This is...Why Cassel?
 

Cassel survived. Many fans do not believe it.

But all you have to do is put on your Bill Belichick glasses to see why. Cassel is not a starter, but he did send Vinnie to the shadow roster last season. And Gutierrez to the PS.
Off those experiences, Bill asked Cassel to be the sacrificial goat this preseason and do some specific things in preseason, for the good of the Team.

First to test and act like a tackling dummy if necessary, as Bill experimented with various OL pickups, to try and replace Neal for half a season. He did that, without complaint, and Brady had times to heal, and most importantly not get hurt.

Then Secondly, he asked Cassel to play with no receivers, except for a bunch of end-of-roster types, to see if any of them were worth keeping. Dutifully, Cassel did so without complaint, while maintaining his POISE despite wrong routes, dropped passes, mis-timings et cetera, and try to run the entire Patriots Offense, even if in vanilla form for the rookies, despite the breakdowns of the others.

He did so and PASSED the test with calm and no finger-pointing. He accepted the fact that the QB would be blamed for failure, despite sending scrub receivers and OL candidates out against first string opponents by and large.

Fans didn't see that, and only noticed raw rookie KOC going against 3rd and 4th string future UPS truck drivers, and NOT running the Offense, but merely scrambling around and improvising. That is what you expect from a rookie, who would get killed doing that against a first string.

At the same time Gutierrez showed that he has a little more knowledge but still reverts to dumb raw rookie tendencies. He essentially eliminated himself, by his dangerous passes, many more of which would get picked against a first string.

Through it all Cassel only threw one pick. That was when CJax did not read a blitz, and ran the wrong pattern. It was a horrible looking pick as the defender easily caught it, and Jackson was no where near the ball, but it wasn't Cassel that screwed up.

Finally as a sop, to reward Cassel he gave him Randy Moss and company for an extended first period and Cassel promptly completed passes, marched the field, unlike the other two while executing the Offense, only to have Faulk fumble in the red zone. Another time a drive lead to a FG. He also scrambled showing he had not lost his mobility when necessary. It was a good scramble started only when the play had broken down; and he was flushed from the pocket, not an instant panic run.

That small opportunity playing with most of the genuine first stringers, reassured Belichick that Cassel had not lost his POISE or ability, despite the short end of the stick job that he had been given, for so long.


Bill even let Gutierrez have the first stringers in an early appearance against the Giants and it confimed that Gutz is not ready yet. That confirmed that the dangerous passes did indeed become picks. Maybe next year Gutz and KOC, will mature enough and will fight for th 2nd string job.

Meanwhile... Vinny is still on the shadow roster, knows the Offense backward and forward, and is on Bill's speed dial.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

0 touchdowns and similar yardage, blame the line or whomever, cassel found a way to look anxious in the pocket and still not get the ball out on time..... Maybe they don't think Gut is ready, fine. But i would not surprised to see Cassel lopped off this roster at some point. They kept him and they only know why.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Gut has PS eligibility & cassell does not

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Did you even bother to read what the OP wrote, or were you blinded by your hating on matt glasses?

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Best explanation I've seen yet.

This is the one thing I have to disagree with. My understanding is that at least some of the "improvising" was in fact designed that way. Randy Cross et al. stated that at least some of his runs were called as such (i.e., "Kevin, you take the ball and run upfield.").

We're talking about a guy who basically had to scramble on nearly every play in college. It's natural to assume he's going to take some time to "calm down," as it were. No questioning his arm strength or speed, though. :)

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Great post I agree 100%.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

VinnyT is officially retired after he got hurt playing for the Panthers. He'd have to file re-instatement papers and I just don't see it happening.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Cassel showed a lot of poise this preseason. Yeah, he didn't put up great stats, but the game isn't about numbers. Cassel may have valuable leadership and play-reading skills that we're not able to see.

But, next time you have the chance, look at how he holds himself in the pocket, his technique, and the zip he puts on the ball. Now go watch some other backup around the league, like Kellen Clemens, and tell me that Cassel doesn't look better than them. I think you'd be surprised.

I'm not surprised the average fan reacted negatively to his playbut that's what happens when you don't bomb it 50 yards into the in zone twice a game, or throw for two or three touchdowns in a quarter.. Personally, I thought he looked good, even if he didn't score many points. It's likely that Cassel showed more to BB and the rest of the team during practice than he did to us during the preseason. Unlike many here, I never saw him panic or lose control. He stood up straight in the pocket, looked down his receivers, and stepped up into protection when the line began to break down.

Cries for his release were typical over-reactions from fans who ultimately know very little about the position or the game.

When Tom Brady came out and said he thought Cassel played well, perhaps we should not have been so dismissive.

I think the OP is spot on here. Great post.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

I agree wholeheartedly. If you can add a play to the Offense called "Kevin, you run the ball". But the important point is, its not a part of the standard Offense repertoire.

Re: This is...Why Cassel?
 

Why should it be a part of the standard O repertoire? Brady isn't as fast, so plays that might get O'Connell 10 yards might get Brady only 2. It doesn't mean, though, that they can't judge O'Connell based on how he executed the plays they called for him. . . .