KSViking wrote:
They went out and got Cassel this offseason, he was not some Leper that nobody was interested in. If that were the case, he would not have exercised his option to leave the team in the first place, and we would not have signed him back at a higher price.
I'm not a Cassel fan, but being a Chiefs hater, and living down here. I watched many games in disgust as he helped them pull out wins. His KC Story was this. First year, he got hurt early in the season, MCL, but played the rest of the year. The New coach was out of his element, trying to be OC and HC at same time. Whole team was in disarray. They finished 4-10, next season Charlie Weis was hired to be the OC, Cassel was starter from the first day, and he made the playoffs, probowl, good stats. Then came 2011 and chiefs lost a bunch of their starters. Jamal Charles, the Starting TE, and most importantly, Charlie Weis got tired of Todd Haley, and left. Haley called the plays again that year, just like 2010. And basically same results as in 2010. Losing season.. (Although I was about 20 ft from the field as I watch them beat the Vikings, with McNabb throwing the ball to the gophers huddled somewhere underneither the turf.) 2012 Romeo Crennel took over the team, the whole team sucked. Cassel was put on IR half way through the season with a broken hand, which saved him the misery of playing on that horrid squad for the rest of the year. 2013 came around, new GM, New head coach Andy Reid, new philosophy, and I think they wanted a new start, clean slate. So they traded for Alex Smith. They didn't want to get stuck with Cassel's large salary, so they cut him. Vikings picked him up the next day. Anyway.. Long story short. Cassel, unlike Ponder has at least had a couple successful seasons. One coming in as Brady was injured, and one in KC. Both times he had good coaching, and a stable environment. I think he could have another good year or 2 under Norv and a organization that wants him to be the starter for a year or 2, not a bunch of controversy. Last year, he was never treated like a starter. He didn't get the opportunities to be the guy in practice for the first half of the year, as Ponder was in there. When Ponder came out, the Org tried to throw Josh Freeman in as the guy, and when everything else failed, Cassel was finally given the nod, but by then it seemed like the whole team was sort of defeated. He played some good games, he played some bad games but I think this year, he is at least being setup to succeed more than he was last year. We drafted a QB in first round for a reason, Cassel isn't the long term solution to get to the Superbowl. However with some help, I think he could help us get to the playoffs.
Great post.
I'm not delusional enough to believe Cassel is the guy to lead the Vikings to he Super Bowl. But honestly, for all this talk about "anybody but Ponder," that's the FANS' attitude. The coaching staff's attitude last year seemed to be "anybody but Cassel." They stayed with Ponder to a fault, then went to stinking Freeman and back to Ponder before finally giving the job to Cassel.
Also, there's a lot of talk about how poorly Cassel played against teams with great defenses, like Cincinnati and Carolina. Well, what makes anybody think Ponder would have performed better? Against Cleveland, a good but not great defense, he was awful. And against Seattle, he was completely intimidated. Ponder's so-called good games came against bottom-feeder defenses. At least Cassel had excellent games against playoff teams in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Finally, if good coaching can somehow make Ponder better, than why wouldn't it also make Cassel better? KSViking has pointed out that when Cassel has had good coaching, he's been very good. (In fairness to Ponder, he really hasn't.)
I'm excited about Teddy Bridgewater. And if he's ready Week 1, start him. But the idea that Christian Ponder should start if Teddy isn't ready -- I'll hurl on the TV if I see Ponder enter anything but a preseason game unless there are injuries to the other two.
My point is, based on his history over the last several years, I have a hard time seeing Cassel as a rock solid insurance policy that gives the Vikings the luxury of just sitting back and taking their time with Bridgewater because they're getting all the quality QB play they need. They can choose to take their time anyway but the assumption that Cassel, who has not been a reliable, quality starter for years, provides the insurance a reliable starter would provide, is hard for me to accept.
