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."

[Pasta Little Brioni]

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.

How many teams (besides them) have ever missed the playoffs at 11-5? Also, even with Brady back the Pats "only" went 11-5 last year and won thier division.

[orange]

Originally Posted by TRR

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

Matt Cassel - CAREER statistics at USC

Matt Cassel #10 QB

CAREER STATS
YARDS TOUCHDOWNS
97 0


Stats Overview Passing
YEAR CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
2004 10 14 97 71.4 6.93 22 0 1 1 115.35

There certainly is an idiot involved in this conversation. No doubt about that.


"Hey Matt, bring me another towel, will 'ya? And take this funky one away."

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

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.

Yes, but the problem is, he's not particularly accurate, has problems with taking sacks, and has a terrible deep ball.

Throwing in a weak arm only adds to the list of his inadequacies.

Chad Pennington can get away with having a weak arm because he has stellar accuracy and has all of the intangibles you look for in a good quarterback.

Cassel can't really get away with a weak arm because the rest of his game isn't all that impressive.

Franchise quarterbacks have to have some outstanding part in their game. Something that wows you, consistently, every game. Cassel really doesn't do anything outstanding. His best trait is he works hard.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by TRR

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

cool story bro

[kcchiefsus]

Well it is entirely possible that a lot of his problems had to do with the players around him.

For instance, without knowing exactly how many drops we had last year, lets just say we had 50. You can't entirely cut out all of the drops but lets just drop that number half of that and make it 25. Multiply those additional 25 completions by his average yards per completion of 5.9 (which yes I know this is a pretty shitty ypc) and you get an additional 147.5 yards. That puts him at about 3,100 yards for the season.

Also add those 25 completions to his previous completion total of 271 and you get 296 completions out of 493 attempts for a completion percentage of just over 60% which is respectable.

Maybe I'm reaching but I don't think it's to far of a stretch of the imagination to suggest that at least one of those incompletions was in the endzone and perhaps at least one was tipped and picked off by the defense. So instead of 16 TD's and 16 int's we could adjust it to 17 TD's and 15 int's.

After these adjustments you end up with a stat line of about 3,100 yards, 60% completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. That is certainly not great but it isn't god awful either. Add in other factors such as:

- A full offseason for Chambers in the offense.
- Dwayne Bowe hopefully being in shape and committed to the team.
- The addition of McCluster and Moeaki as weapons.
- The additions to the offensive line as well as Albert hopefully stepping up his game.
- The addition of Thomas Jones plus the emergence of Jammal Charles.
- A quality offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis.

With these additions I see no reason why Cassel won't be able to step up his game. If he still struggles like he did last year then by all means the guy needs to go. Is he the guy to lead us to a super bowl? It's possible, but probably not. Is he worth the money he is being paid? No. But he is who we have for now and I think he can at least be an above average quarterback.

I understand frustration from people if they believe he has kept us from getting somebody younger and more talented. But there is plenty of time for that and there are quite a few options in the upcoming draft who I like a hell of alot better than Clausen.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by kcchiefsus

Well it is entirely possible that a lot of his problems had to do with the players around him.

For instance, without knowing exactly how many drops we had last year, lets just say we had 50. You can't entirely cut out all of the drops but lets just drop that number half of that and make it 25. Multiply those additional 25 completions by his average yards per completion of 5.9 (which yes I know this is a pretty shitty ypc) and you get an additional 147.5 yards. That puts him at about 3,100 yards for the season.

Also add those 25 completions to his previous completion total of 271 and you get 296 completions out of 493 attempts for a completion percentage of just over 60% which is respectable.

Maybe I'm reaching but I don't think it's to far of a stretch of the imagination to suggest that at least one of those incompletions was in the endzone and perhaps at least one was tipped and picked off by the defense. So instead of 16 TD's and 16 int's we could adjust it to 17 TD's and 15 int's.

After these adjustments you end up with a stat line of about 3,100 yards, 60% completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. That is certainly not great but it isn't god awful either. Add in other factors such as:

- A full offseason for Chambers in the offense.
- Dwayne Bowe hopefully being in shape and committed to the team.
- The addition of McCluster and Moeaki as weapons.
- The additions to the offensive line as well as Albert hopefully stepping up his game.
- The addition of Thomas Jones plus the emergence of Jammal Charles.
- A quality offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis.

With these additions I see no reason why Cassel won't be able to step up his game. If he still struggles like he did last year then by all means the guy needs to go. Is he the guy to lead us to a super bowl? It's possible, but probably not. Is he worth the money he is being paid? No. But he is who we have for now and I think he can at least be an above average quarterback.

I understand frustration from people if they believe he has kept us from getting somebody younger and more talented. But there is plenty of time for that and there are quite a few options in the upcoming draft who I like a hell of alot better than Clausen.

The problem, the scenario you laid out for improvement is very possible.

The additional problem is that it may very well convince Pioli that he doesn't need a QB with actual talent that can make the players around him better.

We'll have that mediocre QB who needs to have top flight talent around him to make him play like a good NFL, and pass on QBs with actual talent in the draft.

[Hammock Parties]

60 percent is a below average completion percentage in the modern NFL, especially when you are only averaging a meager 5.9 yards per attempt.

Cassel would have been 22nd in the league last year at 60 percent.

You want to talk about TD/INT ratio, you have to bring up the fact that Cassel padded his numbers with garbage-time touchdowns last season. He threw one against Philly, two against the Giants, and you can argue he threw at least one against the Jaguars.

Cassel was shitty, even if you fabricate statistics out of thin air.

[TRR]

Originally Posted by orange

Matt Cassel - CAREER statistics at USC

Matt Cassel #10 QB

CAREER STATS
YARDS TOUCHDOWNS
97 0


Stats Overview Passing
YEAR CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
2004 10 14 97 71.4 6.93 22 0 1 1 115.35

There certainly is an idiot involved in this conversation. No doubt about that.


"Hey Matt, bring me another towel, will 'ya? And take this funky one away."

Answer this question...is USC a major college? You said he didn't play for a major college IDIOT. Your not the backup QB at USC without major talent. Bottom line...
Posted via Mobile Device

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by TRR

Your not the backup QB at USC without major talent. e

Rob Johnson and John David Booty were STARTING quarterbacks at USC.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by TRR

Answer this question...is USC a major college? You said he didn't play for a major college IDIOT. Your not the backup QB at USC without major talent. Bottom line...
Posted via Mobile Device

Using that logic, you're not a backup QB in the NFL without major talent, but the fact is most backups in the NFL suck when they actually play.

[Hammock Parties]

If Cassel has MAJOR talent, please, define it.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by TRR

Answer this question...is USC a major college? You said he didn't play for a major college IDIOT. Your not the backup QB at USC without major talent. Bottom line...
Posted via Mobile Device

he was a backup for a reason...no? He has NO major talent.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by MadMax

he was a backup for a reason...no? He has NO major talent.

Wasting time here.

TRR knows that when I called him a marginally talented QB, he knows that I was talking in relation to other QBs in the NFL.

He is simply being an ass, and responding to his dumb ass is wasted keystrokes.

[DeezNutz]

With the first overall pick, the St. Louis Rams select, Sam Bradford, individual who challenged for the starting QB job, University of Oklahoma.

[BigMeatballDave]

I think with the players we've added and him having a real OC, he SHOULD show marked improvement. Especially if JC can continue what he did last season. I'm hopeful Cassel will improve, I'm just not confident that he can.