Haley thinks Cassel's problem was the players around him

[Quesadilla Joe]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...rs-around-him/

After signing a $40 million contract and leaving the Patriots for the Chiefs last year, quarterback Matt Cassel saw his passer rating drop from 89.4 in 2008 to 69.9 in 2009.

Chiefs coach Todd Haley thinks that had less to do with Cassel and more to do with the players around him.

"We had 50-plus drops last season. If those don't happen, people would look at Cassel differently," Haley told ESPN.com. "If we get the improved offensive play around him that we hope to, I think people will feel better about Matt Cassel."

Haley thinks the Chiefs have improved the talent on offense, and he says Cassel is doing the necessary work this offseason to make people feel better about him.

"This guy is making progress in a bunch of ways," Haley said. "He had a very difficult year last year, but he didn't crack. That's a good sign. He has been one of our best workers this offseason, if not the best. He's working."

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Mentally damaged is over the top. However, players can develop bad habits over the course of time. Cassel wasn't a great QB in the first half of the season, by any stretch, and I'm not making any such claim. However, he was better in the first half than the second, and it's likely that much of that was because of the toll the games took on him. Once a QB starts looking for the rush and stops trusting his receivers, all sorts of bad habits will set in. As a Chiefs fan, you should be hoping that those habits will be dealt with during the offseason, because Cassel's apparently going to be the starter again, whether you like it or not.

The same sort of thing happened in New England, though at a different level. Brady's knee made him more skittish in the pocket, caused his drops to be different, and made him less willing to take a hit. The fact that the team's 3rd wideout was a special teams player who was horrible as a receiver meant that Brady stopped looking his way and began staring down his #1 and #2 receivers, with the resulting bad plays that you'd expect. The results were stark: once the Welker binky was gone and the team had to face the Ravens without him, Brady had one of the worst games of his career. Brady's season numbers were the second best in his career, yet it was clear that he wasn't the Brady he'd been pre-injury, and that impacted the offense and the team.

I don't dispute the fact that poor play around him is going to affect the QB negatively. My biggest complaint with Cassel, and why I think he'll ultimately continue to struggle, is that he's inaccurate and lacks the arm the arm strength that might help him compensate, in certain situations, for his inaccuracy.

[Coogs]

I posted this a few weeks ago, and in all fairness to Cassel, I think it bears repeating. In the 5 games that Cassel had both Bowe and Chambers as his 2 starting WR's, he did manage to throw for nearly 70 more yards per game than in the games where he did not have them both on the field.

[DBOSHO]

Cassel left the pocket well before it showed the slightest sign of collapsing in alot of plays last year. I guess its just his natural instinct to shift to the right

[mcaj22]

so when are we trading for Randy Moss and Wes Welker? Because those are the only two guys you can put around Cassel to make him serviceable, and even then, he can't even win the right games to make the playoffs at 11-5.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

so when are we trading for Randy Moss and Wes Welker? Because those are the only two guys you can put around Cassel to make him serviceable, and even then, he can't even win the right games to make the playoffs at 11-5.

While I'm not sold on Cassel, laying the blame for missing the playoffs on Cassel is stupid.

And the fact is, Moss didn't show up quite often for Cassel during that season.

He did what Moss does, and quit, to an extent, on the Patriots.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by DBOSHO

Cassel left the pocket well before it showed the slightest sign of collapsing in alot of plays last year. I guess its just his natural instinct to shift to the right

he was getting the shit beat out of him

alot of QB get skittish after being hit all the time

if he actually receives some protection this year then we'll see whether he can handle it or not.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

I don't dispute the fact that poor play around him is going to affect the QB negatively.

That, and the reality that such a situation will have tend to have some longer term effects, was the point I was making.

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

My biggest complaint with Cassel, and why I think he'll ultimately continue to struggle, is that he's inaccurate and lacks the arm the arm strength that might help him compensate, in certain situations, for his inaccuracy.

The key in the NFL is to be of strong enough arm that you can make the throws. Cassel's arm is strong enough to do that. Not every QB is J.P. Losman or JaMarcus Russell: some of them are Chad Pennington. And, given where those respective careers have gone, it's pretty clear that the arm strength tends to get overblown.

Accuracy is a different issue. Cassel's completion percentage and accuracy were fine in 2008, when he had a good offensive line and quality receivers who could make proper reads, avoid disruption of patterns, and adjust for the ball when needed. They were not so fine in 2009, when he had a lousy offensive line and shitty receivers that couldn't catch, couldn't get off the line, didn't know or care where the hell they were supposed to be running, and couldn't adjust for the ball. The question moving forward is how Cassel's accuracy will be when he's got a receiving corps that's somewhere in between the top 2-3 corps in the game and one of the 2-3 sorriest groups of 'receivers' in the NFL.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by milkman

Thanks for making my point.

I disagreed with you. You're making an erroneous claim. My pointing that out by breaking down a pair of terms does not make your point. You are essentially claiming to know why Cassel was running by giving an answer that runs counter to what he claims to be his reasoning.

That's just stupid.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

I disagreed with you. You're making an erroneous claim. My pointing that out by breaking down a pair of terms does not make your point. You are essentially claiming to know why Cassel was running by giving an answer that runs counter to what he claims to be his reasoning.

That's just stupid.

Where did I claim to know why he was running.

I claimed that he ran when he didn't have to.

He ran even though it wasn't impacted by pressure.

Who gives a rat's ass as to why?

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by milkman

Where did I claim to know why he was running.

I claimed that he ran when he didn't have to.

He ran even though it wasn't impacted by pressure.

Who gives a rat's ass as to why?

People with brains who are trying to analyze an issue rather than just piss and moan.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

People with brains.

You are disqualified to care then.

I don't give a rat's ass as to why, because I can't do anything about it.
I can only talk about it.

I do want it fixed.

I want a QB that can play with confidence in the pocket, and run only wehn it's actually necessary.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Just Passing By playing the role of Michael Jack Johnson.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by milkman

If anyone has an excuse that says it's the players around him, that would be Croyle.

However, he's the football equivalent of Humpty Dumpty, so starting him would only mean we'd see Cassel starting later rather than the start of the season.

humpty dumpty

[TRR]

Originally Posted by orange

And then there's Cassel.

Yea idiot....challenging for the starting job at USC isn't a major college.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Bane]

Originally Posted by TRR

Yea idiot....challenging for the starting job at USC isn't a major college.
Posted via Mobile Device

Challenge.
a call to take part in a contest or competition, esp. a duel : he accepted the challenge.
• a task or situation that tests someone's abilities : the ridge is a challenge for experienced climbers.
• an attempt to win a contest or championship in a sport : a world title challenge.