Matt Cassel was worse than advertised

punchnjudy

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In prior stints (going back to 2013), Cassel had been boom or bust. Good games followed by horrible games.

Like I said in another thread, that's ok in a backup because the booms will get you some W's if the team is any good, and if the team gets blown out in the losses, who cares? At least you've won some games along the way. That's better than losing four straight close games where the team never scores more than 20 points.

Right now I'm questioning whether we'll see even a single boom whether it's due to declining skills, how he's handled, or both.
 

Cebrin

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Cassel is doing exactly what Weeden did: he's going with what the defense is giving him.

It's apparent that the Dallas WRs just cannot get themselves any seperation on any kind of consistant basis. Dez did not look 100% out there, he gets a pass this game. But since Romo went down, TWill has disappeared, even Beasley has disappeared. Street has been AWOL all year, Whitehead...who knows what's happening there.

It's also the tight ends. Escobar? Hanna? Maybe they're being kept in to block, I dunno.

Witten has been the most consistant pass catcher and the guy is playing hurt. He can't do it all. I'd say that guys need to step up but that's been the case for 5 weeks now and it's just not happening.

The QB hasn't mattered. Teams seem content to give up the dumpoffs, then attack the pass catcher to limit their yardage gains.

It also doesn't help that Cassel doesn't seem to have the quick released needed to pull off some of the things they tried yesterday.

This team really could have stuck w/ Weeden and we would have probably seen the same results. The QB change hasn't really mattered. All it's done is cost Dallas a draft pick.

There was ample separation many of times. Even with Weeden. The problem is, neither of these QB's are NFL caliber. You have to be able to put the ball where only the receivers can get it. You have to let them make plays when its one on one. Even if coverage is tight, a good QB will put Dez in position to make a big play by putting the ball in the right spot. These guys can't do back shoulder fades or spot throws. They've either got you wide open and still overthrowing, taking sacks or throwing picks. Garbage. Both of them.
 

big dog cowboy

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Let's not forget the Cowboys gave up TWO draft picks for him

"The Cowboys traded for Buffalo backup quarterback Matt Cassel on Tuesday to backup Brandon Weeden. As part of the trade, the Cowboys sent Buffalo their fifth-round pick in 2017 and acquired the Bills' seventh-round pick in 2017, according to sources."

http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...-qb-matt-cassel-to-back-up-brandon-weeden.ece
 

Wood

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Going into the game, I thought we had a good chance to win the game. I guess I was wrong, because you don't win many games in the NFL by kicking 4 field goals. They were in Seahawks territory most of the game, but couldn't produce.

Let's first dispel the myth teams respect Cassel's deep ball. That is a complete and utter fantasy. He can't throw a deep ball, period. He has a lot of grip issues, and his arm strength has deteriorated. Dez had a step on Richard Sherman a number of times. Cassel nearly threw 3 INTs that I counted, but he was bailed out by his wideouts. The reason for the improved run game is that the team is simply blocking better. That's it.

He stares down the primary read for too long, and then is late delivering the ball to other options. I thought Cassel would be a better game manager at this point in his career, but it is painfully obvious that he is a severely limited quarterback.

I don't see any improvement, spark, or anything intangible from Matt Cassel that Brandon Weeden wasn't giving us. Let me be clear, Brandon Weeden is a terrible NFL QB, but Cassel isn't any better.

he is complete mess. He doesn't even know to change his arm angle slightly when defenders are getting their hands up. I give him credit for stepping up in pocket due to pressure but this looks like his last year.
 

CyberB0b

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he is complete mess. He doesn't even know to change his arm angle slightly when defenders are getting their hands up. I give him credit for stepping up in pocket due to pressure but this looks like his last year.

He's worse than Brad Johnson when he was here.
 

8FOR!3

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Outside of a couple of horrible throws (that you knew you were gonna get from him) I thought he played a decent game against the Giants. Seems like our gameplan against Seattle was to limit the mistakes which basically limited him from moving the ball. Tried to throw it downfield a couple of times though and couldn't make the throw. I think you guys are underestimating the impact Richard Sherman and a couple of other guys on their defense had on the game. If I remember correctly though, Dez saved about two what should have been picks.
 

CliffClaven19

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How is it that these receivers can't get separation when Cassel and Weeden are the quarterbacks but can when Romo is quarterback?

I don't think it's an issue of the receivers not getting separation.
This offense, like most NFL offenses, are based on timing patterns. You may not get super separation, but you can get a step on a defender. And if that's the case, your quarterback has to get you the ball.

IMO, Cassel and Weeden lack the confidence to fit balls in to tight windows because they don't want to make mistakes. They don't have the overall awareness to scan the field, look off receivers and find guys open. And they don't have the talent Romo has to be able to successfully put the ball where it needs to be so only your man can catch it.

Oh, and they don't have the experience with these receivers Tony has.

Good/Great quarterbacks make average receivers look good and good receivers look great. For goodness sake, look at what Brady has done his entire career. Look at what P. Manning has done all his career.

Tony Romo has made the likes of Patrick Crayton, TWilliams, Cole Beasley and even Dez Bryant (though Dez is a superstar, he's not exactly the best route runner) look better than they are.

Cassel and Weeden are going to make them look average because they're below average in their ability to read defenses, process information quickly and get the ball to the open man in a spot where only their receivers can catch the ball.

The NFL is a game of inches. Tony Romo only needs inches. Cassel and Weeden need yards between the receiver and the defender for them to complete a pass.

And, that, my friend, is the difference.

The guy (K Moore)on PS is known for his ability to anticipate when receivers are going to be open, I just don't understand why keep him on the roster (either one) if you are not going to try him in a game. They say the sign of stupid is doing the same thing over n over but expect a different outcome.... I think that's what we will keep getting with Cassel or Weeden.
 

DandyDon52

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you need to give cassel a break, he hasnt played in a good while, the team he played was in the SB last year lol !
And he is running the messed up JG offense, after only few weeks on the team.

I think they told him to not throw ints, which made him afraid to take any risks, when they should just tell him to go all out and
make some plays.
 

PJTHEDOORS

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Cassel is doing exactly what Weeden did: he's going with what the defense is giving him.

It's apparent that the Dallas WRs just cannot get themselves any seperation on any kind of consistant basis. p

Wrong. Broaddus discussed this today on CBreak, and watched the film and said over and over recievers were open, and Cassell always took the underneath stuff. He took the 1st look, and wouldn't make the 2nd or 3rd reads. He had the time to make the reads. (edit...sorry, this was psoted already)
 

Idgit

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How are people shocked by the performance of Matt Cassel? I don't get it.
 

big dog cowboy

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Wrong. Broaddus discussed this today on CBreak, and watched the film and said over and over recievers were open, and Cassell always took the underneath stuff. He took the 1st look, and wouldn't make the 2nd or 3rd reads. He had the time to make the reads. (edit...sorry, this was psoted already)

Deep sigh.
 

Verdict

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I disagree with the original poster. Cassell played much better and more effectively than Weeden did. Cassell also improved dramatically from his first start to his second.

Cassell is not nearly as ghood as Romo, but he is a definite upgrade over Weeden at this point. Weeden looked completely lost, and afraid to turn the ball loose. He never looked to throw it downfield. His pocket awareness totally sucked. The defense never feared him as a passer, so they committed to stopping the run. That approach was very effective.

Since Cassell was inserted in to the starting lineup, the running game has been MUCH more successful. Part of that is likely attributable to giving McFadden more carries, but in my opinion, starting Cassell is part of the reason for the improvement as well. Cassell isn't worth much throwing the long ball, which limits the offense. There is no doubt about that. But he makes much faster decisions with the ball, and gets the ball out much more decisively than Weeden. That gives the player getting the ball a better chance to make a play after the catch.

I wish that Cassell would have attempted more intermediate throws than he did in last week's game. Hopefully we will see a bit more of that as time goes on.

Cassell played well enough to win the game against the Seahawks. If we hadn't gotten hosed on a couple of calls there is a pretty strong likelihood that we would have won this game against a great defense. Then the spin would have been Cassell is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Put another way, I really don't think Wilson played much better than Cassell, and the Seahawks are paying Wilson 10 times what we are paying Cassell.

I am encouraged by the improvement of this team. If Romo was playing we would be running away with our division right now. I just hope we can find a way to win a couple of games and stay in this race until we get Romo back.
 

jnday

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I would rather see Ryan Mallet starting at QB than the current lineup of the three stooges. At least he has a cannon arm. After a week, I am sure this coaching staff will have him checking down on every play.
 

pugilist

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and the Bills' coaching staff were upset that Doug Whaley initiated the trade :lmao:
 
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