Cassel

There are few ways to phrase the situation without being rude, but to put it kindly, Matt Cassel is a frustrating quarterback.

I was a Matt Cassel fan when he was brought over from New England. I was a Matt Cassel fan in his 4-11 (he didn't play against the Ravens in the opener) season of 2009. I was a Matt Cassel fan before the Chiefs were considered legitimate in 2010. I was a Matt Cassel fan when he was selected for his first Pro Bowl. I was a Matt Cassel fan when he let wide receivers live with him this offseason so they could practice together during the lockout. I was a Matt Cassel fan at the beginning of this promising season.

Three games in, it seems Matt Cassel is doing everything possible to cause me not to be a fan anymore.

Three games is a small sample size to judge a quarterback's season, but Cassel might just be an exception. In a season that has quarterbacks putting up career numbers (looks like the lockout was harder on defenses than it was offenses), Cassel is being the odd man out. Through three games, Cassel has 428 yards passing, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. To put that into perspective, Tom Brady had more yards and touchdowns in the first game of the season. To put it into even more perspective, running back Darren McFadden has almost as many yards rushing (393) as Cassel does throwing through three games, and he has just as many touchdowns.

So far, Cassel is having an awful season. With the game on the line Sunday, Cassel did what he could not afford to do, and that is throw an interception. But it was the way in which he threw the interception that left many Chiefs fans amazed. He made a decision a rookie might not even make, and threw the ball on a screen play to a defender covering the screen. And not only did he throw it to a defender, but he threw it right into the hands of a defender that was being blocked; a remarkable skill if you ask me.

Now I'm going to give Cassel credit. He was the reason the Chiefs went to the playoffs last year; even if you disagree with that sentiment, he didn't hinder the Chiefs from going to the playoffs last year like previous quarterbacks had. He had two touchdown throws Sunday, and seemed to rekindle some of that chemistry he made with Dwayne Bowe last season, and also seemed to become introduced to Steve Breaston for some nice throw and catches.

Maybe the fact that Matt Cassel has never had the same offensive coordinator for more than a year is catching up with him (Alex Smith has been using that excuse for years)? Maybe Cassel was the victor of a strong running game last season and a victim of injuries and poor play-calling this year? Or maybe Cassel has peaked and what we are seeing is his weakness being exposed on a weekly basis? Like I said earlier, three games is a small sample size.

But no matter the reason, it's clear that we can no longer continue down this path. Either Cassel improves to his previous form that we all came to love (or tolerate) last season, or we have to find another solution. I'm not saying that Cassel can't be the answer to his own problem, but he can't be the same Cassel we've seen in the first three weeks of the season. Like it or not, the quarterback position is the most important one on the field, and your quarterback has to be one that either manages a game (like Cassel did last season) or puts a team on his back (a Tom Brady type). When you don't have one that is effective at either, then you don't have a quarterback.

Should our backups get a crack at the job? Probably not. For you Ricky Stanzi fans out there, keep on dreaming. Not only is he not even the backup, but he's been inactive the first three weeks of the season. And if there's any Tyler Palko fans out there, then I hope you realize that Cassel is still better.

So, is there anyone still out there that are Matt Cassel fans (I'm still undecided), or is everyone on the #Suck4Luck bandwagon? Either way, we still have 13 games left this season and just enough time to turn things around or get a lot of people fired. The choice is Cassel's.