Break the season into quarters and it doesn't look so bad. Oh wait, yes it does. I'm talking about breaking the season into quarters, not each quarter of the game.
1st quarter (3) 59.6%, 5 TD/2 INT 89.8 QB rating
2nd quarter (4) 52.9%, 5 TD/3 INT 70.6 QB rating
3rd quarter (4) 50.8%, 3 TD/4 INT 63.1 QB rating
4th quarter (4) 57.6%, 3 TD/7 INT 64.7 QB rating.
Hey look at that, his completion % and QB rating got better from 3rd to 4th quarter.
Reaching for hope? Cassel had a better completion % than Manning & Brady in 2009 on passes that were thrown over 40 yards, completing 42.9% while Brady had 21.4% and Manning had no passes completed over 40.
That is passes THROWN over 40, not that a receiver didn't catch a 15 yard slant and take it 40+.
Sad part? Cassel was 12% on passes from 21-30 yards. Manning was 34.4% and Brady 32%.
QB rating for Cassel by distance thrown:
Behind LOS 80.2
1-10 yards 76.2
11-20 58.9
21-30 7.9
31-40 105.4
41+ 89.9
Pretty sure that he has to be in the bottom of the league on 21-30 and right near the top in his 7 passes thrown 31-40 & on 7 thrown 41+.
Brees was 140.0 on 9 passes thrown 31-40 and 63.7 on 9 thrown 41+
Manning was 60.8 on 24 passes thrown 31-40 & 39.6 on 2 thrown 41+
Brady was 58.0 on 12 passes thrown 31-40 & 75.0 on 14 thrown 41+.
The question I pose is, would having a big target help improve those 21-30 yard passes?