I am not predicting playoffs, let alone a march to Super Bowl glory. More than likely, Matt Cassel will be about a league-average quarterback for the Chiefs. But after a whole season watching Tyler Thigpen throw every other pass eight feet over the head of his intended receiver and omit ever to notice the end rusher bearing down on him before getting crushed into human butter, even at league average Cassel would be a significant upgrade. And believe me, I am well aware Mike Vrabel is 443 years old. (I guess this means Pioli is determined to install the 3-4, even if we don't have a single player on our roster who's really suited to playing on a three-man D-line.) But here's the part that's really important, and maybe the only important part: to get Cassel and Vrabel, the Chiefs gave up just a second-round pick. That's the part I really don't get. Are the Pats just doing their homie Pioli a solid on the way out the door? There's no shortage of teams with a desperate need at quarterback. Do you think Vikings fans, having spent a fourth-rounder on the highly dubious Sage Rosenfels, are feelin' good right now? That team could've gone to the Super Bowl but for horrible QB play. Then we have the Lions, who recently restructured the contract of cement-footed autopsy recipient Daunte Culpepper, and I should remind you this is a team that DID NOT WIN A GAME last year. Out here in Northern Cali, the Niners' depth chart is still headed by something named "Shaun Hill." I do not believe Tampa Bay currently has a quarterback on its roster, although they still have the rights to Jake Plummer, which is nice. And in this climate, the Pats gave up Cassel and an elderly but still useful coach-on-the-field-type linebacker for just a second-rounder?
It's obviously possible this deal won't work out for the Chiefs. A pessimist like me couldn't possibly think otherwise. But I don't think there's any doubt that, on these terms, it was a deal they had to make.
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