Bill Simmons on Tom Brady/Matt Cassel

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

He was rarely under center, and when he was he wasn't worth a ****.

That's part of the problem.

Okay, now this can be taken two ways.

Way Number One: Cassel is a sucky quarterback who can't operate from under center.

Way Number Two: Cassel is better utilized in a spread formation shotgun-style approach, and Haley didn't know how to use him efficiently like Belichick did, so Haley was trying to pound a square peg into a round hole all year.

And both interpretations don't account for the other variables, like "having an O-line that can block" or "having targets who can get open". Although from most reports it seems like Cassel has had some time to throw and just didn't hit the target or tried to throw it to a different target. Which are problems that Bledsoe had in his final years, after being shellshocked by seasons of abuse.

The question is, does Cassel have the brains and ability to run the Chiefs offense better. Judging from what he did in New England, I say "yes". I think having Weis will help him, since Weis will probably call more Cassel-friendly plays than Haley did.