Cassel is taking a lot of heat from some of us this week, but as it turns out... a lot of the blame should be going to the receivers for poor route running.

Chiefs WR Chris Chambers Takes Some Heat Off Of QB Matt*Cassel - Arrowhead Pride

In last week's game, Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel took some heat for some of his decision making, which contributed to a low, low completion percentage. Some folks point to the Chiefs NFL high 37 drops while others point to Cassel's "happy feet". Whatever the case may be, not all is perfect with the Chiefs receivers, as evidenced by a few things Chris Chambers had to say after yesterday's practice.

Chambers was cognizant of the fact that the receivers haven't been perfect and said they've gotta do a better job of taking the heat off of Cassel. He pointed to a couple of plays that, from our view, puts the blame on Cassel. But, from his view, puts the blame on himself.

Star-divide

"There were a couple of routes that you may have seen him double-clutch on," Chambers continued. "I ran a route that was supposed to be three steps, and I ran five steps. He was ready to throw it, but I wasn’t ready to receive it. So, it looks bad on him."

And another:

"I was short on another route that was 12 yards," Chamber went on to say. "It went over my head, but I was supposed to be at 16-18 yards. It looks like that on TV, but when you break it down on film it’s not like that. You can’t put it all on him."

Josh Looney of KCChiefs.com has a nice perspective on Chambers' words.

"That’s some interesting perspective from a player who hasn’t been here very long and could have very well kept quiet; keeping the focus on the many big contributions he’s made in just a month on the job," Looney writes. "Keep in mind that Chambers is a free agent this offseason and currently auditioning for a job. Those past three paragraphs show exactly what the type of stand-up, team-player that Chambers is."

Indeed it does. It also shows that a few of the things Cassel said yesterday has some meaning to it.

“Well I don’t think anybody that sits there, watches the game and tries to evaluate the game, they don’t know my reads, they don’t know one pattern that I’m supposed to be reading, they don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking at, so for them to sit there and evaluate and say ‘he’s holding the ball too long, or he’s doing this or he’s doing that,’ they really don’t know what’s going on out there other than the fact that they’re looking at the overall product.

"It’s easy for someone to sit back and critique somebody from the sideline, but at the same time, it’s different when I’m being coached to do something specifically, I’m not saying that all the time I’m doing it right or perfectly by any means, but at the same time, that’s kind of how it feels sometimes.”

When I first heard Cassel say this yesterday, I was a little taken aback. But, after hearing what Chambers had to say, it kinda validates Cassel's words.
Say what you will, but the fact of the matter is that right now he is working almost exclusively with receivers who were unemployed at some point this season.