over rated injury prone, under achieving non mobile qb. i hope not.

T-Jack has repeatedly shown us that he doesn’t know how to look past ten yards down the field and read the defense. He simply has no idea how to get the ball downfield and stretch the D. I cannot believe there are people that still want to give him yet another chance! Do you not remember what the games against the Packers and Colts looked like? And don’t give me that crap about Chilly not opening up the offense.

The bottom line is that T-Jack will not get it done. I think the Vikes need to pursue Cassel or someone else around the league. Is Cassel really going to take big bucks just to be a backup? I don’t think so. The solution for our Vikes at the QB postion is going to come from the outside.

Running for his life? Our offensive line is pretty good, and we’re not giving up near the sacks we have in the past. Gus does okay; he just holds the ball too long sometimes. A quarterback cannot hold the ball for longer than a few seconds on a seven step drop. Just ask Big Ben over in Steeler country. He holds the ball WAY too long and is getting murdered sacked every other play for it. One of my biggest gripes when listening to commentators talking about the Steelers is them blaming the offensive line all the time for his sacks. Yes, they give up some, but he really holds the ball much, much too long.

Tarvaris has the ability, no doubt, but saying he needs more time in the pocket is just an unrealistic thing to ask of an NFL team. You either can make the reads, or you can’t. And right now, it seems that Tarvaris just can’t do that.

Our receivers, while not on the calibur of the Cardinals or the Patriots, will be getting better every game. Shiancoe, like you mention, is really coming along now, and I’m happy we have him despite my man-crush on Jim Kleinsasser. Berrian will get better. Sidney Rice, when healthy, is a great possession receiver and target near the end zone. We get a solid underneath guy and the Vikings will have really, really good targets for whatever quarterback we have. See my post below for more elaboration on the whole, “receivers-make-the-quarterback” argument.

After what cassel has done in NE, he’ll bet by the end of this season he’ll have some big offers, STARTING offers that would give him the chance to be the leading role instead of the back up who came in and did great… He’s a stud and if there’s a god, we’ll make a move on him or anyother proven QB.

Again, he doesn’t just hone in on those two guys. They are, of course, his two main targets, but most of the time there are three, four, five wide receivers on the field. Randy Moss didn’t have 15 catches and Wes Welker didn’t have 20. They each had eight catches in the last game. So that’s 16 of his 30 passes to those two. While over half, that still leaves 14 others to different receivers. On the year, Cassel has 1,000 yards to receivers other than Welker and Moss. And who’s to blame him for giving it to them? They’re really, really good.

Granted, Welker and Moss had the bulk of the yards, he still is spreading the ball around very well. That takes ABILITY. You can’t put Jackson in a spread offense, even with Moss and Welker. Would it make him better? Maybe. But he would not be putting up 400 yards in back to back games.

I’ll keep preaching it: Cassel is adapting to one of the toughest offenses to run in the NFL quickly and making the correct reads. He can adapt and learn another offense, with a running game to help, almost as quickly and make the throws he needs to make.

Cassel has already thrown for more 400 yard games than Tom Brady, and it’s the exact same system. How can you account for that? Tom Brady, while I don’t like the guy, is a really good quarterback. Cassel is doing, right now anyway, at least as good as Brady would be doing at this point in the year. Brady would have undoubtedly started out better, no questioning that, but it’s folly to say that the only reason Matt Cassel is good is because of his receivers and the system. He has good mechanics and he has the ability to read defenses and hit the open man.

Matt Lienart had Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and I didn’t see him putting up great numbers, and I think we can all agree that Lienart is a better prospective quarterback than Tarvaris Jackson. Is that what we’re saying is that a quarterback is only as good as the people he throws to? Please. Of course it makes a difference, but it certainly does not make the quarterback any better or less at his position, at least to someone who knows football. They can see the difference between a bad quarterback and a bad receiver.

From the wiki:

"There are two types of franchise tag designations: the exclusive rights franchise tag, and non-exclusive rights franchise tag:

An “exclusive” franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount equal to or greater than the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position as of a date in April of the current year in which the tag will apply, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. Exclusive franchise players cannot negotiate with other teams.1

A “non-exclusive” franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount equal to or greater than the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position in the previous year, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. A non-exclusive franchise player may negotiate with other NFL teams, but if he signs an offer sheet from another team, the original team has a right to match the terms of that offer, or if it does not match the offer and thus loses the player, is entitled to receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

It is the team’s choice whether it uses an exclusive or a non-exclusive franchise tag. While it may seem that a team would always choose the exclusive option, there are two reasons a team might prefer the non-exclusive option instead. The first is that the salary is based on the top 5 salaries of the previous year instead of the current year, which could be a significant difference. The second reason is that a team may want the opportunity for the two first-round draft picks they would receive if they lost their player."

The Patriots might hit him with the franchise tag, but it all depends on the status of Tom Brady. If he’s doing well and ready to start the season, then I don’t think Cassel will be around. If Brady is behind on his rehabilitation, Cassel may stick around. More likely, the Patriots will have a suitable backup or sign some journeyman quarterback “just in case.” Paying Cassel that kind of money when you have Tom Brady is a little crazy, and the Patriots are notorious for their thrifty spending and contracts.

My opinion? Cassel will be out of New England after this year.

Hopefully, he’ll be wearing purple not long after.