Cassel signs deal - 6 Yrs $63MM

[Fooleeze]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4327067

 

Chiefs lock up CasselComment Email Print Share By John Clayton

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Matt Cassel, a career backup in college and in the pros, parlayed a great 2008 season into a lucrative franchise tag. Now, he's locked himself into a deal to be the long-term quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs.

 

 

 

 

Cassel

 

Cassel and the Chiefs worked out a six-year deal that will pay him in excess of $10 million a season, according to a source. The contract will keep Cassel with the Chiefs until 2014.

 

The deal is for $63 million, with $28 million guaranteed, according to a source. He's going to make $40.5 million in the first three years of his contract.

 

Cassel was designated as the New England Patriots' franchise player in February and signed a one-year deal that paid him $14.561 million. He was then traded to the Chiefs along with linebacker Mike Vrabel for a second-round draft choice.

 

The Kansas City Star first reported that Cassel had signed with the Chiefs.

 

Although Wednesday is the deadline for franchise players to get long-term deals, Cassel technically doesn't apply because he was traded and the team that franchised him no longer holds his rights. Still, the deadline and the start of training camp in two weeks provided both sides with incentive to lock up a long-term relationship.

 

Cassel replaced an injured Tom Brady in the first week of the 2008 season and threw for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns.

 

Former Patriots GM Scott Pioli, who was responsible for drafting Cassel in the seventh round in 2005, went to the Chiefs during the offseason. One of his first priorities was finding a quarterback and Cassel was his top choice.

 

Cassel is believed to be the only quarterback in NFL history to start an NFL game without starting a game in college. Cassel was a backup at USC.

 

[Dan in Florida]

Sure...NOW Cribbs will DEMAND more money! [sarcasm]

[Guest AdaM]

Sure...NOW Cribbs will DEMAND more money! [sarcasm]

 

 

 

 

What a huge mistake for KC, they're betting their entire franchise on a virtually unknown. Lets see how good Cassel looks behind THIS line...

[Guest Aloysius]

What a huge mistake for KC, they're betting their entire franchise on a virtually unknown. Lets see how good Cassel looks behind THIS line...

Not sure I see it that way. Sure, the contract numbers are pretty huge, but Mark Sanchez got the same amount of guaranteed money, and he only started one year on the college level.

 

And I don't think it's fair to say that Cassel's a virtual unknown. When the Pats drafted Kevin O'Connell in the 3rd round of the '08 draft, a source told Chris Mortensen that the team felt compelled to draft a QB because they expected Cassel would leave for a starting job elsewhere. It seems like people within the organization knew for some time that Cassel had starting potential.

 

The more problematic move was trading Tony Gonzalez. You have to give your young QB reliable weapons. And Gonzalez's replacement, Brad Cottam, struggled with drops during OTA's and minicamp.

[Gips]

Thats all i can say is....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Vegasdogg]

What an awesome story so for regarding Cassel - doesn't start a lick in college and gets $10M per year. Says quite a bit about New England. We can't even find a consistent starter in 10+ years and these guys had 1 on the bench. LOL.

[daddybull1]

Could he be a product of the system (Bledsoe, Brady, Cassell) or is he that good????? Similiar to the Bronco system turning out running backs.....

 

Some GM's leave me scratching my head.... With his background and short history seems to me he could have been signed for much less.... What bargaining chip did he have??????

 

peace

 

T.Dawg

[Guest Aloysius]

Could he be a product of the system (Bledsoe, Brady, Cassell) or is he that good????? Similiar to the Bronco system turning out running backs.....

During his time with Belichick & Weis, Drew Bledsoe amassed a 5-13 record and a 77.1 passer rating (same as his career QBR). Apparently, the system didn't do much to improve his performance.

 

Some GM's leave me scratching my head.... With his background and short history seems to me he could have been signed for much less.... What bargaining chip did he have??????

Matt Williamson's got a good writeup on the subject:

 

Cassel's deal gives Chiefs long-term answer at QB

 

[dencyguy]

Incidentally, Matt Cassel is Spanish for Rob Johnson, which in turn is French for Scott Mitchell.

 

Dennis

Actually, that's not entirely fair, since you'd have to tie Cassel and Johnson together to equal the landmass of Mitchell.

[Guest Aloysius]

An anonymous front office guy talked to Pro Football Weekly earlier this year about Cassel/Sanchez:

 

"You can say Mark Sanchez could not even beat out Josh Booty, but if you asked Pete Carroll now, I think he would admit he probably made a mistake. People forget how close the competition was between Booty, Matt Leinart and Matt Cassel the year after Carson Palmer left. It was neck-to-neck-to-neck. Cassel came close to being the starter, but Leinart was the most mistake-free - he knew where to go with the ball and when to get rid of it. That's why he won the job. Cassel easily could have been the Heisman Trophy winner. If you look at it in retrospect, who has been the best pro? I'd say it's not even close - it's Cassel - and how many snaps did he take in college? Too many people get caught up in who the starter is, but college coaches have a lot of tough (personnel) decisions to make, too, and they don't always get them right."

I think that's a pretty good point.

[AZBrowns]

John David Booty was also not too shabby of a talent himself, which is part of the reason Sanchez could never beat him out.

 

As for Cassell, he had a good year, but I don't see him doing as well in KC. He doesn't have near the amount of weapons nor the line in KC and while he had a very good year in New England, not many QB's would fail with those weapons surrounding him.

 

As for the Bledsoe comparison... not really the same thing. Bledsoe's Patriots' teams had talent, but not near the talent they have today.

[BrownsFan17]

During his time with Belichick & Weis, Drew Bledsoe amassed a 5-13 record and a 77.1 passer rating (same as his career QBR). Apparently, the system didn't do much to improve his performance.

 

I think that Bledsoe wasn't compatible with their system...whether that was by choice or not....I am unsure.

[ITHIKA]

What a huge mistake for KC, they're betting their entire franchise on a virtually unknown. Lets see how good Cassel looks behind THIS line...

 

Couldn't agree with you more. Lets see how good he looks without throwing to Randy Moss! We know what that did for Daunte Culpepper . I thought Poili was smarter than that. Its looking more and more like the right decision was made about our HC and GM after watching the debacle in Denver and now this.

[Pumpkin Eater]

During his time with Belichick & Weis, Drew Bledsoe amassed a 5-13 record and a 77.1 passer rating (same as his career QBR). Apparently, the system didn't do much to improve his performance.

 

 

Matt Williamson's got a good writeup on the subject:

 

Cassel's deal gives Chiefs long-term answer at QB

 

What was Tom Brady's rating his first year? As I recall it wasn't good, the team just won.

[Guest Aloysius]

As for the Bledsoe comparison... not really the same thing. Bledsoe's Patriots' teams had talent, but not near the talent they have today.

That goes without saying. My point was that Bledsoe wasn't very successful with the same personnel Brady won SB's with, so saying "it's just like Denver" devalues what Brady brought to that offense. He made the system work, not the other way around.

 

Lets see how good he looks without throwing to Randy Moss! We know what that did for Daunte Culpepper

Culpepper was a lot more reliant on Moss, who actually had a "down" year playing with Cassel.

 

In Minnesota, Moss accounted for 27.6% of Culpepper's completions and 34.5% of his yardage. Last year, Moss only accounted for 20.2% of Cassel's completions and 25.9% of his yardage. Cassel likes to spread it around a lot more than Daunte every has, which makes him a more consistent, harder to shut down QB.

[Guest Aloysius]

Agreed, though I think Quinn's going to have to do a better job of hitting his receivers in stride. If there's one thing to criticize about Quinn's very good first start, it's that he made his receivers work too hard: Winslow was forced to make a couple shoestring catches, and Heiden & Steptoe struggled to catch stuff thrown behind them.

 

That's the biggest concern I have about BQ's game.

[Guest Aloysius]

I think that Bledsoe wasn't compatible with their system

Could be, though he never really found a system that made him look like more than an average starting QB. He started out strong in both Buffalo and Dallas, then quickly collapsed.

[Riffer X]

Agreed, though I think Quinn's going to have to do a better job of hitting his receivers in stride. If there's one thing to criticize about Quinn's very good first start, it's that he made his receivers work too hard: Winslow was forced to make a couple shoestring catches, and Heiden & Steptoe struggled to catch stuff thrown behind them.

 

That's the biggest concern I have about BQ's game.

 

That's a good point, but no matter how much improvement he needs to have he can't be worse than DA in this aspect. I also believe that this is one of those things that gets ironed out with a few starts under one's belt and a comfort zone. Comes with knowing you're the starter, plenty of reps with the ones and all that other good stuff like prep time.

 

Sure would have been nice if this kid already had the training wheels off by now. But hell, three games should be plenty to judge him right?

 

I want to see his deep ball, that and total accuracy are my two biggest question marks. All I ever hear about DA is the guy has a great deep ball and there are numerous examples like in the Skins game where he missed deep, and sometimes by being way short. Good deep throwers don't overthrow either, and a great example was Kosar. I used to bring this up all the time, but how many opportunities does an NFL QB get to actually air it out 70 yards outside of a Hail Mary?

 

Consistency and accuracy is the key, although a lively arm is a huge bonus. Quinn has plenty of arm. He can also throw off the run which DA flat out can't (BTW so could Frye), so that right there opens up the offense for so many other play call opportunities.

 

Has anybody heard if our QB's are going to have more audible options this year? I sure would like to think so.

[Flugel]

What a huge mistake for KC, they're betting their entire franchise on a virtually unknown. Lets see how good Cassel looks behind THIS line...

 

I hear ya. THIS time he won't have Randy Moss or Wes Welker. I didn't catch alot of NE games but one of the ones I caught late in the season - Cassel ran the Qb draw on just about 3rd down. Moss commanded alot of attention downfield and Welker took alot of people with him underneathe so all the QB had to do was run to move the chains. Nothing wrong with taking what the D gives you but when you have KC's personnel - the opponent doesn't give you what it gives NE. Besides, last time I checked - Tyler Thigpen was REALLY good at scrambling and he appeared to be improving considerably at QB.

 

Here's a mini-comparison of the 2 young QBs:

Cassel: 21 TD passes 11 INTs

Thigpen: 18 TD passes 12 INTs

 

- Tom F.

[Flugel]

So strange that we all get polarized into hyperbole, but I'm in a wait and see mode on Quinn, too. He has a ton of qualities that make him very promising as a prospect, but there are a couple issues that need to be ironed out. The hope is that's what happens with sustained starting experience.

 

I'm always willing to give someone another chance, but I don't get a clear vision of Anderson as a long-term successful starter in this league.

 

And what's nice about that is Anderson has had starts in each of the last 3 seasons to prove he's had more than a 2nd chance to show sustained improvement. The fact is that he's regressed into 4 INT performances the week of Christmas against a 4 win TB team and again 365 days later vrs a bad Cincy team. Then he led us to a couple 10-6 losses in 08 on both sides of the game we're never allowed to forget vrs the NY SLEEPING Giants.

 

I want to be able to face an AFC opponent that is projecting MORE than 8 wins and feel like I SHOULD be confident we have the correct leader to win that game. In the land of what have you done lately - ANY game your defense gives up only 10 points SHOULD BE a Utopian give-me for the QB if he's a legit starter. Sorry folks but the nice-nice about DA went out the window when he played Santa Claus to the Indy D for the game winning points on a day there offense wasn't able to score 1 single TD. Who really needs an oncore?

 

You don't draft a QB in round 1 to be saying in season #3: "I don't KNOW what this QB has" if you have a competant organization. We've done this backwards. It's prolly why DA was never embraced the way Sipe was. Sipe won and progressed; BUT that wasn't until after Phipps failed, failed, failed again and then reminded people he failed multiple times. We dotted i's, crossed t's and lost games. Point was - there came a time to unload Phipps without ever needing to contemplate "what if he REALLY has it?" Then again, Sipe was emerging as a conference MVP and the Browns were making post seasons so nobody really worried.

- Tom F.

[Guest Aloysius]

Here's a mini-comparison of the 2 young QBs:

Cassel: 21 TD passes 11 INTs

Thigpen: 18 TD passes 12 INTs

I think that's where the similarities pretty much end. If you use the same logic you've been employing in the DA vs. BQ debate, it becomes clear that the Chiefs were right to bring in Cassel.

 

The first knock against DA is that he's always been a sub-60 completion % passer and isn't consistently accurate. Let's look at KC's two young QB's:

 

Cassel: 63.4%

Thigpen: 54.8%

 

The second knock on DA is that he regresses every year. So let's look at who finished out the season with a strong December:

 

Cassel: 8 TD, 1 INT, 102.7 QBr

Thigpen: 5 TD, 4 INT, 74.1 QBr

 

So Cassel is the more accurate passer and the only one who kept on improving throughout the year. Thigpen's a great #2 in that system, but I can understand why Pioli & Haley thought he was too inaccurate and/or erratic to be the long-term answer. Sure, Cassel will miss having Moss & Welker around, but Pioli & co. saw enough in him to think he can be their franchise QB and a winner for them when they do surround him with the weapons (and a talented enough defense) to be a contender.

 

And here's one more thing to consider: if Cassel was so reliant on Moss (69 rec., 1,008 yards, 11 TD's), wouldn't you say that Tyler Thigpen was even more reliant on Tony Gonzalez (96 rec., 1,058 yards, 10 TD's)? Both guys will miss having a HOF target; the Chiefs' front office seems to be a lot more confident that Cassel's the type of guy who can adjust.

[Flugel]

I think that's where the similarities pretty much end. If you use the same logic you've been employing in the DA vs. BQ debate, it becomes clear that the Chiefs were right to bring in Cassel.

 

The first knock against DA is that he's always been a sub-60 completion % passer and isn't consistently accurate. Let's look at KC's two young QB's:

 

Cassel: 63.4%

Thigpen: 54.8%

 

The second knock on DA is that he regresses every year. So let's look at who finished out the season with a strong December:

 

Cassel: 8 TD, 1 INT, 102.7 QBr

Thigpen: 5 TD, 4 INT, 74.1 QBr

 

So Cassel is the more accurate passer and the only one who kept on improving throughout the year. Thigpen's a great #2 in that system, but I can understand why Pioli & Haley thought he was too inaccurate and/or erratic to be the long-term answer. Sure, Cassel will miss having Moss & Welker around, but Pioli & co. saw enough in him to think he can be their franchise QB and a winner for them when they do surround him with the weapons (and a talented enough defense) to be a contender.

 

And here's one more thing to consider: if Cassel was so reliant on Moss (69 rec., 1,008 yards, 11 TD's), wouldn't you say that Tyler Thigpen was even more reliant on Tony Gonzalez (96 rec., 1,058 yards, 10 TD's)? Both guys will miss having a HOF target; the Chiefs' front office seems to be a lot more confident that Cassel's the type of guy who can adjust.

 

Before I get started - thanks Aloy! That was a great read and some clever points made.

 

My concern about the recent commitments to Cassel is he posted up numbers that were enabled by HOW Moss dictated defensive alignments and matchups for 4 different NFL QBs that enjoyed their career best seasons from that scenario. I made sure I included Wes Welker when I said "Moss or Welker" previously; because Welker actually became the go-to beneficiary in 07 and 08 as you'll see in 07 & 08 comparisons below. I don't think Wes Welker ever lit the league up until he had Moss lining up on the other side of the field making his life absolutely uncontested and stealth-like underneathe. Here's how Welker & Moss fared together under 2 different QBs the last 2 years:

 

Wes Welker 07: 112 rec 1175 yds 8 TDs (Brady)

Wes Welker 08: 111 rec 1165 yds 3 TDs (Cassel)

 

Randy Moss 07: 98 rec 1493 yds 23 TDs (Brady)

Randy Moss 08: 69 rec 1008 yds 11 TDs (Cassel)

 

Here's KC's top 2 receivers in 07 & 08:

 

Dwayne Bowe 07: 70 rec 995 yds 5 TDs (Huard/Croyle)

Dwayne Bowe 08: 86 rec 1022 yds 7 TDs (Thigpen)

 

Tony Gonzalez 07: 99 rec 1172 yds 5 TDs (Huard/Croyle)

Tony Gonzalez 08: 96 rec 1058 yds 10 TDs (Thigpen)

 

I saw slightly less reliance on Gonzalez but twice the TD efficiency while up above I saw the same heavy reliance on Wes Welker w/ uncontested dumpoffs but his 8 TD receptions dropped to 3 TDs. Meanwhile, Moss' numbers were drastically reduced from 07 to 08 (TDs, receptions, yds). That leads me to this question as we contemplate KC's enormous commitment to Cassel: Did Cassel make Moss & Welker better OR did Moss & Welker make Cassel better? Keep reading folks because I have some reminders about Qbs that teamed with Moss in the next paragraph.

 

The following Qbs (including Cassel) all enjoyed career best seasons or stellar seasons with Randy Moss stretching defenses and creating wonderful matchups for other talented receivers:

Tom Brady 50 TDs 8 INTs 4806 yds 117.2 passer rating 16 wins 2007 NE

R. Cunningham 34 TDs 10 INTs 3704 yds 106 passer rating 15 wins 1998 Min

D. Culpepper 33 TDs 16 INTs 3937 yds 98 passer rating 11 wins 2000 Min (1st year starting)

D. Culpepper 39 TDs 11 INTs 4717 yds 110.9 passer rating 8 wins 2004 Min

Matt Cassel 21 TDs 11 INTs 3693 yds 89.4 paser rating 10 wins NE 2008 (1st year starting)

 

Obviously, the inexperienced Cassel did an admirable job of filling in while I don't forget the same surrounding talent scored 50 TDs in the passing game the year before as it went undefeated. I think the NE environment is far more conducive to enabling a young Qb to improve with experience than KC was and still is. Furthermore, KC's defense gave up 444 1st downs, which ranked 31st overall and kept the offense seated. It's very safe to conclude the NE defense gave it's QB a much better margin of error. THIS is where I question throwing a 63 million $ commitment at an admirable fill-in to turn around a franchise in transition. When I think of Cunningham in Dallas & Baltimore after his career best season in 98 - No Moss turned into "No Mas." Meanwhile, Culpepper's career hasn't looked anything like it did when he had Moss creating favorable matchups everywhere for a talented lineup.

- Tom F.

[Drunkandstoopid]

He can also throw off the run which DA flat out can't (BTW so could Frye), so that right there opens up the offense for so many other play call opportunities.

Yeah, Frye's ability to throw off the run obviously opened up the Browns offenses more than anything DA did.

[Tobalaz]

Yeah, Frye's ability to throw off the run obviously opened up the Browns offenses more than anything DA did.

And Big Gay Ben's ability opens up the Steelers' offense.

Frye just didn't have the arm to get the ball where it needed to be fast enough at a pro level.

 

[CIMO.]

Before I get started - thanks Aloy! That was a great read and some clever points made.

 

My concern about the recent commitments to Cassel is he posted up numbers that were enabled by HOW Moss dictated defensive alignments and matchups for 4 different NFL QBs that enjoyed their career best seasons from that scenario. I made sure I included Wes Welker when I said "Moss or Welker" previously; because Welker actually became the go-to beneficiary in 07 and 08 as you'll see in 07 & 08 comparisons below. I don't think Wes Welker ever lit the league up until he had Moss lining up on the other side of the field making his life absolutely uncontested and stealth-like underneathe. Here's how Welker & Moss fared together under 2 different QBs the last 2 years:

- Tom F.

 

Good post Flugel. I've always thought the "he knows how to spread the ball around" thing was overrated. He completed 169 passes to Welker and Kevin Faulk, 69 to Moss. He can dump it off pretty well, but that doesn't seem like "Franchise QB" to me. It's smart, sure. Good game managing. But not $63M quarterback. If you put a true franchise QB in that offense, Moss catches a lot more than 69 passes and they score a lot more than 25 points/game. I don't think Cassel is a scrub, or a flash in the pan...but he hasn't done nearly enough to be considered (and compensated like) a franchise quarterback.

[Guest Aloysius]

Tom, you almost convinced me that Cassel isn't as good as Tom Brady (!).

 

Seriously, is it any surprise that Moss and Welker's production dipped in '08? Besides working with a QB they had less of a rapport with, they were no longer playing in the "middle finger to the rest of the league" offense the Pats ran all through '07. During that season, Brady kept on throwing when the Pats were already ahead by three touchdowns, both to pad his record-breaking stats and to embarrass everyone else. It's no surprise that they ran more and passed less under Cassel; it was smart game strategy for a young QB, and it helped protect the team against losing another QB (or receiver - Moss played through little dings all season long).

 

On the Kansas City side, that offense improved in part because they drafted a franchise left tackle (Branden Albert) and brought in a new #2 receiver (Mark Bradley) who was ready to contribute when they moved to more of a shotgun/spread system . When they employed a more traditional offense, Thigpen struggled badly: in his first four appearances last year, he had a 42.2 comp%, and threw for 2 TD's & 5 INT's. He should get credit for playing well when they tweaked the system to play to his strengths, but it's scary to see a guy that off his game in a normal system. It makes you wonder how well he'll adjust once teams know how to gameplan against him.

 

So what it comes down to is whether you think Tyler Thigpen is a franchise QB. Because if there's one rule every GM lives by, it's that if you don't have a franchise QB, you better get one. I think Pioli was right to doubt whether Thigpen's the guy to build around. Even if he may be able to become a decent starting QB, he's not good enough to pass on a guy you've watched develop for four years and are convinced is an NFL starting QB.

 

As to CIMO's point about the money: one thing Matt Williamson brought up is that the contract numbers for starting QB's are set to explode. Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler, and Eli Manning are all about to receive new deals, and their agents are trying to eclipse the 8 year, $102M deal Roethlisberger received. So Cassel's contract numbers look huge right now, but they may look rather modest in a year or two.

 

If Cassel is successful, they'll still be able to bring in big FA's because he'll be playing on what'll then be considered a below market deal. It's very similar to how New England's been able to bring in FA's because Brady's contract isn't that big (and he's been willing to make adjustments to pay for better weapons). And because Cassel was set to play on a $14.5M franchise tag this year, it was in the team's interest to sign him long-term. Maybe the numbers are a little high for a one year starter, but only rarely do you get a franchise QB without making a big financial investment.

[Guest Aloysius]

It's similar to the deals given to other QB's who had breakout years:

• Tony Romo: 6 years, $67.4M ($30M guaranteed)

• David Garrard: 6 years, $60M ($18M guaranteed)

• Aaron Rodgers: 6 years, $65M ($20M guaranteed)

And it's less than they would have paid if they drafted Mark Sanchez. Matt Ryan, last year's #3 overall pick, received a 6 year, $66M deal ($34.75M guaranteed). The contract numbers would have been even greater this year.

[Flugel]

Tom, you almost convinced me that Cassel isn't as good as Tom Brady (!).

 

Seriously, is it any surprise that Moss and Welker's production dipped in '08? Besides working with a QB they had less of a rapport with, they were no longer playing in the "middle finger to the rest of the league" offense the Pats ran all through '07. During that season, Brady kept on throwing when the Pats were already ahead by three touchdowns, both to pad his record-breaking stats and to embarrass everyone else. It's no surprise that they ran more and passed less under Cassel; it was smart game strategy for a young QB, and it helped protect the team against losing another QB (or receiver - Moss played through little dings all season long).

 

On the Kansas City side, that offense improved in part because they drafted a franchise left tackle (Branden Albert) and brought in a new #2 receiver (Mark Bradley) who was ready to contribute when they moved to more of a shotgun/spread system . When they employed a more traditional offense, Thigpen struggled badly: in his first four appearances last year, he had a 42.2 comp%, and threw for 2 TD's & 5 INT's. He should get credit for playing well when they tweaked the system to play to his strengths, but it's scary to see a guy that off his game in a normal system. It makes you wonder how well he'll adjust once teams know how to gameplan against him.

 

I think you're choosing to turn this into something it isn't. I said IMO an admirable fill-in job doesn't equate to a $63 million salary.

 

Not that I needed an education about KC's environment vrs NE's environment. I thought I explained the difference in playing chess with Moss as the vertical stretch guy with Welker as the uncontested beneficiary underneathe while CIMO pointed out Cassel completed 169 passes to Welker & Faulk. Can you say "thank you Randy Moss" as well as they can?" Again, my main thought process was I didn't think Matt Cassel was 63 million $ better than Tyler Thigpen. If there was 1 positive story about KC in 2008 - it was the pleasant surprise Thigpen gave them while you're clinging on to a short stretch of bad games. IMO, it's different than DA treating us to a 4 INT performance vrs Tampa in 06 the week of Xmas and another 4 INT performance in Cincy the very next time it was Xmas week in 07. Then in 08, we saw 2 different games where our D held an opponent to 10 points (1 of those DA gave up the TD) and DA couldn't lead us to 1 single TD let alone the notion of considering winning. All 3 seasons of DA starts showed me regression - not just 1.

 

As I said, here's what a few QBs did with Moss stretching defenses so other talented receivers had uncontested routes.

 

The following Qbs (including Cassel) all enjoyed career best seasons or stellar seasons with Randy Moss stretching defenses and creating wonderful matchups for other talented receivers:

Tom Brady 50 TDs 8 INTs 4806 yds 117.2 passer rating 16 wins 2007 NE

R. Cunningham 34 TDs 10 INTs 3704 yds 106 passer rating 15 wins 1998 Min

D. Culpepper 33 TDs 16 INTs 3937 yds 98 passer rating 11 wins 2000 Min (1st year starting)

D. Culpepper 39 TDs 11 INTs 4717 yds 110.9 passer rating 8 wins 2004 Min

Matt Cassel 21 TDs 11 INTs 3693 yds 89.4 paser rating 10 wins NE 2008 (1st year starting)

 

I think I found a trend. That's every team Moss played for except Oakland. There's breakout seasons BUT there's also UTOPIAN environments capable of giving one a false positive on the breakout season (and carrying that expectation to a franchise in transition). The real question is what did Culpepper do in life after Moss? What did Randall Cunningham do in Dallas and Baltimore in life after Moss? Did he ever throw 34 TDs in a year in life before Moss or have a passer rating of 106? To be honest, even Tom Brady was NEVER quite the glamorous STAT guy when compared to Peyton Manning. He was the guy just continued to win post season games and Superbowls. Then when Moss arrived, that went to undefeated as the TDs went to 50 and passer rating went to 117.

 

Last but not least, if KC gave up 440 first downs which ranked 31st among 32 teams - that will keep an offense seated enough to prevent the stats from compiling behind the passer. I can't agree BB would allow that same issue in NE. That's where we differ. Did Cassel do a nice job? You bet. That said, I just wouldn't bet 63 million $ and make him the face of a struggling franchise though. Nothing more than trying to keep it real.

- Tom F.

[Guest Aloysius]

A few updates on this topic:

• Eli Manning signed a 7 year, $106.9M contract extension, which gets at Matt Williamson's point about how Cassel's contract numbers will look fairly modest once guys like Manning, Cutler, and Rivers sign new deals.

   

• Cassel struggled a bit during the Chiefs' recent scrimmage

   

• Chiefs beat reporter Kent Babb thinks Tyler Thigpen is the #3 QB on the depth chart:

   

  After today, I firmly believe Brodie Croyle is the No. 2 QB and that Tyler Thigpen is in danger of even making this team.

   

  To elaborate, Croyle ran the second-team offense during today's scrimmage. Tyler was No. 3, and he didn't look great.

   

  As usual, Thigpen was terrific when tucking and running, and a little scary when dropping back to pass. These guys want passers, though.

   

  Also, Gutierrez barely even played. Only a few series toward the end. Right now, it's Cassel-Croyle-Thigpen-Gutierrez. Might only keep 2 QBs

So it looks like the Chiefs needed to bring in a new quarterback. The only question is whether it would have been wise to pursue a different option, whether it be signing a stopgap veteran or drafting Mark Sanchez.

 

Considering Pioli's familiarity with Cassel, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this move.

[Riffer X]

A few updates on this topic:

• Eli Manning signed a 7 year, $106.9M contract extension, which gets at Matt Williamson's point about how Cassel's contract numbers will look fairly modest once guys like Manning, Cutler, and Rivers sign new deals.

   

• Cassel struggled a bit during the Chiefs' recent scrimmage

   

• Chiefs beat reporter Kent Babb thinks Tyler Thigpen is the #3 QB on the depth chart:

So it looks like the Chiefs needed to bring in a new quarterback. The only question is whether it would have been wise to pursue a different option, whether it be signing a stopgap veteran or drafting Mark Sanchez.

 

Considering Pioli's familiarity with Cassel, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this move.

 

Speaking of Matt Williamson, he was pretty adamant about the Browns starting Queen today on Reghi's show. Some comments in a nutshell:

 

1) DA couldn't garner even a 4th or 5th from anybody.

2) The Browns seriously dropped the ball not trading him when he had value.

3) Mangini wants a smart QB who can manage a game and execute things, which parlays right into Queen's game rather than DA's.

4) He couldn't imagine a scenario where Quinn doesn't start, outside of him just completely dropping the ball and DA having a phenomenal preseason.

5) The Browns should have never waited this long to see what they have in Quinn.

 

There was lots more but unfortunately they haven't archived it yet.