Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli explained in May that Kansas City didn’t draft a quarterback this year because they’ve already got three good ones. They project Matt Cassel to be the best of a group that also includes Brady Quinn and Ricky Stanzi.
And new Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll loves him some Matt Cassel, based on past won-loss records.
“I have a lot of confidence in Matt,” Daboll declared, per the Kansas City Star. “He’s been a winner. He’s had two ten-plus win seasons and I did a study just this offseason about ten-plus-win quarterbacks, which is what you’re defined by.
“There have been nine of them the last four years that have had two or more ten-plus-win seasons. Matt is one of them, the others being Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli, Flacco, Ryan.
“So he’s been a winner.”
Cassel, to be sure, has been on some winning teams. He’s also played dreadfully recently. Over the course of Cassel’s last 11 starts, he’s accounted for ten touchdowns and 16 turnovers, with a yards-per-pass attempt average of under 6.0. He has more touchdowns than interceptions in just four of those 11 games. And he’s exceeded 261 passing yards twice in his last 27 starts.
Quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn told the Star that Cassel is ahead of the curve in Kansas City’s new offense, which the Chiefs hope will improve his performance so Cassel can be “a winner” again.
“We’re gaining a lot of ground because of the things he’s doing,” complimented Zorn. “He’s been able to pick up the system quickly. Since he’s been able to do that, he can move through a lot of the basic things. So he’s working on some of the more advanced things right now.”