Few quarterbacks have had the hate laid on them in such a complete and controversial way as Matt Cassel.
The Kansas City signal caller officially wore out his welcome this fall, as the beginning of Cassel's fourth season with the Chiefs seemed to confirm that he would never be the quarterback the fans expected when he came over from the Patriots in 2009 after capably filling in for an injured Tom Brady in 2008.
Chiefs fans were calling for Cassel to be benched after a rough first five weeks, when he posted a 66.2 passer rating with nine interceptions. But the real last straw appeared to be in Week 5's game against the Ravens, when Cassel went down with a head injury — and a portion of the Kansas City fans cheered the moment.
Cassel is back at practice this week from the concussion, though, and backup Brady Quinn has done little to wrest the starting job away from him permanently. As the two vie for the starting quarterback spot during their bye week, Cassel said he's not letting the tide of public emotion get to him.
"I'm not really going to speak to what happened last week," he said. "All I'll say is, look, I live here year-round. I've had nothing but support from the people in Kansas City, from the people we've met, my wife has met and my children go to school with. The fact of the matter is, Kansas City is a great place to play."
Cassel gave supporters the benefit of the doubt, attributing the turmoil to them being fans.
"We have a passionate fan base," he said. "I'm sure that they're frustrated. We're frustrated as well. But we're working and doing everything in our power to get it corrected and moving in the right direction."
Cassel had his best year with the Chiefs in 2010, when he threw 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions as Kansas City went 10-6. The Chiefs were just 7-9 last season, though, with Cassel playing only nine games due to an injured hand.
Quinn has completed 24 of 40 passes for 212 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Chiefs are 1-5.
