HALEY - CASSEL SIDELINE CONFRONTATION COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
If you were in Arrowhead Stadium for the game, you might have missed what we saw repeatedly during the telecast, coach Todd Haley & his starting quarterback, Matt Cassel, get into a pretty good shouting match. If you were at the game, I'm sure you've seen the incident I'm talking about on your favorite highlight show. That 30-second shouting match could become the most important thing that happens to this team all year. Why? A little background is necessary for me to make my point.
The Chiefs were sleepwalking offensively thru the first half & on consecutive plays, Cassel thru away passes inside the the Minnesota 10-yardline. The second was thrown at the feet of fullback Le'Ron McClain. It looked eerily similar to the play that ended last week's hopes in San Diego when Cassel threw a screen pass directly to Charger safety Eric Weddle. Not this time, Cassel threw the ball directly into the ground when it was clear the Vikings had sniffed out the play. Cassel never looked into the endzone or took off running to his left, which was wide open. The fans registered their displeasure by booing loudly & as Cassel approached the bench, Haley let him have with both barrels. After what happened last week, I'm sure Cassel had it drilled into him all week to ground the ball instead of firing it blindly. But honestly, at that moment, I thought Cassel had given up on the play & he deserved those boos, deserved the wrath of Haley. But we saw something we'd never seen before, Cassel shouting right back at his coach. No more "sideline correctness" or suffering in silence, Cassel came right back at Haley & finally McClain stepped as a peacemaker. As Ryan Succop was kicking the second of his five field goals, Matt Cassel was on the brink of truly becoming a team leader. He didn't take Haley's crap & everyone could see just how angry Cassel was.
After taking possession at their own 33 with 2:22 remaining in the first half, Cassel moved his team to the Minnesota 33 before calling their final timeout with 1-second left. Enter Succop & boom, a 51-yard field goal for the kicker who'd missed one per game so far this season. Kansas City went to the locker room leading for the first time in 2011.
After everyone settled down, Cassel gave an impassioned speech to his teammates. He was loud, he was slightly vulgar, but he got his message across. Tho Kansas City scored only 13-points in the second half, they played with a spark, defensively & offensively. Cassel discovered Steve Breaston, who produced his best game since signing with Kansas City, 4 receptions for 91-yards. Succop kicked 2 more field goals, one from 54-yards, a personal best. Haley never hesitated to send him in to attempt the kick, it was like he knew Succop couldn't miss, he didn't. Then in the 4th quarter, Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe on a 52-yard catch & run for the deciding touchdown.
Minus Eric Berry, Tony Moeaki & Jamaal Charles, this looked like the team we watched last season. Unfortunately, like much of last season, it was against a team going nowhere, the now 0-4 Vikings. They didn't get the tag "1st Half Masters, 2nd Half Disasters" for nothing. This is a team in as much trouble as the Chiefs were. Notice I used the past tense? I honestly believe we saw a seminal moment right before half, a "come to Jesus moment" if you will. I don't see this team winning more than 5-6 games, but I doubt we'll see a return to what we sat thru opening day or in Detroit. Has Matt Cassel become a franchise quarterback after his meltdown aimed at coach Haley or his halftime impression of Knute Rockne? No, but like I've believed all along, with a strong supporting cast, he can lead them to a playoff game now & then. They might even win one if the defense would hold up their end of the deal. The veterans on this roster know by now Todd Haley has some strange techniques to motivate his players, but it's clear if they yell back loud enough & then play like their hair's on fire, the coach will take whatever they'll fire back with. A road game against winless Indianapolis up next week & I expect this team to win. I haven't said that since opening day, it's nice to write a positive post about the Chiefs for a change. Makes Mondays a lot more tolerable too doesn't it?
The Chiefs were sleepwalking offensively thru the first half & on consecutive plays, Cassel thru away passes inside the the Minnesota 10-yardline. The second was thrown at the feet of fullback Le'Ron McClain. It looked eerily similar to the play that ended last week's hopes in San Diego when Cassel threw a screen pass directly to Charger safety Eric Weddle. Not this time, Cassel threw the ball directly into the ground when it was clear the Vikings had sniffed out the play. Cassel never looked into the endzone or took off running to his left, which was wide open. The fans registered their displeasure by booing loudly & as Cassel approached the bench, Haley let him have with both barrels. After what happened last week, I'm sure Cassel had it drilled into him all week to ground the ball instead of firing it blindly. But honestly, at that moment, I thought Cassel had given up on the play & he deserved those boos, deserved the wrath of Haley. But we saw something we'd never seen before, Cassel shouting right back at his coach. No more "sideline correctness" or suffering in silence, Cassel came right back at Haley & finally McClain stepped as a peacemaker. As Ryan Succop was kicking the second of his five field goals, Matt Cassel was on the brink of truly becoming a team leader. He didn't take Haley's crap & everyone could see just how angry Cassel was.
After taking possession at their own 33 with 2:22 remaining in the first half, Cassel moved his team to the Minnesota 33 before calling their final timeout with 1-second left. Enter Succop & boom, a 51-yard field goal for the kicker who'd missed one per game so far this season. Kansas City went to the locker room leading for the first time in 2011.
After everyone settled down, Cassel gave an impassioned speech to his teammates. He was loud, he was slightly vulgar, but he got his message across. Tho Kansas City scored only 13-points in the second half, they played with a spark, defensively & offensively. Cassel discovered Steve Breaston, who produced his best game since signing with Kansas City, 4 receptions for 91-yards. Succop kicked 2 more field goals, one from 54-yards, a personal best. Haley never hesitated to send him in to attempt the kick, it was like he knew Succop couldn't miss, he didn't. Then in the 4th quarter, Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe on a 52-yard catch & run for the deciding touchdown.
Minus Eric Berry, Tony Moeaki & Jamaal Charles, this looked like the team we watched last season. Unfortunately, like much of last season, it was against a team going nowhere, the now 0-4 Vikings. They didn't get the tag "1st Half Masters, 2nd Half Disasters" for nothing. This is a team in as much trouble as the Chiefs were. Notice I used the past tense? I honestly believe we saw a seminal moment right before half, a "come to Jesus moment" if you will. I don't see this team winning more than 5-6 games, but I doubt we'll see a return to what we sat thru opening day or in Detroit. Has Matt Cassel become a franchise quarterback after his meltdown aimed at coach Haley or his halftime impression of Knute Rockne? No, but like I've believed all along, with a strong supporting cast, he can lead them to a playoff game now & then. They might even win one if the defense would hold up their end of the deal. The veterans on this roster know by now Todd Haley has some strange techniques to motivate his players, but it's clear if they yell back loud enough & then play like their hair's on fire, the coach will take whatever they'll fire back with. A road game against winless Indianapolis up next week & I expect this team to win. I haven't said that since opening day, it's nice to write a positive post about the Chiefs for a change. Makes Mondays a lot more tolerable too doesn't it?
Good God man, make up your mind. R we gonna suck or is there hope? Just kidding. Seriously, the mood after Cassel got bood was better, even better in second half. More fun to leave at the end of the game and not in the third qtr.
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Rich,
Derrick Thomas is my all-time favorite Chiefs player. I agree with your stipulation that Tamba Hali is Derrick Thomas-like. You talk about playing like your hair is on fire? That's Hali for sure. He'll only get better with another pass rusher. Just like #58 had Neil Smith, if Gilberry or Houston can get 8-10 sacks, Hali will do better than last year, regardless of our schedule.
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