Chiefs like Cassel's passion for football

BasX · Mar 26, 2009

DANA POINT, Calif. | New Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has often been compared with Tom Brady, if for no other reason than they were both low-round draft picks by the New England Patriots and teammates for four seasons.

After watching Cassel on video and working with him for almost a month, Chiefs coach Todd Haley offers a different veteran quarterback comparison.

“I just came off two years of working with one of the best guys I’ve ever been around in Kurt Warner,” said Haley, who as Arizona’s offensive coordinator coached Warner the last two seasons. “In ‘best guys,’ I mean guys that are into football, like to talk about football. It’s not about much else for Kurt Warner. This Matt Cassel feels and acts a lot the same way. He is football 24/7 to the point where I’ve had to pull back the reins on him a couple of times and say, ‘Listen, Matt. These next couple of months are about getting in shape and getting your body ready for the season. There’s time enough for football.’

“He’s all about football. I’ve been telling everyone I hope he can play because he’s got all of the intangible things you get excited about as a coach.”

It’s becoming clear that most — if not all — players acquired by the Chiefs under Haley and new general manager Scott Pioli will share two common qualities: They will love to work at and play football, and they will want to play for the Chiefs.

That may be an underrated factor in the trade that brought Cassel from New England. The Chiefs coveted Cassel for more than his on-the-field skills.

“Oh, yeah,” Haley said Tuesday during the NFL meetings. “Kurt Warner, you could not get him away from football. It was full time. (Cassel) shows a lot of those same characteristics. He’s into football. I don’t think there’s a whole bunch else to him. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He was told he wasn’t good enough to play for a long time. That served him well last year, and hopefully it will serve him well going forward.

“He’s calling me every day for numbers to call some of the other guys on the team. We picked up Bobby Engram, and Bobby Engram is texting me wanting Cassel’s number. At the same time, a text is coming in from Cassel: ‘Can I get Engram’s number?’ So he’s doing all of those things that get you excited as a coach. You don’t have to worry about what Matt Cassel is doing most of the time. He’ll be worrying about football.”

Haley continued to promote a looming battle for the starting job between Cassel and Tyler Thigpen, who started for the Chiefs most of last season. While it’s hard to see the Chiefs playing Thigpen and his $460,000 salary ahead of Cassel and his income of $14.65 million, Haley pointed to last season in Arizona as evidence that he’s serious about a competition for the job.

The Cardinals picked Warner over former first-round draft pick Matt Leinart as their starter last season. Arizona won its first NFC West championship and reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

“The guys that give us the best chance to win will play,” Haley said. “I heard a little interview with Tyler Thigpen right after we signed Cassel, and he sounded like he was kind of conceding that Cassel was the quarterback. I called him immediately and told him, ‘Don’t you dare concede anything.’ The best guy is going to play. We proved that in Arizona.”
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http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1104993.html

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Chiefs like Cassel's passion for football

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