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Cassel's Potential Landing Spots
Authored by Luis Martins - 11th February, 2009 - 11:32 am
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Peyton Manning's playoff resume has been greatly debated. Here is how his numbers compare to the regular season, along with Tom Brady and more than two dozen other all-time greats.
There’s a difference between a favorite and a lock. When up against a team with playoff-level talent, it’s rare that the team with the better record ever appears in the second category.
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Now that some of chatter surrounding the Super Bowl has died down, it's time to turn our attention to the NFL's offseason.
Some of the more compelling questions throughout the league include:
--Who will be the first Bengal arrested?
--Will Pacman Jones finally fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a full-time mentor to inner city youth?
--Will John Madden remember where he parked his car next time he leaves the house?
They're all riveting storylines. But, for Patriots fans, the biggest question will be the fate of Matt Cassel.
There appear to be mixed feelings about his value. While most pundits appear to be talking about a first round pick or more, some view him as a decent, middle of the pack starting quarterback who stepped into a very good situation when Tom Brady went down.
Regardless, it does appear that Cassel, who has already signed the Patriots' franchise tender, will have some suitors. Unfortunately for Cassel, he has very little say in where he ends up. Fortunately for Cassel, there is a pay day with quite a few zeros on the horizon.
One possibility that has been discussed has Cassel going nowhere. This could happen in one of three ways:
--Cassel stays on for one year under the franchise tender of around $15 million dollars.
--Cassel signs a long-term deal as Brady's back-up and potential starter-in-waiting.
--The Patriots trade Brady and sign Cassell long-term.
Can we get number three out of the way right now? The Patriots are not trading Brady. Even if he woke up tomorrow and had misplaced his right arm, I don't think the Patriots would trade Brady.
I actually don't believe the Patriots will keep Cassel either -– unless he signs a very team-friendly contract to back up Brady. But, what would be the motivation on either side to put together such a deal?
From the Patriots point of view, there's no reason to overpay for a back-up unless they want to declare him Brady's successor. And, unless they expect Brady to spontaneously combust, there's no reason to keep Cassel on as the successor. Brady is 32 years-old and, by the time he decides to leave the Patriots for a spot in the Hall of Fame, any contract Cassel could sign would likely be long expired.
The only way I see any chance whatsoever of Cassel sticking around is under the one year franchise tag. However, count me among the doubters in that scenario as well. The Patriots are among the best teams in the NFL, but they are not in such an outstanding position that they could dedicate such a large amount of their salary cap number to just two players –- only one of whom can be on the field at any given moment. If any team except the Patriots decided to do this, we would call them buffoons. Me? I've learned not to doubt Belichick's decisions -– even the headscratchers.
Without further delay, here are a few of Cassel's potential landing spots:
Kansas City Chiefs
There is speculation that the Chiefs are going to take a long hard look at trading for Cassel. Some of this speculation is obviously a result of the fact that the new Chiefs general manager, Scott Pioli, has a close relationship with Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Pioli, more than anyone, knows that Belichick is as tough a negotiator as they come.
Here's a sneak peek at how the negotiations could go.
Belichick agrees to meet Pioli at their old favorite haunt -– the Ground Round on Route 1 in Foxboro. Belichick gets there first and waits for Pioli.
However, instead of Pioli, Dick Vermeil unexpectedly enters the room. You see, Pioli, knowing he didn't stand a chance against the stoic Belichick, brings in Vermeil as a secret weapon in the negotiating process. Further, Pioli insisted that Vermeil watch Schindler’s List, the last MASH, and Sophie's Choice (twice) the morning immediately preceding the negotiations.
Bill knows he's in for a tough negotiation and immediately regrets not doing a shot of tequila before the meeting.
"Hello Dick." Belichick begins, "I didn't know you were still involved with the Chiefs. Let's get right down to business. What are you willing to give up for Cassel?"
Vermeil's bottom lip starts quivering. Pioli's plan is working.
"Come on. Dick," Belichick pleads. "Dick ... no ... Dick ... don't cry. It's ok!"
"It's just that," Vermeil, now sobbing, responds. "I love all these kids so much!"
Bill (sensing himself on the short end of the negotiation) tries to throw water on the situation.
"Dick ... stop. I mean ... 80% of the Kansas City's roster has changed since you left. You don't even know these kids!"
"And that's," Vermeil is barely comprehensible,
"that's ... just ... that's just a shame. These kids ... they ... they just try so darn hard."
Belichick is defeated. Cassel is traded for a bottle of 1999 Chardonnay from Vermeil's winery. Vermeil still misses the bottle tremendously.
Seriously though, this is a very likely landing spot for Cassel. The Chiefs claim to be happy with Tyler Thigpen and Brodie Croyle, but neither one of those players seems like a legitimate option as the long-term starter. The biggest obstacle in this scenario would be Pioli's willingness to pay Cassel's salary.
New York Jets
Two words –- inferiority complex. Think about it, The Jets play in the center of the universe and have actually managed to spend the last forty years toiling in relative obscurity.
There are seven major sports franchises that consider themselves a New York franchise. The Giants, Knicks, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, and Islanders have all won championships more recently than the Jets.
The Knicks and Rangers play in a world famous arena in front of celebrities in a mint location on the West Side of Manhattan. The Yankees play (or played) in the House That Ruth Built.
The Jets play in a stadium built on a swamp in New Jersey. Oh yeah, and the stadium is named after the Giants.
OK. So, someone has to be the redheaded stepchild in the New York sports market, right? New York is such a fish bowl that failure there can be success elsewhere –- right?
Uhhh ... no. The Jets' play in the same division as the Patriots, who have recently won a couple of games. They watched the Bills make four-straight Super Bowls, and they sat around waiting their turn while the Dolphins made five Super Bowls in the Don Shula era.
Not to pour it on the Jets, but look at their quarterback situation in the last 25 years. The list of starters includes Ken O'Brien (who was the 24th pick in the 1983 draft, while Dan Marino was 27th and Jim Kelly went in the fourth round), Pat Ryan, Browning Nagle (who they drafted one spot after Brett Favre), a washed up Boomer Esiason, Neil O'Donnell, Ray Lucas, Tommy Maddox, Vinny Testaverde and Chad Pennington.
The best of that bunch, at least when he played with the Jets, was Testaverde -- the same player who was once speculated to be color blind because he had seasons of 35, 25 and 22 interceptions. Do you know how many other players have thrown 35 interceptions in a season? If you said zero you win a nice set of kitchen knives.
The current depth chart, which Favre reportedly retiring, consists of Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff.
This is all a very long winded way of saying a) the Jets need to make a splash so that people don't forget they exist, and b) they need a quarterback in the worst way.
Cassel is not a big name the way Favre was one year ago, but he's considered the best available quarterback right now. And, if nothing else, the Jets would show their fans that they're trying ... while getting the back page of the Daily News for a couple of days.
There is a problem here of course. The Jets and Patriots aren't exactly Sonny and Cher circa 1965. A better analogy would probably be Ike and Tina Turner circa 1974. It has been ugly at times. Never mind the unwritten rule that you don't trade within your own division.
The Jets need this, but it probably won't happen.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are much too talented to go through another season of watching Tarvaris Jackson learn through trial and error. There's a reason Jackson was available in the second round. He's a work in progress –- to be kind.
Cassel would be a great choice if they don't want Adrian Peterson's career to follow that of Barry Sanders –- going his entire career without appearing in a Super Bowl. The shelf life of a running back is fairly short and the Vikings defense is built to win now.
I expect the Vikings to be the team that allows the Patriots to set their price in terms of compensation. I have no inside information, but this is where I would expect Cassel to end up. I believe the Vikings have no intention of entering the season with Jackson as their starter.
Detroit Lions
In breaking news, the Lions need a quarterback. And, the two teams may talk. But, does anyone really want to see the bloodbath that could be a negotiation between the Lions, who were the first team in history to go 0-16, and the Patriots, who, in 2007, were the first team in history to go 16-0 in the regular season? Do you really think the level of ability and intelligence among the teams' respective leaders is on the same level? Should they be allowed to negotiate without some sort of arbitrator to make sure it doesn't get ugly?
I could see it going down something like this.
Bill walks into a restaurant on Newbury Street where the recently anointed general manager of the new and improved Lions, Martin Mayhew, is prepared to discuss Matt Cassel. Mayhew, by all accounts, is a fine young executive, but, he was on Matt Millen's staff and it has been reported that for every hour spent in Millen's presence your football IQ drops by 5 points. It's very similar to second hand smoke. I'm not making this up.
Mayhew shakes Bill's hand and, maintaining a stiff upper lip, says, "We might be interested in your backup quarterback -– if you're not outrageous in your demands."
Mayhew continues, "We think he would be a good fit for our offense, but we are talking to several quarterbacks and we feel each of them is at least half as good as your guy."
Belichick seems a little thrown off by Mayhew's strategy, but comforts himself in the knowledge that Mayhew was mentored by Millen. Knowing that even the most feeble-minded football executive doesn't expect the first offer to be the final offer, Belichick requests the Lions second first round pick (the 20th overall) and a third round pick in this year's draft.
Mayhew looks insulted. He puts his fork down. He pauses momentarily. "Bill," Mayhew starts, "You have a reputation in this league for getting your way." He takes a bite of his bread and pauses for a moment. "I'm not going to be your average pushover in this league. I'll give you two firsts -– take it or leave it."
Belichick looks at Mayhew –- waiting for him to smile and say "just kidding." When that doesn't happen, the paranoid Belichick assumes he's on an episode of Punk'd. In a pinch, he grabs his things, which include pictures of Mayhew's wife (in case he needed leverage) and some light reading (the Jets' playbook), and runs out the door –- keeping one eye out for Ashton Kutcher.
Mayhew proceeds with his back-up plan of signing Rodney Peete to a contract.
Honestly, the Lions will likely be considering Cassel, but they should take a good look at Randy Moss' drop off in production from last year to this year. The Lions may want to consider whether a quarterback whose biggest weakness is his deep accuracy is a good fit for a team whose biggest current asset is a wide receiver -– Calvin Johnson -- with a unique ability to spread the field.
This marriage may happen. But, if you're a Cassel fan, pray it doesn't. It's not a good fit.
San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears
Each of these teams has been reported to be in the market for a quarterback. However, when push comes to shove, I think they will be happy to bring in a veteran (Derek Anderson, Byron Leftwich, Kerry Collins, or Jeff Garcia) to compete with their starters from the end of last year -– Shaun Hill and Kyle Orton, respectively.
Dark Horses
Two teams I would keep an eye on are the Panthers and Buccaneers.
Jake Delhomme may have punched his ticket out of town with his performance in the playoffs. And, despite having twenty-four quarterbacks on their roster from Gruden's quarterback collecting days, the Bucs are not very strong at the position. However, I don't think either team will follow this route if they do decide to upgrade the position. (I did hear that Gruden has an opening for a pool boy and may be willing to pay top dollar.)
Despite the varying opinions regarding Cassel's value, there will be suitors for his services. My feeling is that the Vikings have the most pressing need for him, and will drive the compensation up to at least a first round pick. I don't think the Chiefs will go to that level –- leaving Matt Cassell as the new quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings ... but, what the hell do I know"
