Pro Bowl Pessimist

Aaron M. Sprecher/NFL

This Pro Bowl finds five Kansas City Chiefs participating. Three were voted in (Charles, Waters and Bowe), one got a spot when the Steelers advanced to the Super Bowl (Berry), and one got in when there was an injury to Tom Brady. That of course, is Matt Cassel.

Now, when this injury was first announced, many quickly pointed to the link between Cassel and Brady. Indeed, it does seem to be an odd connection that these two players have. But, if Cassel is not lucky, he could unfortunately be compared to another quarterback.

Now, this is a stretch to say the least, but the pessimist in me can't ignore it. With the Pro Bowl a couple of hours away, I am anxious to see how Cassel performs. Because, believe it or not, it can be an indicator of how his career is going to go.

This is a bold and some may say a ridiculous statement. After all, it's just the Pro Bowl. It's so crazy, I don't even believe my own argument or point. But it's one that should be made. So here it goes.

Derek Anderson. This name should sound familiar. He was a starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals this season and before that the Cleveland Browns.

In 2007, Anderson had failed to win the starting job from Charlie Frye, but by game two, was the Browns full time starter at quarterback. The Browns would go on to a 10-6 record but no playoff appearance. In that season, Anderson was 298 of 527 (56.5%) for 3,787 yards, 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He even added 3 rushing touchdowns that season.

These numbers didn't earn Anderson a Pro Bowl spot though. This resembles Matt Cassel and his initial Pro Bowl snub.

Some more interesting stats is that over Anderson's last six games in 2007, he barely completed 50% of his passes and had a qb rating of 62.1. We probably all remember how Cassel ended 2010, with a bad showing in the last regular season game (19.1 qb rating) and an even worse showing against the Ravens (20.4 qb rating) in the playoffs.

And, here's another creepily similar fact. Anderson was a Pro Bowl alternate that season but got in after Tom Brady withdrew after an injury suffered in the Super Bowl. Besides the injury being suffered in the Super Bowl, doesn't that sound familiar?

Aaron M. Sprecher/NFL

Now, there are more differences than similarities between Anderson and Cassel obviously. And I hope there are more after the game. Anderson went 10 for 26 for 103 yards and an interception in his Pro Bowl. This was a sign of things to come. He was benched midway through the following season for Brady Quinn after dismal play and his career has yet to be revived even after a change of scenery.

I'm not saying that if Cassel performs poorly in today's Pro Bowl, his career will go the way of Anderson's. I just saw some similarities.

In other news of the Pro Bowl, here's a video of Jamaal Charles being miked up at the Pro Bowl. Also, here's my prediction of the score: AFC 35, NFC 31. But, at the end of the day, who care's about the score.