knee?

MATT CASSEL: “It is doing well. I am making a lot of progress.”

Q: Do you think you will play?

CASSEL: “That is up to the coach. It is a decision that will probably go right up to game time. I am working hard, I have been out there each day at practice and I feel like we are making progress every day.”

Q: How hard is it to balance your injury with your competitive fire?

CASSEL: “That is why we have a training staff here. If I wasn’t able to go, they would hold me back and that is what their job is. As long as I am able to walk and get out there I will be ready to go and it is their job to pull me back.”

Q: Are you limited in what you can do?

CASSEL: “There are times where we start a little earlier in the week taking most of our reps and as we get closer to game time I am taking more reps. We are making progress. It is one of those things that heals more each and every day.”

Q: Are you feeling good mentally?

CASSEL: “I feel fine. I feel mentally right where I should be and physically, I am getting better each and every day. As long as I feel right, the coach makes the decision. For the end result, we come together and collaborate and if we say that I am ready to go, I will be out there on Sunday.”

Q: How important is it for you to get back and play in the season opener?

CASSEL: “Every game is a big game, especially in a 16-game season. Sixteen games goes by in the blink of an eye and anytime you have an opportunity to go out there and play against a great team like the Ravens and make a statement early in the year, this is what this team needs to do is go out there and make a statement. They have a great team and I think we have our work cut out for us, but I think we will be up for the challenge.”

Q: How does your pivot leg feel?

CASSEL: “My knees feel pretty good. Like I said, I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t feel up for the challenge. It’s up to the trainers to say whether or not I am ready to go and it is up to the coach to make the decision. He is out there watching and evaluating each and every day and ultimately it will come down to him.”

Q: If today was game day, would you be ready to go?

CASSEL: “It is a tough decision. That is a tough question to ask me because it is not Sunday.”

Q: Can you talk about Baltimore’s defense?

CASSEL: “It is a veteran defense, there is no doubt about that. It is LB Ray Lewis, S Ed Reed, LB (Terrell) Suggs and DT (Haloti) Ngata. They have quite a cast of characters over there and they are all playmakers. They have been together for a long time and any defense that has been together for a long time, they are obviously good for a reason. The play with a lot of speed, they mix up their looks. As an offense we just have to be smart with the football. We can’t give them easy turnovers, we can’t give them penalties we just have to stay the course and it might be tough at times but we have to keep moving forward and take care of the ball.”

Q: How has the team adjusted to Coach Haley’s changes?

CASSEL: “I think everybody has handled it differently. There has been a lot of change over the past two weeks, but from an-everybody’s-all-in-standpoint, everyone jumped in and said, ‘okay, this is the direction we are going.’ There hasn’t been any complaining, we don’t complain, we don’t explain we just find solutions. We go out and we get it done.”

Q: Are you guys starting from scratch offensively?

CASSEL: “It is a lot of different terminology. It is very similar in what we are doing schematically, it’s just different terminology. It takes a little time to get used to that.”

Q: Do you think Coach Haley’s play calling is more aggressive?

CASSEL: “There are bits and pieces. It is hard to tell right now because you put in first and second down then you put in third down. You really don’t know until you get into the game or what is really going to go on until you get out there.”

Q: If you play, is the game plan going to have to be adjusted at all?

CASSEL: “I really don’t know to be completely honest. That is something that the coaches are going to have to sit down and talk about because right now we are going out there and we are running the offense. There hasn’t been any adjustments or secondary offense based on my condition. We are running the offense that we put in this week and what we feel is best to get us a win against Baltimore.”

Q: Given your competitive nature, will it be tough to give an honest answer when they ask about whether you are physically ready to play?

CASSEL: “As a player, you always want to be out there, especially when you’re the starting quarterback of the team. You want to be out there with your teammates that is why you play this game, to be out there on Sundays. Game days are what it is all about. You have to continue to push yourself up to the limit.”