Babb: Chiefs aren’t shedding any light on Cassel’s status

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs aren’t shedding any light on Cassel’s status
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Matt Cassel doesn’t know whether he’ll be healthy enough to be the Chiefs’ starting quarterback Sunday, but he was at least healthy enough to answer questions Thursday about his sprained left knee — and what that means for his immediate future.

In the time normally set aside for the starting quarterback’s news conference, Cassel said he was making progress since suffering the injury early in the Chiefs’ third preseason game. He has participated in practices this week. But in individual drills on Thursday, Cassel still appeared to run with a limp.

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

Coach Todd Haley wouldn’t say Thursday whether he was confident in Cassel’s health or whether the Chiefs could count on him against the Ravens. Haley had said earlier that the team’s decision would be influenced by how Cassel held up to a week of practices. On Thursday, Haley said the final call “will go down to the wire.”

“On game day we’ll still be trying to figure it out,” Haley said. “A guy has to practice to have a chance to play. That’s my main philosophy. You’ve got to practice to play. That’s what I’m going off of, and then at that point you evaluate if they’re helping you more or hurting you more.”

Cassel said that his mental approach is sharp, but it’s the knee everyone is concerned about. His leg was wrapped in a bandage after Thursday’s practice, and he was listed as limited in the team’s workout. Cassel suffered the injury 15 days ago, when a Seattle defender tackled Cassel from behind on the Chiefs’ third play. Cassel fell awkwardly, but he initially returned to the huddle before calling a timeout and being helped to the locker room. He didn’t practice last week.

Cassel wouldn’t say whether he’d lobby to start the game even if he isn’t 100 percent on Sunday, and instead would defer to Haley and the team’s medical staff.

“If I wasn’t able to go, they would hold me back, and that is what their job is,” he said, “As long as I am able to walk and get out there, I’ll be ready to go. And it’s their job to pull me back.”

At the least, Cassel’s status is making Baltimore rethink its strategy. Haley hasn’t said who might start if Cassel is unable to play, and that uncertainty is causing some headaches for the Chiefs’ first 2009 opponent. Cassel and backup Brodie Croyle have a similar, more traditional playing style, but Tyler Thigpen is a scrambler whose improvisation last year made him a weapon that many defenses didn’t see coming. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said this week that his team won’t make that mistake, even if Thigpen is listed as the Chiefs’ No. 3 quarterback.

“It’s a big challenge,” Harbaugh said, “and it’s certainly an advantage (for the Chiefs).

“We’re really in the gray as far as what they’re going to run. It forces you to prepare for a lot of different things. … The different things that they do well kind of take the offense in whatever direction it might go, so that multiplies the volume for us.”

For now, Haley isn’t tipping the Chiefs’ hand. Neither is Cassel.

“As a player, you always want to be out there — especially when you’re the starting quarterback of the team,” Cassel said. “You have to continue to push yourself up to the limit.

“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.”