Chambers says much of Cassel's ineffectiveness Sunday was receiver's fault

**yashi** · 12-11-2009, 10:44 AM

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.

**pbatrucker** · 12-11-2009, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by yashi

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.

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.

That's why I get frustrated when we get 2 or 3 posts every week about how bad Cassel is. What we see as fans is not what is actually going on.
I really hope we resign Chambers. Not only is he our best WR, he can be a valuable teacher for some of our young players.

**yashi** · 12-11-2009, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by pbatrucker

That's why I get frustrated when we get 2 or 3 posts every week about how bad Cassel is. What we see as fans is not what is actually going on.
I really hope we resign Chambers. Not only is he our best WR, he can be a valuable teacher for some of our young players.

What a great attitude too. You would never expect a recently signed WR in a contract year to admit to the media that he ran poor routes. I REALLY wish Chambers was a few years younger because I would love for him and Bowe to be our starters for a long time.

**SIC J** · 12-11-2009, 01:27 PM

See even Chambers is telling you Cassel haters to shut up and stop being TV coaches. LOL

Now can we please stop posting about how Cassel is holding on to the ball too long?!?!

**MDChiefs!** · 12-11-2009, 01:52 PM

Our receiver were horrible against the Broncos...I realize we have 3 WR in the top 10 in drops this year, but that is still no excuse for the mistakes Cassel makes on his end. I think he can be a great QB for us, but he is still making mistakes you should not be making your 7th year in the pros, starting or not. He has got to learn WHEN to get rid of the ball. He IS holding onto the ball too long. Especially when he knows how little time he has back there to get rid of it. I understand we might need to give our WRs a little extra time to try to get open, but if you dont have anyone you need to get rid of the ball and stop taking sacks instead. Dont get mad when someone points out he holds onto to the ball to long...go watch tape. As for Chambers, I hope we can re sign him after this season and keep him around for a couple more years. I think our young WRs can learn alot playing with him

**Seek** · 12-11-2009, 02:01 PM

given the lack of protection for the offensive line, the lack of a good running game, and the fact the Chiefs lead the NFL in dropped passes. I can't tell you how many times the Chiefs actually had a good play on to negate it because of a penalty because someone was either stupid or just beaten physically.

Todd Hailey said a couple weeks ago, that the team is opening way to slow, so he will have to open up the play calling which allow for more mistakes, but they have to do something.

I don't find it a consequence that the offense showed life as soon as Chambers was signed and LJ was cut. There was a change in talent.

This team just lacks talent.. You could put Peyton Manning back there in Cassells place, and I am sure he would be yelling at his team in frustration.

In my opinion both Hailey and Cassel get a pass for year one until there is time to make adequate changes.

Cassel haters, need to remember TrINT Greens first year as a Chief. He turned out to be one heck of a QB for us once DV revamped the entire offense.

**Hayvern** · 12-11-2009, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by MDChiefs!

Our receiver were horrible against the Broncos...I realize we have 3 WR in the top 10 in drops this year, but that is still no excuse for the mistakes Cassel makes on his end. I think he can be a great QB for us, but he is still making mistakes you should not be making your 7th year in the pros, starting or not. He has got to learn WHEN to get rid of the ball. He IS holding onto the ball too long. Especially when he knows how little time he has back there to get rid of it. I understand we might need to give our WRs a little extra time to try to get open, but if you dont have anyone you need to get rid of the ball and stop taking sacks instead. Dont get mad when someone points out he holds onto to the ball to long...go watch tape. As for Chambers, I hope we can re sign him after this season and keep him around for a couple more years. I think our young WRs can learn alot playing with him

Wow, ummm, exactly how long should he hold on to the ball. The reason we cannot throw deep like so many want is that "he should be getting rid of the ball".

Plays take time to develop, 3 - 4 seconds is the rule you will hear any quarterback mention. Cassel most of the time, rarely gets more than 2 seconds behind this swiss cheese offensive line. He knows this, that is why he dumps the ball off to the safety valve all of the time and typically, on third down it results in the play coming up short of the first down.

Seriously, come back and talk about holding the ball too long when the offensive line gives him a moment to catch his breath.

Think about how many decisions he has to make in the 1.5 to 2 seconds this line gives him. Most people cannot decide whether the shoe they have in their hand is for their left or right foot in less than two seconds, muchless trying to find an open receiver to throw the ball to.

His knock might have been holding the ball too long behind the line he had in New England, but behind this line, he is not getting the time he needs.

**MDChiefs!** · 12-11-2009, 02:15 PM

I agree the o-line still sucks, but our o-line has been playing much better since Goff left the line up. And if we dont have enough time to develop our plays, then that falls on the coaching. I like Cassel but he is a victim of bad play calling. Haley knows what he has to work with, and he is failing as a play caller. If we cant give the WRs time to run their routes, then call shorter ones. He knows that Cassel would have more time to throw out of the Gun, but we insist on keeping him behind center, where after his 3rd step back he usually already has someone in his face. And if he doesnt he is scrambling for his life trying to make a play when he should just throw the ball away. He has also made share of poor decisions this season and been far from perfect. And him getting sacked a league high 46 times in 08 behind an all star o-line in NE says alot... I am not a Cassel basher, I like him and think he could be our QBOTF with a little more help, but it seems like people are making excuses for him. An

Originally Posted by Hayvern

Wow, ummm, exactly how long should he hold on to the ball. The reason we cannot throw deep like so many want is that "he should be getting rid of the ball".

Plays take time to develop, 3 - 4 seconds is the rule you will hear any quarterback mention. Cassel most of the time, rarely gets more than 2 seconds behind this swiss cheese offensive line. He knows this, that is why he dumps the ball off to the safety valve all of the time and typically, on third down it results in the play coming up short of the first down.

Seriously, come back and talk about holding the ball too long when the offensive line gives him a moment to catch his breath.

Think about how many decisions he has to make in the 1.5 to 2 seconds this line gives him. Most people cannot decide whether the shoe they have in their hand is for their left or right foot in less than two seconds, muchless trying to find an open receiver to throw the ball to.

His knock might have been holding the ball too long behind the line he had in New England, but behind this line, he is not getting the time he needs.

**Seek** · 12-11-2009, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by MDChiefs!

Our receiver were horrible against the Broncos...I realize we have 3 WR in the top 10 in drops this year, but that is still no excuse for the mistakes Cassel makes on his end. I think he can be a great QB for us, but he is still making mistakes you should not be making your 7th year in the pros, starting or not. He has got to learn WHEN to get rid of the ball. He IS holding onto the ball too long. Especially when he knows how little time he has back there to get rid of it. I understand we might need to give our WRs a little extra time to try to get open, but if you dont have anyone you need to get rid of the ball and stop taking sacks instead. Dont get mad when someone points out he holds onto to the ball to long...go watch tape. As for Chambers, I hope we can re sign him after this season and keep him around for a couple more years. I think our young WRs can learn alot playing with him

I for one hated Elvis Grbac for throwing the ball away to often. I don't mind Cassel holding it for a player to get open. He does need to work on throwing balls that only the receiver can catch.

As Chambers stated, Cassel is pump faking when he is actually pulling the ball back because they are running the wrong routes. As stated by both Chambers and Cassel. We don't know the reads they are being taught and much of the blame does go on the Receiver.

The receivers are dropping way to many catches. Of those three receivers in the top 10 of drops. Those three players have not been active for at least two or more games and still lead the field that is bad. One of those receivers almost drops 50% of the balls compared to catching them.

Dropping passes, running wrong routes does not help a QB who is constantly pressured because the defense knows the receivers can be covered by one person and there is constant pressure. I swear Cassel is blitzed every pass play by at least two people.

**honda522** · 12-11-2009, 08:43 PM

Do you work well with others on your first day at the job?

Now forward yourself 6 months and see how well you work with your other coworkers.

Its just like this...all of these players hardly know each other. Get them more time to work with each other and soon they will trust each other and work better as a team.

I believe this is part of the reason why we just don't look good. No one is use to working with one another and they need time. Give us time to be friends and trust each other. There is no trust among enemies.