Originally Posted by
chief31
I think the defense is extremely dependant upon Crennel's work in order to see any improvement. And I think we will see quite a bit.
Just replacing Pendergast should make an improvement. But if Crennel is half as smart as advertised, then we may actually see opponents do quite a bit of punting.
The big question about the offense, for me, is Cassel. I don't think we did much to improve the pass protection from last season. But we added McCluster as a quick-pass option, to ensure that we will not be as dependant upon good pass protectors.
The worry I have with that is that Cassel is most certainly not known for his quick decision-making ability behind Center. In fact, he is often criticized as a guy who regularly takes too long to get rid of the ball.
The hopes for McCluster are that he will be similar to a Wes Welker. But Cassel earned his rep for holding the ball even when he had the actual Wes Welker on the team.
It will be two years later, with time to have improved on his bad habits. But even our new OC was critical of Cassel's ability to get rid of the ball quickly.
If Cassel can make the adjustments needed and expected from him, then, with the running game that was established last season, combined with T. Jones, we may, in fact, be looking at a very powerful offense this year.
But going from being a slow decision maker to a very quick one is a huge change. Every QB is urged to become a quicker decision maker. But few are able to pull off that feat.
Looking at the amount of criticism he endured last year, (quite undeservedly in my opinion) and having been granted a new OC and slot WR, if he is even slow to make the changes, then he may become public enemy number one in Kansas City.
I don't see any way that this team doesn't improve upon a 4-12 record. For now, I stay with a safe prediction of 6-10.
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