To cut right to the chase, the Kansas City Chiefs have put a lot of faith in quarterback Matt Cassel. Back in February, K.C. acquired the surprise 2008 star with the full intention of making Cassel its franchise QB -- a decision backed by the $15 million tender Cassel signed for 2009, then later, the five-year, $60 million extension the Chiefs gave him.Money for a backup quarterback, that is not.
But the transition hasn't been confidence-inspiring in the preseason. Cassel's struggled so much lately, in fact, that when asked Tuesday whether Cassel has been the Chiefs' best quarterback thus far, new K.C. head coach Todd Haley responded, "I'll hold out on answering that right now."
Why the hesitation?
Well, Cassel has had issues through camp protecting the ball -- he had a three-turnover performance an intrasquad scrimmage -- then struggled again in the Chiefs' preseason opener against Houston. He completed just two-of-five passes for 15 yards versus the Texans, and coughed up a fumble.
With Haley bringing a shotgun-heavy passing attack to Kansas CIty, and new general manager Scott Pioli ready to stockpile the roster with targets for Cassel, the situation looked pretty ideal.
But while Cassel's scuffled, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen, an 11-game starter for the Chiefs last year, have been playing well. Croyle hit on 12-of-18 pass attempts for 145 yards against Houston, while Thigpen went 7-of-14 for 40 yards, a touchdown and interception.
Does any of this mean anything? At the moment, probably not. Cassel's never been a sensational preseason player -- he hasn't thrown a preseason TD pass since 2006, as a matter of fact -- and it would take quite a stomach full of guts to bench a $60-million player before his first regular-season snap. Still, the concerns over Cassel's move to Kansas City are still there. Until he proves that he wasn't a product of New England's offense, and that he is capable of being an unquestioned No. 1 quarterback (not the starter by default), the questions about him will continue to fly.And Haley's answers to this point are far from rave reviews. Moments after the inquiry into Cassel's performance, Haley was questioned about Brett Favre's ability to jump back into action at his age. Joking or not, his response was an eyebrow-raiser:
"I'm just worried about this house that's on fire," Haley said, "and I'm trying to keep it from burning down."
