Matt Cassel On Having A Target On His Back For The First Time In His Career
August 19, 2009 – 10:38 am by Michael Bean
One year wonder or legitimate starting NFL quarterback? How Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel performs in 2009 and beyond will go a long way towards answering that. After filling in admirably for injured Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2008, Cassel signed a lucrative free agent contract to bring some stability to the position in Kansas City, something the Chiefs have been lacking since Trent Green left town earlier this decade. Cassel joined KLAC in Los Angeles to talk about the whirlwind past year for him, how he’s adjusting to having lofty expectations on him and what he sees in the young Chiefs squad.
On if there’s a comfort level with having former Patriots general manager Scott Pioli in Kansas City:
“Yeah, it definitely helps having a familiar face, a guy that you know, a guy that you can go and talk to. And also the respect that I have for him as a GM and the fact that I know that he’s going to do well and do a great job for us.”
On if there’s a huge difference between the way the organization is run in Kansas City compared to New England:
“There definitely hasn’t been a lot of radical change because Scot Pioli has brought a lot of what we did in New England over here. So, from a cultural standpoint, there’s not a lot of change. But you can definitely see subtle changes in lots of areas.”
On his time as a backup at USC:
“I never really look back on the past. Things obviously worked out really well. At the time, you never know what’s going to happen and I thought I was going to be a starter there. It didn’t work out. In the end it did, so I’m happy with how the situation played out.”
On his relationship with the other USC quarterbacks now in the NFL:
“I talk to Carson a bunch. We’ve always had a close relationship. I also talk to Leinart a little bit. I really haven’t talked to the other guys much. It’s quite a group so it’s pretty cool that we have quite a connection in the NFL with a bunch of the quarterbacks.”
On what things the Chiefs and their coaching staff are working on most diligently this preseason:
“We’re trying to find our identity. Right now, at least in our case, we’re trying to find out are we going to be a tough, hard nosed football team? Are we going to be a spread team? We really don’t know right now…Right now, we’re just trying to get on track and we know we have a lot of work to do but that’s part of the deal.”
Listen here to Cassel on KLAC in Los Angeles
Tags: Carson Palmer, Kansas City Chiefs, KLAC, Matt Cassel, Matt Leinart, New England Patriots, USC quarterbacks in NFL, USC Trojans
