"Absolutely, absolutely I'm getting ready to go. I'll be watching film and getting ready to do everything I need to do to prepare."
That was Matt Cassel's response this morning on 810 Sports when asked if he would be ready for the Monday Night Football Game against the Patriots. This response isn't very different than the one he gave reporters following yesterday's loss to the Denver Broncos. He was removed from the game in the fourth quarter, and then was seen with a cast on his hand after the game. Nevertheless, Cassel told reporters "I’m ready to play every day. I’ll be ready for Monday night unless told otherwise."
Things have apparently gone down hill from then.
In Todd Haley's press conference today, he said that Cassel's injury is much more "significant" than previously believed. "It’s being evaluated as we speak, but it appears he will probably have to have surgery of some kind to get it corrected. On the length of it, I don’t know. There’s some optimism but with each person that varies and obviously being a quarter back and it being the hand that he throws with, that’s a difficult injury so as things evolve I’ll do my best to let you know.”
He also stated that Cassel could miss the rest of the season. “That’s a possibility but I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute.” He has not, however, been placed on Injured Reserve yet. In my opinion though, if a quarterback requires surgery on his throwing hand in week 10 of the regular season, his season is probably over.
Even if the injury isn't as bad as it is feared to be, there appears to be no way that Matt Cassel will face the Patriots on Monday or even the Steelers on Sunday Night the following weekend. That means, ladies and gentlemen, Tyler Palko is the Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.
I think that is the right decision for now. Palko is the second best quarterback on the roster (thanks Pioli; I'll be having more on our complete lack of depth in a later post), and no matter how badly some people want Ricky Stanzi to start, it's not going to happen. Stanzi hasn't even been active the first nine games of the regular season. But, if Palko proves to be ineffective on offense, I think that Stanzi should get a shot. Although he was drafted in the fifth round, Stanzi was thought by many to be the future for the Chiefs at the quarterback position. If Palko can't get it done, the Chiefs would be doing themselves a disservice not to see what Stanzi can deliver. That way, if he shows signs of 'hope,' we can feel better about the future. If not, then it could officially be time to look towards drafting a quarterback in the first round (Matt Barkely anyone?).
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