12/18/24
October 07, 2012
"We are athletes, OK? We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum": Kansas City Chiefs OT Eric Winston has something to say to Chiefs fans who cheered after Matt Cassel leaves the game with a concussion.
Yeah, that's ugly groupthink at work.
Chiefs fans will get exactly what they deserve, which is Brady Quinn at QB. It would make me think long and hard if I had a lot of coin in my bank account why I was doing this and what the cost/benefit is if your own fans will turn on you like that.
posted by dfleming at 08:29 AM on October 08, 2012
Chiefs fans will get exactly what they deserve, which is Brady Quinn at QB.
I'm aware that the Chiefs really weren't going anywhere with Cassel at QB this season. 5 TD's, 9 INTs and 4 fumbles after 5 games does tend to put one's starting job in jeopardy and I can't blame the fans there for wanting a change. But I have to agree with Winston, cheering someone for getting a potentially serious head injury is beyond the lowest herd behavior one can ever witness, and I doubt this is how Quinn wanted the opportunity.
Sometimes humans can be really ugly.
Especially when it comes to sports. And I can't buy the excuse "I paid good money for these tickets; I'll boo or cheer or heckle whenever I want to." That's like saying "I paid school taxes in my city; I'll vandalize the high school science building if I want to."
posted by NerfballPro at 10:58 AM on October 08, 2012
Sometimes humans can be really ugly. Especially when it comes to sports.
Especially this guy. White base coat, people. It really shines.
posted by phaedon at 11:49 AM on October 08, 2012
As a Pats fan, I remember Matt Cassel with respect for stepping in when Tom Brady blew out his knee and leading the Pats to an 11-5 season. Sure, he had a great team behind him, but still, he did a standup job. I hope he's salted his money away so that in ten or twenty years, he'll be doing ok while the losers who cheered his injury will be lucky to shovel shit for minimum wage.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:01 PM on October 08, 2012
Why is it USC quarterbacks (of the last 15 years or so) do so well in college and even have a few flashes of brilliance as a pro before completely sputtering out?
posted by billsaysthis at 12:26 PM on October 08, 2012
I'm offended you would imply Matt Leinart had a flash of brilliance after college.
posted by phaedon at 12:58 PM on October 08, 2012
Sure, he had a great team behind him, but still, he did a standup job
Isn't that being called into question now though? He didn't have a great offense around him, he had most of 2007's record-setting offense around him. Pretty much every time I see Chiefs' highlights this year I think, "Man, just how good was that offense?" I thought Cassel did a decent job at the time, but now I'm wondering how much of it was him and how much that offense could have carried anyone.
posted by yerfatma at 01:00 PM on October 08, 2012
I always loved Cassel's quip about being a career backup at USC behind Palmer and Leinart, two Heisman winners.
Cassel said something on the order of: "For all we know, I might have been the third best QB in the entire country".
Cassel not doing well away from the Pats is not a giant surprise. Many players who excel or seem to overachieve with the Pats do not do as well when they go to other teams. With the ex-Pats staffing presence that the Chiefs have or have had on hand the last few years, you figured that Cassel had a better than average chance to do well at KC.
The thing I liked about Cassel when he became the Pats starter is that he got off to a shaky start at first upon being thrust into the fray, but then he got progressively better with each passing week as the season went on.
He stamped himself as a top quality backup when he did that. IMO, top backups are rare and precious creatures. I spent a portion of my adolescence marveling at the ability of Earl Morrall to step in and get the job done.
Why is it USC quarterbacks (of the last 15 years or so) do so well in college and even have a few flashes of brilliance as a pro before completely sputtering out?
Part of it is that USC has had consistently great ability on the OL along with game breaking athleticism among the skill players. USC receivers would routinely separate and find an amount of space at the second level of collegiate defenses that just isn't there in the NFL.
I think Palmer would have had a more noteworthy career if he had spent his prime years with a franchise other than the Bengals. Or, more specifically, if he had been drafted by an astute, effective GM rather than by Mike Brown.
posted by beaverboard at 01:52 PM on October 08, 2012
I think Palmer would have had a more noteworthy career if he had spent his prime years with a franchise other than the Bengals. if he hadn't had his knee blown out for him by Kimo vonOelhoeffen. He was pretty goddamn good when he stepped into his passes. It's hard to blame Mike Brown for that, and Brown assembled a hell of an offense around Palmer.
posted by tahoemoj at 03:13 PM on October 08, 2012
Good for him. I feel for him. Sometimes humans can be really ugly. Important in times like that to remember that a lot of times people are really great.