L.A. Times: Matt Cassel's story is one of patience, perseverance

[CosmicPal]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...3311286.column

Matt Cassel, a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, will have his jersey retired at Chatsworth High on Friday in a ceremony closed to the public.

By Eric Sondheimer
February 10, 2011, 6:28 p.m.


When Matt Cassel was 12, he was so secure and composed in front of a TV camera that he could have given an interview to Vin Scully without anyone realizing his age.

He was fun-loving, goofy and seemed to greet everyone with a hug.

His outgoing personality mesmerized friends and strangers alike.

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From the first day we met, when he was among the youngest members of the 1994 Northridge team that made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., to last year, when he showed up at a football camp at the Rose Bowl wearing a Chatsworth High baseball cap, I've never seen him display a hint of shyness.

"He was hugging people before tree lovers were hugging trees," said Tim Cunningham, one of Cassel's Little League coaches.

He's always been comfortable and confident in any environment, and his gift of putting others at ease has hidden the sweat and tears Cassel surely has expended to reach this point in his life: husband, father, Pro Bowl quarterback and, most important, role model.

I've covered high school sports for more than five decades, and Cassel has earned a special place in my memory because of his perseverance. He had a dream and wouldn't let anyone or anything deter him from reaching it.

Most experts considered him a better baseball player than football player in high school. Yet, against their advice, he gave up baseball his junior year at Chatsworth to focus on being a quarterback. He received a scholarship to USC and quickly learned he had bad timing.

He was the backup to Carson Palmer, a Heisman Trophy winner. Then he became the backup to Matt Leinart, another Heisman Trophy winner. His coach, Pete Carroll, tried to move him to tight end, but Cassel declined.

In five years at USC, he never started a football game. But in an era when quarterbacks transfer when they're told they're second string, Cassel stayed, got his degree and became a Trojans legend for loyalty.

The New England Patriots took a gamble and selected him in the seventh round of the 2005 draft and he became a backup again. This time it was to the best quarterback in football, Tom Brady.

If anyone had the right to throw up his hands and shout, "Enough!" it was Cassel.

Again, he kept working hard, kept improving and kept waiting for his chance. When it came, he delivered. In 2009, he became a free agent and signed a six-year, $62.7-million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. This year, he was named to the Pro Bowl, replacing the injured Brady.

His story is worthy of a Disney movie. You won't find Cassel being tailed by TMZ. You won't see him on the dance floor at the Conga Room. (I don't think he knows how to dance.)

Credit his mother, Barbara, who raised a family of achievers.

Brother Jack was a standout pitcher at Granada Hills Kennedy who made it to the major leagues. Brother Justin was a standout pitcher at Chatsworth who's nearing a spot in the major leagues. Sister Amanda was a standout student and track athlete at Woodland Hills Louisville. They always respected their coaches and recognized right from wrong.

On Friday, Cassel will have his uniform retired at Chatsworth in a ceremony closed to the public. I was asked to say a few words but respectfully declined. The reason: I believe every second he's on campus, the Chatsworth athletes need to hear from him, see his smile, feel his handshake and let him explain the benefits of hard work.

Gone is the 12-year-old kid who liked to roll around in dirt, replaced by a 28-year-old man who still likes to roll around in dirt but has a body of work that should make the most skeptical of teenagers sit up and listen.

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[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by SNR

It would be complete if ClayWhit would rep me

I wish I could understand your post, but I had friends in high school. Currently, I can throw a football 80 yards.

[TimeForWasp]

How bout a remake of the disney movie Flubber?

JK, I'm ok with Cassel. I wish he would learn how to pump fake though, I think if he did, the whole defense would bite.

[michaelj_58]

i like him,the guy tries so hard,you dont see alot of that anymore!

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by michaelj_58

i like him,the guy tries so hard,you dont see alot of that anymore!

You just think you dont see it alot. Most starters have talent and when they try they make it look easy, giving the illusion that they aren't even trying.

[Pioli Zombie]

Chiefs fans are like the boy in the flashback scene in The Prince of Tides. Every time Cassel comes on the field they should play "Honey Don't" over the P.A.
* I am more proud of this reference than any other I've posted on CP. It relies on the reader having actually seen The Prince of Tides but if you have I will be disappointed if you don't agree this nails it.

[RealSNR]

Dopey face- check
Wide creepy eyes- check


It's Matt Cassel alright

[Easy 6]

Matt Cassel will piss on all of you doubters graves... but, not before he launches an EPIC 30 yard wobbler that his receiver has to stop, turn around mid-stride for & contort his body like a latter day Houdini to catch.

Championships are built on three foot throwing windows, dont you forget it haters.

[KCBOSS1]

Disclaimer: I am a doubter.

However, I've said from the beginning that this is a guy that I would like to root for. I understand perserverance and he definitely has it. I don't like the fact that we signed a guy for over $62 million during training camp of his second starting year since high school. Still don't think that was good business. But He has a great story. NO it is not the same story as every starting quarterback. How many quarterbacks (starting or not)do you know in the NFL that weren't even starters in any of their games in college? All of the guys on here that are pissers and moaners against this story should have their heads examined or I would question if they've actually perservered through anything significant. I don't prefer him as our starting quarterback, but he has a character worth rooting for.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

he has a character worth rooting for.

With different words, i've said the exact same thing atleast 10 times... but at this point, after briefly wetting our beaks in the playoff cup, great moral stories just dont suffice.

Its now time for dominance in KC & that starts at QB.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

Disclaimer: I am a doubter.

However, I've said from the beginning that this is a guy that I would like to root for. I understand perserverance and he definitely has it. I don't like the fact that we signed a guy for over $62 million during training camp of his second starting year since high school. Still don't think that was good business. But He has a great story. NO it is not the same story as every starting quarterback. How many quarterbacks (starting or not)do you know in the NFL that weren't even starters in any of their games in college? All of the guys on here that are pissers and moaners against this story should have their heads examined or I would question if they've actually perservered through anything significant. I don't prefer him as our starting quarterback, but he has a character worth rooting for.

Priest was great to root for. So was Dante Hall. Brian Shay, Jesse Haynes, JJ Moses, Jarmar Julian, Boomer Grigsby, Tyler Thigpen, Brodie Croyle, and Eric Hicks were also great stories.

I'm sick of rooting for shitty players (with the exception of a handful). How about I root for a good football team that wins playoff games instead? I think I deserve the right to take a crack at that for a few years

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by scott free

Matt Cassel will piss on all of you doubters graves... but, not before he launches an EPIC 30 yard wobbler that his receiver has to stop, turn around mid-stride for & contort his body like a latter day Houdini to catch.

Championships are built on three foot throwing windows, dont you forget it haters.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by SNR

Priest was great to root for. So was Dante Hall. Brian Shay, Jesse Haynes, JJ Moses, Jarmar Julian, Boomer Grigsby, Tyler Thigpen, Brodie Croyle, and Eric Hicks were also great stories.

I'm sick of rooting for shitty players (with the exception of a handful). How about I root for a good football team that wins playoff games instead? I think I deserve the right to take a crack at that for a few years

Aren't we all bro? Yes we are!!!!

[Easy 6]

Look, i absolutely hate to bag on Cassel... he has come in here & given everything he can, by every account... it culminated this year with a playoff appearance & despite jabs at his wobble launcher 2.0, a very enviable stat line, achieved by playing smart, by the book/system football.

But in my humble opinion, he is an optimal #2 QB capable of getting you 10 wins a year & an early playoff exit.

A great tone setter for the new regime, but not a gamechanging QB.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by scott free

Look, i absolutely hate to bag on Cassel... he has come in here & given everything he can, by every account... it culminated this year with a playoff appearance & despite jabs at his wobble launcher 2.0, a very enviable stat line, achieved by playing smart, by the book/system football.

But in my humble opinion, he is an optimal #2 QB capable of getting you 10 wins a year & an early playoff exit.

A great tone setter for the new regime, but not a gamechanging QB.

I think Cassel was the victim of poor coaching.

He didn't start at USC, and apparently they didn't work on his mechanics while there.

Then he was the backup to Brady for three years, and for all the credit that Josh McDumbass is given for Cassel's '08 season, and for Orton's numbers in the last two seasons with the Donkeys, he did absolutely nothing in the way of improving those mechanics.

Last season, he showed improved mechanics as the season progressed, but regressed late.

Given that he's reputed to be a hard worker, as he works on those mechanics in the offseason, he should be an improved QB.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by milkman

Given that he's reputed to be a hard worker, as he works on those mechanics in the offseason, he should be an improved QB.

I sure hope so, this years tougher schedule will demand it.