Haley On Cassel: He’s Improving
From St. Joseph, Missouri
A couple hours before the Chiefs hit the field Thursday afternoon for their last practice session at Missouri Western State University, head coach Todd Haley met with the media in his daily press briefing.
And as usually happens during these meeting, the talk turned to quarterback Matt Cassel and where he stands as camp ends in St. Joe and heads back to Kansas City after this weekend’s pre-season game No. 2 in Tampa.
The part of the fan-base that is unhappy with Cassel and his development as the team’s franchise quarterback aren’t going to be happy with what Haley had to say, because he thinks the young man has improved and done so in some very important areas.
“I believe Matt is making progress,” Haley said. “He has found a way to get a little bit better every day. I think as our entire operation improves, he’s going to improve along with it.”
There are duties the starting quarterback must fulfill and Haley said he sees that happening with Cassel.
“Now I’ve got a quarterback who is running the operation well and efficiently,” Haley said. “He is throwing the ball where it’s supposed to go, generally. All those decisions aren’t always going to be correct; there are a lot of factors going on there. On top of that, the ball is being thrown in the area where it has to be thrown to be completed. Those are all signs of progress with this guy.
“There’s still a lot to work on. Make no mistake about that. There are a lot of little things we are talking about with him every day, either me, Charlie, or Nick. Every day and it’s not just Matt; it’s the other guys too. That’s how you get better.
“He’s got the skills to be a good quarterback in the league, or be a talented player in the league. He has the work ethic. He cares. Those things are right where you want them. Now it just becomes a matter of doing it every day and that improvement will continue to show.”
Accuracy is going to be a big indicator of his improvement throughout the season. Last year, Cassel’s completion percentage was 55 percent. That’s with the team that had the most drops in NFL history. If the receivers cut their drops in half, his completion percentage would hit 59 percent.
Throughout this training camp, Cassel on most days looks like he’s hitting in the 65 to 70 percent range on his throws. He should be given there is token pass defense most of the time and he can’t be sacked.
“A quarterback has to be accurate; you have to throw it where it needs to be thrown;” said Haley. “That’s an area that clearly has been improving. Last night (Wednesday) saw some evidence of that. I thought he made some real good throws, in some tight spots.”
Haley says a completion percentage of 65 percent would be just about right for the passer in his offense with the Chiefs. He has little doubt Cassel can reach that number. Based on last year’s numbers, it would take one more completion per quarter to get him into the 67 percent ranking.
“If he’s improved every day since he’s been here, then I would say part of his improvement is going to be decision making, part of it is going to be running the operation and leading his team, and part of his improvement is going to be accuracy.
“I want to see him making improvement on just about a daily basis and I want to see improvement from practice to practice. I want to see him making strides. He’s made them, now he just has to keep making those strides.”
I remember in the late 90′s when the chiefs had two quarterbacks-chiefs stuck with the qb they had paid the big bucks to. That worked out real well….
Well Matt is the only option. I do not believe Croyle has ever finished a game uninjured.
Cassel needs better performance from his RT. I saw Haley speaking with O’Callaghan for several minutes during yesterday’s practice. I have to believe Pioli has RT on his radar.
Trent Green his first year in KC totally sucked up the place. He turned out ok. I will hold judgement on Cassel until the end of year 2
I don’t know if Cassel is the answer but he sure is trying hard. Just be thankful he isn’t cocky like P. Rivers or lazy like that slob the Raiders canned this year. Cassel seems like a good guy and a team player. Maybe all his work will translate into some wins.
@tdkc…well said. i’m skeptically rooting for the guy.
I am all for Matt being successful. Re:Croyle – He finished his last regular season game (Ravens opener last year) without injury and played okay considering we had the brand new offense installed. I hope Matt plays so well that it silences any and all detractors – that should translate into much needed Ws for us.
I don’t think there are any Chiefs fans that want Cassel to fail. I certainly don’t. He seems like a great hard working guy, and a team player to boot. So I’ll try REALLY hard not reserve judgement until the end of the regular season in 2010 as well. Besides, like what was said earlier, it took Trent Green a year or so under his belt to start lighting a fire underneath the offense. Besides, with the way Todd and Charlie want to run the offense, passing isn’t going to be the emphasis anyway. They want their great running game to complement a good passing game. They have their running game now. So now it’s just fine tuning that, and then looking to “fix the quarterback” as Charlie put it a week or so ago. I’d like to believe he’ll do that, and I’m sure by the middle of the season we’ll finally start to see Charlie’s coaching show up in Matt.
Disturbingly, and, I think, realistically, this sounds like jive. It sounds like the Cleveland braintrust defending Tim Couch as the #1 overall pick back in the late 90s. It does.
It also smacks of CYA because of Pioli’s questionable (that’s a nice inference) decisions since becoming the GM anonited one. I’ve said it before in these pages but trust your eyes. To me, Cassel is confirmation of being a 7th round pick by the Patties.
Sorry.
I agree w/ Rick, I’m waiting til the end of this year to pass any judgement! If all the other parts of the team are improved, then we better see improvement from cassel as well.
I believe Cassel is a young, ascending Quarterback who must deliver improved performance this year. If the play around him improves as I expect it to, he will. We’ll see.
Bottom line for all Chiefs fans that doubt Cassell’s ablity must didnt’ watch alot of football last yr. I can point to games like against Pittsburg or Jacksonville to show that this guy has what it takes to be successfull. His improvement this yr will fall on his offensive line. Bob mention the drops but how about the pass protection last yr. The start of the season he had absolutely no running game. We played from behind alot. And most of the time the o-line was getting steamed rolled. From Waters getting holding penalties to right guard position being a revolving door with Nduke, Golf, and Allenman. Even Albert had a bad yr last yr. When your o-line doesn’t protect you it causes you not to go through your reads, you can’t step up in the pocket to make accurate throws, and you can’t get into a rythem. Now saying all that and throw in we lead the league in drops world record how can anyone even Peyton Manning be successfull. Especially when you also factor he had to learn an entire playbook on the fly.
So here’s my assessment of 2010 season. Cassell numbers will be better due to lack of as many drops this yr, being more comfortable in the playbook, and having a 16 games to have a real threat at running the football (JC & TJ). The biggest question on how well he improves will boil down to how much better can the o-line be compared to last yr. I’m worried about the Center and right tackle positions. Can Wiegman or Niswanger be solid at center? Can O’Callaghan be solid at right tackle? It sure didn’t look like it against the Falcons so stay tuned.
I predict 20 TD’s and 12 int. It would be great to seethe play action to be a option again. I think the running game this year will make the offense better all around. You know I would take 10 td’s and 10 int. if record would be 9-7 or 10-6. We need home field advantage back at Arrowhead. It makes my 4 and 1/2 hour trip back home more enjoyable. Last year made me sick seeing so many opposite fans there. The announcer constantly saying Its 3rd down. At one time that placed rocked so loud no announcer had to remind anyone what down it was. I would love to see the college atmosphere back at one arrowhead drive!!!
Cassel has five games, at best, to earn his food stamps. Even if they are close defeats, do you really thing Haley and Pioli would risk their careers on someone who merely flashes brilliance going into a 1-4 or even 2-3 record? If I remember correctly, Rainman flashed some brilliance at times too.
There have been rare QB talents in the history of the NFL that didn’t need “Weak O Line”, “No Fullback”, “Too Many Dropped Passes” excuses to get the job done. Kansas City is not a nationally-televised team; what it can do with a good fan-base and a quarterback with vision is miles beyond the “America’s Team” participants in the league. I would love to see the Sea of Red and a trustworthy quarterback lead the team to the second season. I just don’t have any faith that Cassel is one of those rare talent.
Matt, if you’re stuck in the airport reading this on your iPhone, there are a ton of fans out here who want you to evolve. Not in year 4, or after 17 games as a starter, but now. Beat the Bucs by yourself in the first quarter. Beg to go back in. And do it for the rest of your Red-blooded life. Make us proud.
I’m not a Cassel hater. I simply want him to make us hoarse on Sundays, and proud on Mondays.
Josh, I hate to keep going back to the comparison but man look at Tr “int” Green. Remember Whitlock blasting him every week for his lousy play. Look at his stats his first year in KC. I would love to see Cassel take a big step this year and I am sure if Charles in charge can repeat last year than the running game is going to set up the passing game. How many times could the defense just bullrush because we were behind and had to pass. A couple passes stick out in my head from last year. The bomb to open the second half of a game that bobby wade dropped that would have been six points and the pass that chambers dropped at the one yard line that would have helped us beat the chargers.
Green 2001 17td’s 24 int. 39 sacks 56.6% completions qb rating 71.1
Cassel 2009 16 td’s 16 int. 42 sacks 55% completions qb rating 69.9
If we see improvement from year one to year two like greens than we will all be happy
Green had a GREAT O-line & a GREAT running game & a GREAT TE. Cassel has NONE of those. There is no comparison.
Cant help but fell he is too tenative from one set of downs to another. No OL? Does not help, but he has some of the best minds in football helping him. Even if he is in the middle of the pack he succeeds for now and wins a few…
Other wise he will be delegated like Rex Grossman
And no one thinks HE doesn’t know this???
You know–I’m thinkin’ with a $30M guarantee,regardless of the lip service, Casssel likely is not losing a lot of sleep over a 4-10 season. It may be driving you crazy having to pay $1200+ for a couple of season tickets and then there is parking. But hey Matt is cool with it and geez it’s a really fabulous stadium…so you feelin’ better yet?
Rick has made several strong points. My only concern is the throwing the ball down field. I don’t know if we can’t because of:
1. Cassel doesn’t have the protection for the deep ball to develop
2. Cassel doesn’t have the deep ball accuracy
3. The receivers don’t have the top-end speed to create separation for the deep ball.
Fan is correct. And if our “HOF” coordinators cannot compensate, ’10 becomes ’09 repeated.
I cannot accept it will take 4-5 years to turn this team into something we SHOULD support, we have already put our money where our mouth is. We did our part with the stadium and now we need Pioli/Haley to do theirs…..as in now NOT years (like the royALs for 18 years under Glass).
hey el cid, when you say “something we SHOULD” support” are you meaning if we have a better record than last year? Or we have a winning record? Or we go to the playoffs? Or we WIN a playoff game? Or we go to the AFC Championship? Or we go to the Superbowl? Or we WIN the Superbowl? Or if we can maintain any combination of the above over an extended period of time???? Exactly WHAT would make you happy and would make you WANT to support them???
I want to feel we have a team that is worthy of the Chief’s fans. I do not need a superbowl every year but we deserve a team that is better the previous year and headed to the playoffs on a consistant basis. How we get there is Clark’s problem, in turn Pioli, Haley, coaches, and players as fans cannot really do anything other than cheer.
We passed a lot of tax money to fix a stadium, bought the season tickets, and what do we have to show for it…..I fear we gained a whole lot of “patience and wait for the future.” Unfortunately the KC sports fan bought into that with the royALs, and what have they gotten in return. Nothing but 16 year of waiting for this “glorius future” and I do not want that for the Chiefs.
I cannot buy into a 4-5 wait for the future. I cannot recall another NFL franchise where they did not talk about next year not 4 years from now. And I have real issues with Pioli who seems to feel he has a better way that the way the NFL has proved successful with no success to show (yes it has only been 2 years but look at what he has done or not done so far). My future is now, today.
Well el cid, unfortunately, i feel it has been layed out there for us to be shown that they are getting “a little bit better everyday”!
I want instant results too, just like i want instant everything, but when reallity sinks in and you remember that they COMPLETELY tore down the whole oraginization, that it will take time, how much time……..
Correct again. But why? Why did they feel that basically everyone and every style of play that Carl and Herm left them was no value? Why did they convert to a 3-4 defense with only one guy who had a idea what to go (Vrabel)? Why did they bring in Cassel (even a college QB might have looked like him last year, he still may be adequate)? With the rest of the NFL capable of turning losing team to a winning team, why do we have to accept 4-5 year? Completely tore down organization but to wallow in a talentless roster is unacceptable.
We will never get any answers but all of us need to keep whatever pressure we can bring to not allow the Chiefs to waste years.
PS If you get “a little bit better every day”, you may never get well. At some point you have to poop or get off the pot. And to many of you accept “some day”.
I will take a repeat of the Marty years every year. Win 7-8 games at home and have a shot at playoffs every year. As a season ticket holder that is all you can ask for. Tim’s words….
Green had a GREAT O-line & a GREAT running game & a GREAT TE. Cassel has NONE of those. There is no comparison. Makes my point even better Cassel put up identical numbers his first year but less interceptions and we didn’t run Green out of town!! In fact Vermeils first year with Green at QB they were 6-10 if I’m not mistaking.
Yes and if you don’t treat/cure the illness correctly you may feel well for lets say a year (season), but then the illness just comes back again! The Chiefs have had a sickness for quite sometime now and there have been instances when they have received some medicine (Schottemheimer) or maybe and experimental drug(Vermeil)that has made them feel better for a while, but…….they are still sick and as a matter a fact sicker! Now, is this “regime” the miracle cure???? Don’t know but sometimes you are the sickest just before you are healed! I sure hope no english teachers are reading this, “sicker” “sickest” I’m @ work, don’t have time to figure out proper english!
And it may not take 4-5 years, like I said in an earlier post, anything is possible and the guys we have may “get it” sooner than was expected! we are in a weak division and do have a fairly weak schedule, so….. anything could happen! remember HOPE! It’s all you got!
And btw, a “team worthy of the chiefs fans” would be a superbowl contender EVERY YEAR, because WE ARE THE BEST FANS IN THE NFL!!!! Maybe not always the most rational, but the best!!!
I know what would help Cassel… No more ugly white road pants. Those are terrible! It might not help his play to have the superior red pants back, but he’d certainly look better. Ha!
@ Rick, I would take the Schottenheimer years as well w/ one exception, an offense that can score!!!! My desire is to have a BALANCED team that can do their job in all three phases!
I want Marty’s defenses with Vermeil’s offenses!
I just want a defense. a real defense. Also dammit the chiefs shouldn’t lose at arrowhead. ever.
If the Chiefs can find some offense, somewhere, and the defense can start the game tougher…..maybe, just maybe Arrowhead can be a place teams hate. But with the “work in progress” (Haley) attitude, I cannot believe there is a hope in heck for MNF against SD. They a just plain better on both sides of the ball and the Chiefs seem more interested in developing for the future than Sept ’10. Hope I am wrong.