Thoughts on Cassel

[Va_Pats_Fan]

I've been pretty impressed with Cassel, and am fustrated at times with various scribes saying that yeah he looks real good, but lets pray that TB doesn't go down. I wonder to myself if this is fair at all? If I had asked anyone, scribes, fans, pundants, etc, in the 2001 preseason "what happens if Drew goes down" would anyone of predicted the outcome.

Nope.

Part of what happened (IMO) is that BB redesigned the offence to suit TB's strengths at the time, and the make up of the team....we all remember the "dink and dunk, no running game" comments. I am not overlooking TB's greatest asset, thats leadership, and rising to the challenge. We will never know if Cassel has those until he's in a game situation, those quality's can't be measured by QB rating alone...


I wonder if Pete Carroll had made a different decision a while ago, if we would have Leinart as a back up, and Cassel would be now be the savior of the Cardinals....?

 

[14thDragon]

I wonder if Pete Carroll had made a different decision a while ago, if we would have Leinart as a back up, and Cassel would be now be the savior of the Cardinals....?

No but Alex Smith would be a hell of a lot poorer.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I've been pretty impressed with Cassel, and am fustrated at times with various scribes saying that yeah he looks real good, but lets pray that TB doesn't go down. I wonder to myself if this is fair at all? If I had asked anyone, scribes, fans, pundants, etc, in the 2001 preseason "what happens if Drew goes down" would anyone of predicted the outcome.

Nope.

Part of what happened (IMO) is that BB redesigned the offence to suit TB's strengths at the time, and the make up of the team....we all remember the "dink and dunk, no running game" comments. I am not overlooking TB's greatest asset, thats leadership, and rising to the challenge. We will never know if Cassel has those until he's in a game situation, those quality's can't be measured by QB rating alone...


I wonder if Pete Carroll had made a different decision a while ago, if we would have Leinart as a back up, and Cassel would be now be the savior of the Cardinals....?

Pete has always contended it was a coin toss. But much like the football gurus and the football media are enamored of measurables and combine performances, they seem to think that playing time in college trumps being recruited as a starter by USC. They can't see the forrest for the trees. If starting in college meant all that much there would not be the dearth of real quality QB's in the NFL these days. For a variety of reasons, most of which are stupid in hindsight, Tommy was in a dogfight to start at Michigan for most of his college career. And it's a good thing too since it's the only reason he landed here.

Matt has the talent, and he has had to fight his way into the NFL and he didn't turtle when things weren't handed to him in college. That built determination and character. And now he is taking full advantage of again being patiently mentored by the best.

He will be a fine backup for Tommy for another seaon or two, and hopefully we never have to find out what a valuable starter he could be here. But he has all the tools to be one somewhere else down the road. Hopefully it will be for an NFC team. If the 'Skins would just stop squandering their draft picks on busts like Lelie.....