Cassel has Moss to thank for his good fortune

[SVN]

Cassel has Moss to thank for his good fortune - Kansas City Star

 

[BradyManny]

Cassel has Moss to thank for his good fortune - Kansas City Star

While I don't think we can underestimate the huge impact Moss has on this offense - Bill Belichick made it a point of it week after week this year saying Moss was the MVP of the offense on WEEI - Cassel earned his paycheck.

It's a silly point Whitlock is trying to make - Cassel also has Welker to thank, McD to thank, BB to thank, Brady to thank, etc. Likewise, all those guys can thank all the players around them. Its a team sport. I don't think Cassel will put up the #s in KC that he did here, in fact, I highly doubt it, but he proved he's an NFL starter, and better than 2/3rds of the QBs in the league.

 

[Deus Irae]

Yeah, Whitlock's trolling for readers with yet another half-assed article.

 

[Reaper]

Moss has alot to do with cassel being successfull but lets not forget he wasnt the only good receiver in the mix alot of QB's can do a great job with having a solid offense in hand.

 

[maverick4]

I think it's unfair how so many commenters today and yesterday are saying Cassel is overrated, how it's a bad deal for the Chiefs, etc etc.

Do people not realize the kind of money that was thrown around to rookie QB's like Stafford and Sanchez???? These guys are way bigger question marks who cost high first rounders and also more money. At least Cassel has produced in his first ever year as a starter, especially in the second half of the season.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I stopped reading this after the first paragraph. I'm not at all diminishing what Moss has done, especially not as it relates to the impact on my beloved team, but the first few lines were ridiculous. I'll pass on the rest.

 

[Dagg]

This guy has been hating on Cassell since the day the deal went through.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Yeah, Whitlock's trolling for readers with yet another half-assed article.

The concept seemed wholly-assed when I saw the headline in the wee hours and passed on giving Witless the traffic.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

I do believe Cassel is overrated, he had a very good season last year, but he was playing with one of the best offenses in league history.

I'm not saying he's not got talent, but i just scratch my head with that contract KC gave him. How many one-year wonders have their been like Cassel?


On the other hand Jason Whitlock is a knucklehead. Really, I don't even bother reading his crap anymore.

 

[farn]

During more than one game, Cassel was doing a lot more than just "staying out of trouble"... in fact he made big plays in big games - and not relying solely on Moss.

Having said that, obviously playing with RFM is better than playing with 99.9% of the other receivers.

 

[N.Eman]

Moss has alot to do with cassel being successfull but lets not forget he wasnt the only good receiver in the mix alot of QB's can do a great job with having a solid offense in hand.

Just having Moss in any offense makes that defense drop back in coverage not to mention the double coverage he draws, so thanks to him Cassell found Jab, Wes, Watson underneath...making him productive thus the big paycheck.

 

[Synovia]

I'm not saying he's not got talent, but i just scratch my head with that contract KC gave him. How many one-year wonders have their been like Cassel?

Very few. Most of the one year wonders have something that sticks out, like Anderson: very low completion percentage.


Cassel doesn't.

That being said, the Chiefs receivers aren't exactly bad.

 

[BradyManny]

The sheer amount of $$ Pioli just handed to Cassel is as much evidence of Cassel's talent as anything.

Besides, with KC's cap situation, they had money to spend, especially in the short term and they've put themselves in a low risk/high reward situation.

 

[Synovia]

Just having Moss in any offense makes that defense drop back in coverage not to mention the double coverage he draws, so thanks to him Cassell found Jab, Wes, Watson underneath...making him productive thus the big paycheck.

While I think Moss is a generational talent, defenses didn't handle him any differently than they handled any of these guys:

Santonio Holmes
Larry Fitzgerald
Greg Jennings
Dwayne Bowe
Reggie Wayne
Andrew Johnson
Roddie White
Calvin Johnson
Steve Smith
Brandon Marshall
Vincent Jackson

I mean, teams even doubled Derick Mason and Antonio Bryant last year. Thats like half the league.


Bowe draws PLENTY of coverage.

 

[maverick4]

Look at what the Texans gave up to trade for Matt Schaub, and then the contract they gave him, when he played like 3 full games before it. I would argue Cassel is a safer play compared to Schaub and a lower risk. It's funny though to hear Jets/Lions fans bash the Cassel signing and then get all hyped up over Sanchez/Stafford.

I would strongly disagree with comparing him to Derek Anderson. Derek Anderson started off hot that year and his second half was pathetic as teams scouted and adjusted. Cassel started slow (understandably) but was on fire in the second half, even after teams scouted and adjusted.

Derek Anderson is the reason so many people are doubtful of Cassel. I don't think it's a fair comparison though.

 

[Synovia]

Besides, with KC's cap situation, they had money to spend, especially in the short term and they've put themselves in a low risk/high reward situation.

Not to mention, its only $30M guaranteed. They already had $15M guaranteed for one year. Now they lock in a second year and have an option of 4 more.


If they don't resign him, and hes decent, its $18M guaranteed next year, and the deal is even bigger. If he bombs, they're out less than that.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

Yeah, but the difference between Cassel and a guy like Derek Anderson or Scott Mitchell or any other flavor of th year is Cassel was playing with, literally, one of the greatest offenses in the history of the NFL. The Pats offense was a point scoring machine.

Given the numbers that offense put up the season before I think it's valid to ask has Cassel proven himself to be worth that kind of money yet? It is the NFL and I didn't look at the details of the contract, so I don't know how much of that money is guaranteed but it just seems like one hell of a lot to pay an unproven talent.

Like I said, I'm not saying Cassel isn't the real deal, I'm just saying you can't say yet. He had one good year surrounded by some of the best offensive talent in the NFL. He's going to a team that was pretty bad offensively.

My question is if you all think he's honestly worth that kind of money what do you think about the small amount the Pats got for him in trade? If he's a franchise QB, a young franchise QB, as a lot of you are saying, and you don't think he's just a one year wonder, why didn't the Pats get more in trade for him? Especially given the whole Cutler trade and the amount the Broncos got for him?

 

[maverick4]

Like I said, I'm not saying Cassel isn't the real deal, I'm just saying you can't say yet. He had one good year surrounded by some of the best offensive talent in the NFL. He's going to a team that was pretty bad offensively.

He doesn't have to be the real deal to justify the contract, especially given what other QB's get before they do anything.

The 2008 Pats didn't really have much of a running game, plus Cassel put up that NFL season having not started since high school. I'd say it balances things out in terms of credit, for playing with lots of talent but also starting a full season after not playing since high school.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

He doesn't have to be the real deal to justify the contract, especially given what other QB's get before they do anything.

The 2008 Pats didn't really have much of a running game, plus Cassel put up that NFL season having not started since high school. I'd say it balances things out in terms of credit, for playing with lots of talent but also starting a full season after not playing since high school.

The Pats didn't have a running game? They were number 6 in the league and averaged 4.5 per carry. They had almost 2300 yards rushing. Thats a pretty damn good running game by any measure. They did it by committee but still were very effective at running the ball.

 

[maverick4]

I don't want to get into a pointless discussion over running game or the talent that surrounded Cassel. Let's say I cede your point. It still doesn't address the fact that even as a non-guaranteed legit QB, Cassel still isn't overpaid or overrated relative to the RIDICULOUS deals other QB's have gotten with less NFL production or as high college picks.

As for your question: [My question is if you all think he's honestly worth that kind of money what do you think about the small amount the Pats got for him in trade? If he's a franchise QB, a young franchise QB, as a lot of you are saying, and you don't think he's just a one year wonder, why didn't the Pats get more in trade for him? Especially given the whole Cutler trade and the amount the Broncos got for him?]

You're new here so it's understandable you don't know, but Belichick had to clear up cap space (unload Cassel's huge cap number) immediately in order to quickly sign Chris Baker and Fred Taylor (and later Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs). He could have gotten a pick maybe 15 spots higher if he waited a long time, but he couldn't have played in free agency. He took the best deal he got. The other teams sat with thumbs up their arses and didn't make legit offers until it was too late.