Matt Cassel plays like Drew Bledsoe

[Bostonian1962]

Both have:
- Cannon arms and can really fire the ball accurately down the field if given time
- Horrible pocket presence
- Take tons of sacks
- Not exactly adept at hitting the 3rd or 4th option
- Fall apart if the O-line has problems
- QB ratings around high 70's

Cassel is better at quick outs and also completes more percentage of passes. But I will go out on a limb and say that Cassel is not worse than Drew Bledsoe was in early 2001 (his last year with the Pats).

That's a good post, because I had similar thoughts watching the game. Week after week the TV coverage shows Cassel getting sacked. Then, they show the play down field and point out the one, two, or three players that were wide open.

Next time you watch the game, try counting "one one thousand", and you will be appalled at how long Cassel holds on to the ball. He just doesn't have the vision, and can't find the open receiver. It's painful to watch.

 

[Pats726]

i don't think they are similar qbs. Bledsoe is much better and much more accurate throwing downfield. Cassel is much better at bledsoe in the quick outs and short game.

Cassel is much more mobile. Bledsoe stood in a sack of cement.

That being said, bledsoe had much better pocket presence, and though he held the ball too long and made some horrid decisions, he stood tall in the pocket, never turtled, and took hard hard hits as he was a gutsy qb that let go of the ball at the last second.

bingo!!!!! Bingo!!!!

 

[Jodi]

I am having more fun watching this football game than I have had watching the Pats in a long time. A Hole needs to throw the ball though. This getting sacked play after play crap is ridiculous.

Tons of sacks is an understatement. Help the O line out a little bit, Cassel. Wins are nice, but seeing improvement from the QB would be a lot nicer

Almost agree! Although I think the O line needs to help Cassel out a little bit. Cassel is not great by any means but the O line is making him look worse than I "think" he is. No, he is not a great player, but with our O line, he' looks worse IMO. He has pretty much got a second or 2 to make a play and no matter what QB you throw in there, a QB needs more than 2 seconds to make a good long pass. Now, yes, our running game was good tonight but we have the greatest WR's (Moss, Welker) in the NFL and we are not taking full advantage of them right now. I think that needs to change.

 

[patchick]

This thread is an insult to both Quarterbacks.

:ditto:

Pretty amazing trashing in this thread for a guy who just delivered a performance of:
18/24 185 3 0

Yes, a couple of the sacks were squarely on Cassel. Yes, he missed some clear secondary reads. But he also showed clear progress and they won the game, which are the only two things I ask for at this point in the season.

 

[Zeke_Mowatt]

:ditto:

Pretty amazing trashing in this thread for a guy who just delivered a performance of:
18/24 185 3 0

Yes, a couple of the sacks were squarely on Cassel. Yes, he missed some clear secondary reads. But he also showed clear progress and they won the game, which are the only two things I ask for at this point in the season.

Don't forget "didn't turn the ball over" (though he tried his darndest with that near INT to Faulk by the goal line). He has been a ball manager, making fewer and fewer mistakes. For a guy getting hammered 3-5 times/game, his lack of turnovers is nothing short of amazing. Yeah, his read progressions have been bad at times, but as I believe Deus mentioned, that may be exactly what he's been told to do...don't throw it unless you see plenty of space. Either way, he seems to be getting better, the players around him seem to be gaining confidence in him, and we're 4-2 and just laid down a very strong looking performance. Let's hope they can keep up the intensity against STL next week and string something together.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Comparing Cassel, with SIX games under his belt, to Dedslow is ludicrous.

Cassel can at least move, get out of the pocket and escape and make throws.

Statuesoe NEVER could and had PROVEN problems moving around in the pocket his whole career.

Cassel needs improvement in all areas of his game but as the 2nd QB, with no actual game experience before this season, he IS showing improvement.

Deer In The Headlights was a HIGHLY TOUTED draft pick and played for YEARS as a starter.

Stupid comparison.

You come across as someone that only watched the last few years of Bledsoe with the Patriots. If you had seen the first few years, you would know that comparing Cassel to him is the biggest joke imaginable. Cassel is no where near the QB that Bledsoe was. He carried the team and threw for like 4-5K yards per season. I am well aware of Bledsoe's limitations and how it all unraveled, but he was still far better than Cassel has shown us.

I hope Cassel progresses into an even better QB than Bledsoe. I think he has a shot, but he has a lot to work on... pocket presence, progressing through his reads faster and better, and reacting quicker (For example: the pass to Moss in the end zone where he threw it late and Bailey had a chance to recover and knock it away)

Bledsoe always was looking for the homerun and was impatient with the short passing game. He also had mediocre work habits and never really addressed some of his own bad habits so that he could improve. Cassel is the complete opposite, so that gives me a lot of hope that he can improve.

 

[spacecrime]

You guys are up 20-0, so what's the fuss?

They are twits, they have forgotten that they are watching football and only want to see perfection week after week. It isn't about football any more, it is giving them something to identify in their lives, something where their world is perfect. Their backup did better this week than almost every other QB in the league, and all they can do is complain that he isn't as good as the best QB ever to play the game.

They cannot see that Cassel is working out his own strengths and weaknesses while we watch. They cannot see him miss Moss in the end zone because Champ knocked the bal away, and next throw goes high so Moss goes up and snags it. They focus on how a tipped ball could have been intercepted rather than the Brady-esque TD pass to Welker.

A QB is developing right before their eyes, and instead of being fascinated by the opportunity, they are like parents whose child is doing very well is school, but focus on each mistake his child makes. The kid gets B's and they tell him he should never have een born because his older brother got A's.

Patriot Nation has become the Land of the Twits.

 

[Rob0729]

This thread is an insult to both Quarterbacks. Bledsoe was far better than most of you give him credit for, and tonight Cassel was clearly feeling the pass rush better than he did in San Diego. The amount of football ignorance on display here has been staggering in recent weeks, and this thread fits right in with the worst of them.

Amen! Being compared to Bledsoe as a Patriots is not an insult. Bledsoe never lived up to the expectations of many fans in this town, but he was almost always an above average to great (at least for a few years) QB for this team.

Cassel is a fifth game starter. You look at a lot of first year QBs and they do not have a complete game. Look at Brady. Many people were saying his first year that he had a noodle arm and couldn't complete a pass past 10 yards.

 

[Lifer]

what a stupid thread. The Patriots win 41-7. They are 4-2 without Brady. The kid goes 18-24 with 3 TDs and a rating of 136 in his 5th start ever. And morons here are going to knock it.
right, hes no Bledsoe, he didnt have 3 interceptions and 7 tipped passes.

 

[maverick4]

Cassel IS getting better every game.

But right now his pocket presence and taking sacks, but also Cannon arm, is Bledsoe-esque.

By the way, some of you are absolutely crazy for insinuating Cassel is better than Bledsoe, 1st pick and 3-time pro bowler.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

They are twits, they have forgotten that they are watching football and only want to see perfection week after week. It isn't about football any more, it is giving them something to identify in their lives, something where their world is perfect. Their backup did better this week than almost every other QB in the league, and all they can do is complain that he isn't as good as the best QB ever to play the game.

They cannot see that Cassel is working out his own strengths and weaknesses while we watch. They cannot see him miss Moss in the end zone because Champ knocked the bal away, and next throw goes high so Moss goes up and snags it. They focus on how a tipped ball could have been intercepted rather than the Brady-esque TD pass to Welker.

A QB is developing right before their eyes, and instead of being fascinated by the opportunity, they are like parents whose child is doing very well is school, but focus on each mistake his child makes. The kid gets B's and they tell him he should never have een born because his older brother got A's.

Patriot Nation has become the Land of the Twits.

Post of the season. Living through the twitification of a nation is like the price rational fans have had to pay for those 3 Lombardi's...

 

[Lifer]

Cassel IS getting better every game.

But right now his pocket presence and taking sacks, but also Cannon arm, is Bledsoe-esque.

By the way, some of you are absolutely crazy for insinuating Cassel is better than Bledsoe, 1st pick and 3-time pro bowler.

you're right, went too far with my last sentence. But the point is, give the kid a break, people!!!

Hes not an All-Pro. Hes not Tom Brady. But for what he is and what he walked into and for what inexperience he has, look what hes been able to do.

And like an earlier post said, I find it very enjoyable watching the growth process and with Belichicks track record of his teams getting better as the season progresses i think it will be a very interesting playoff push.

If your expectation is World Championship or bust, you may not enjoy the season. But if people can be realistic, this could be quite fun.

I sure enjoyed watching the Patriots sticking it to Shanahan without Brady.

 

[everlong]

4 of the 6 sacks were 100% on the O-Line.

Yates got bull rushed.
Yates got bull rushed and Evans didn't chip.
Yates and Lavoie got split.
Broncos end came from the outside untouched.

Cassel literally had a second or less on all these plays. I don't see how he can be blamed for these. Brady may or may not have avoided some of these but very few QBs do never mind a guy in his 6th game (Miami 2005 doesn't count).

 

[maverick4]

Where in that first thread post did I bash Cassel?

If anything, it is a compliment that I went out on a limb and said he wasn't worse than 01 Bledsoe.

Seriously, some of you can't get over your biases over Bledsoe to be able to read straight.

 

[maverick4]

And like an earlier post said, I find it very enjoyable watching the growth process and with Belichicks track record of his teams getting better as the season progresses i think it will be a very interesting playoff push.

I too enjoy watching a humble, hard working guy with little experience grow every game under our eyes. The guy makes few mistakes, and given his extreme lack of experience I would say he has done as well as we could expect. I have been consistent on this view. I am definitely in Cassel's corner, but there are arrogant morons on this board who think their opinions are worth more than others simply because they have thousands of posts, who are letting their blind biases toward Bledsoe or Cassel distort what is being said.

 

[Kontradiction]

This thread is damn ridiculous and this forum is getting the exact same way. Some of you need to follow newtontomcat's example and just jump off the bandwagon. Only, when you do it, jump head first.

 

[Rob0729]

4 of the 6 sacks were 100% on the O-Line.

Yates got bull rushed.
Yates got bull rushed and Evans didn't chip.
Yates and Lavoie got split.
Broncos end came from the outside untouched.

Cassel literally had a second or less on all these plays. I don't see how he can be blamed for these. Brady may or may not have avoided some of these but very few QBs do never mind a guy in his 6th game (Miami 2005 doesn't count).

Not to mention that the sack right before the half was the right decision. The smart move was to protect the ball and take the sack than throw it and get a pick. Whether Cassel took the sack or threw an incompletion, it was likely the Pats would have taken a knee on the next play.

 

[Ian]

They are twits, they have forgotten that they are watching football and only want to see perfection week after week. It isn't about football any more, it is giving them something to identify in their lives, something where their world is perfect. Their backup did better this week than almost every other QB in the league, and all they can do is complain that he isn't as good as the best QB ever to play the game.

They cannot see that Cassel is working out his own strengths and weaknesses while we watch. They cannot see him miss Moss in the end zone because Champ knocked the bal away, and next throw goes high so Moss goes up and snags it. They focus on how a tipped ball could have been intercepted rather than the Brady-esque TD pass to Welker.

A QB is developing right before their eyes, and instead of being fascinated by the opportunity, they are like parents whose child is doing very well is school, but focus on each mistake his child makes. The kid gets B's and they tell him he should never have een born because his older brother got A's.

Patriot Nation has become the Land of the Twits.

I have to say this is probably the most accurate post I've read describing the state of many of the fans who continue to focus on the negative. The first post after the game last night was "Who Was Down Tonite?" (looking to discuss who didn't play well) really got to me.

 

[Ian]

I'll also say that these will be the same fans wondering why the Patriots couldn't get a higher draft pick for him later on should they manage to extend him and trade him. Then you'll be hearing how great he is and how much more he's worth

 

[maverick4]

This thread isn't meant to bash Cassel, read my older posts, I am a Cassel defender and my perspectives and expectations of him this year are realistic.

It is amazing how me saying Cassel is not worse than 01 Bledsoe somehow makes me a Cassel basher. Basically, it's some people who can't read straight and are injecting their own negative biases of Bledsoe who are going nuts in this thread.

Some of the posters here are right about the twits, but they have it backwards, it's the old guard who think they are better than other posters here and give all kinds of wild assumptions and lectures, because after all they are the 'good fans' right?