SB Nation User Blog: Holmeslice

Is #7 Heading Towards Career Backup Status or Top 10 QB Status?

Holmeslice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:25:21 -0000

Matt Cassel takes a lot of sacks. In fact he takes the second amount of sacks, trailing only Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay. Cassel leads the league in fumbles. He has a lot of passes batted down, or, if we really want to pile on we have seen them bounce off of a defender's helmet without his arms an inch to get at the ball. He won't go through all his progressions and he likes to hurry passes which causes them to be off target and makes receivers catch them off balance.

However, when evaluating Cassel and looking for the traits necessary in a solid quarterback we can see that he possesses many of them, especially the mental and physical attributes. This is no doubt the reason Scott Pioli was eager to bring him to KC and had to fight off the coach who knows him best in Josh McDaniel. It's because Matt knows how to find an open receiver. It's because he has surprising mobility to go with a solid and prototypical frame. It's because he seldomly forces any throws and makes good decisions. His arm strength isn't the best as his long balls sail and fall short, but his toughness, confidence, and demeanor show that he is the type of guy who can lead a team week to week.

Talk to a scout and they will tell you that a young quarterback who fumbles a lot is not something to be scared of because that can be corrected. It's a high number of interceptions and forced fumbles that shows you the guy is only going to do it his way despite the coaches best efforts. A proper throwing motion, correcting fumbles, going through progressions, and learning to quickly scan the field are all things that can be coached and will only be improved upon with constant coaching and supervision. So Matt Cassel's struggles are really just based on a lack of coaching and focus on technique.

And that is what is so disappointing about Cassel's development (or lack of it) during this experimental season.

Simply put, the Chiefs have ignored the fact that they need a qualified Quarterback Coach for the young and relatively inexperienced QB they brought in to turn the franchise around. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have always had QB coaches. Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Kurt Warner, Mark Sanchez all have quarterback coaches. It doesn't matter if they are experienced or rookies, there must be someone who keeps them fundamentally sound and helps to simplify everything they see on the field.

It is apparent that Haley is spread too thin. A lot of people knew Haley was spread too thin when he fired Chan Gailey before the season began and claimed the roles of Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach. He did a good job with Kurt Warner of "keeping his foot on his throat" and resurrecting his career, but keep in mind that Warner had a career to begin with and it was a Super Bowl MVP career.

There are so many nuances to the game for a successful quarterback. In the Colts comeback over the Texans, Manning saw a linebacker over celebrating after hammering the RB. Without a huddle he got his players to the line and attacked that linebacker who had no focus on the upcoming play. Great quarterbacks look off the safety, baiting him to the wrong part of the field. Great quarterbacks read blitzes and have the exact play they want ready to go after the ball is snapped. Great quarterbacks learn to read all the little things and then love to exploit the defense and have as much fun doing it as Phillip Rivers did against the Chiefs last week.

Matt Cassel is clearly eager to learn these things and to become a top quarterback in the league. With as much discord and change that has happened throughout the season it's a wonder that he has had any success moving the ball, quite honestly. He is still a young and inexperienced quarterback who they are treating like a veteran. Once the team finds the stability, cohesion, and talent that only comes with time, Cassel will show everybody that he can be a good quarterback. To be a great quarterback, he is going to need someone to bond with and to work out the little kinks that Haley is too busy to work on. Maybe it's greedy to want a Quarterback Coach, maybe even an offensive coordinator to work side-by-side with is what he needs like Trent Green and Al Saunders.

So let's bring in Charlie Weis. Bring in more New England spin-offs, or Arizona connections, or someone we've never heard of, as long as they know what they're talking about and aren't responsible for every other position on the field. Promote the quality control coach, it doesn't matter, as long as we get Cassel working on the fundamentals and nuances of being a great quarterback and developing that extra sense that great quarterbacks are able to play with every week. In the meantime, we can hope that Haley secretly realizes this mistake and starts keeping an eye open for an offensive coordinator and a coach for the $63 million dollar man.

1. We'll see how this plays out the final six weeks of the season, but no rookie coach has shown...

Holmeslice — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:02:59 -0000

1. We'll see how this plays out the final six weeks of the season, but no rookie coach has shown more growth throughout the season than Kansas City's Todd Haley.

It could be that Haley had more growing up to do than any of his peers. Whatever the case, he's shown remarkable willingness to remake himself. He opened the season coaching like Bobby Knight. He's settled down, and his team appears to be responding.

Whitlock on his real paying gig over at FoxSports

Does anyone else get seasick reading Whitlock's huge swings in positive and negative opinions...

20. Kansas City Chiefs (3-7) (Last week: 24). After getting passed by the Chargers, the Broncos...

Holmeslice — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:31:18 -0000

20. Kansas City Chiefs (3-7) (Last week: 24). After getting passed by the Chargers, the Broncos now have to worry about being caught by the Chiefs.

ProFootballTalk Week 11 Power Rankings

"The thinker. There you go. I'm always thinking. Positively."

Holmeslice — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:09:19 -0000

"The thinker. There you go. I'm always thinking. Positively."

The Priest Holmes Mystery

With the cancer finally cured we can remember the true best RB in recent Chiefs history.

Who do we have that we're still excited about for the future?

Holmeslice — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:28:15 -0000

When people across the country think about the Titans they think about a ridiculously fast running back with homerun ability. Then they think about the loss of Haynesworth. The flirtation of bust status with Vince Young. How Kerry Collins appears to be aging in dog years. I will admit, I am in Kansas City and don't necessarily follow the Titans as closely as I could, but I have a bit of a fascination with them and am so curious about how this floundering start to the season took place and what will need to happen to get back to respectability next season. I, like many, figured this would be the season they overtake the Colts and not only make the playoffs but enter top seeded again. But as winter comes in it may be time to start looking ahead to the draft to see what our biggest holes are and what we can do to fix them.

What is one personnel related move that will improve the team most dramatically?

Who are the Titans top 10 players heading into next season?

PS- Save let's save the talk about coaching changes for another thread. Players are more interesting.

And there’s certainly no one for Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard and M...

Holmeslice — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:40:34 -0000

And there’s certainly no one for Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard and Maurice Leggett to look up to in the secondary.

Enter Brown, who is reminiscent of former Chief Sammy Knight. He’s not the biggest or the fastest player on the field, but he knows where to be, what to do, and probably where everyone else should be at the same time. We’ve all heard how Gunther Cunningham referred to Knight as a "coach on the field." Brown’s history in Chicago indicates he can be the same type of player.

Leader in the Secondary

The point of a 3-4 Defense.

Holmeslice — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:52:55 -0000

If we drafted a DE in a 4-3 defense at #3 we would all be ecstactic right now because that means that we get to see sacks and QB pressures and all the things that make defense great. The 4-3 DE is probably the most important position on that side of the ball, (Jared Allen, Freeney, Mario Williams, etc) will make or break the play of the entire defense.

So when we grab the two best 3-4 DEs it's met with a bunch of yawns and disappointment, and some "wait and see" type approaches. But, assuming everyone on here is just a touch above an average football fan, we can say what is boring yet completely true and that is "Football games are won at the line of scrimmage." But first, lets look at how a 3-4 DE works under the radar compared to highlight seeking 4-3 ends.

A 3-4 End plays a huge role in the 3-4 defense and is rare to find their size as they must have height, size, and mobility to occupy the O-tackles. The positives of a 3-4 are that you have some big, strong, disruptive lineman that free up your LBs and secondary to make plays. The linebackers in a 3-4 are much more focused on their roles, either stopping the run or rushing the passer (in really general terms). Another 3-4 benefit is that it is easier to find LBs to fit your system because you are able to use their athletic benefits more one-dimensionally. This means we can find them in late rounds or in free agency if we have the proper talent evaluation. So if we really did get the two best 3-4 DEs in this draft, the most versatile and well sized guys, then why wouldn't we be cheering? These guys are pretty difficult to find outside of the early rounds in the draft.

We're going to see our OLBs get straight QB pressure, opposing running backs chipping away for 1-2 yards a carry or getting stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. We're going to see tipped balls turn into interceptions, cornerbacks and safetys who won't have to glue to their receivers for 15 seconds.

It may not look pretty now, but it's going to feel a lot better to hold opponents back, and not watch running backs bounce off of our guys and rack up career yardage against us. If these guys pan out, we may be doing far more to improve our weak defense than we have in the recent past while it may not feel like it at all.

Strengths: Outstanding size and bulk...Has a big frame with long arms and large hands...Powerful...

Holmeslice — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:39:04 -0000

Strengths:
Outstanding size and bulk...Has a big frame with long arms and large hands...Powerful with excellent strength...Tough and physical...Good athleticism...Quick with a burst...Uses his hands well...Can really hold his ground...Terrific bull rusher...Offers a lot of versatility...Has a lot of experience against elite competition... Hard worker ... Team leader.

Has drawn the inevitable comparisons to Marcus Spears, another former Bayou Bengal who was the 20th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft...An impressive physical specimen who is highly adaptable...Figures to be a coveted prospect because he is so unlike any of the other top defensive ends available in this draft.

Draft Countdown

I can't figure out why ... people always say "it's too high to take him there." If you like a...

Holmeslice — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:10:18 -0000

I can't figure out why ... people always say "it's too high to take him there." If you like a player, draft him. Some may think it's too high, but if you believe in your board and your conviction, draft the player. It's that simple. It's not too high if you believe the player is worth it.

I can't figure out why ... the Kansas City Chiefs would take Tyson Jackson with the third overall pick. How can they justify using that high a pick on player who most likely would never get 10 sacks as a 3-4 end in their defense? He's good. He's not worth the pick there.

Nice contradiction! Anyone else perplexed as to how Prisco maintains his job?

I'm told Snyder is beyond smitten with Sanchez and will likely pursue him this week. How can he do...

Holmeslice — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:42:39 -0000

I'm told Snyder is beyond smitten with Sanchez and will likely pursue him this week. How can he do that? He's going to have to part with either his next two first-round picks, or a slew of picks, including this year's one.

Good on Snyder. That #3 pick is looking more and more valuable as we get closer!! (MMQB)