Matt Cassel
From NFL Wiki
| Matt Cassel | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date of birth | May 17, 1982 |
| Place of birth | Northridge, California |
| Position(s) | QB |
| College | University of Southern California |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 7 |
| Team(s) | |
| * New England Patriots (2005-present) | |
Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982 in Northridge, California) is an American football quarterback and current starter for the New England Patriots of the NFL.
[edit] Professional Career
In 2005 Patriots had drafted Cassel in the seventh round, as the 230th overall pick. In 2005, behind veteran QB Doug Flutie, Cassel was the 3rd string back-up. Following Flutie's retirement in the 2006 offseason, Cassel moved up to second on the Patriots' depth chart. Cassel played well in the preseason and became the primary backup to Tom Brady. The Patriots laster signed another Heisman Trophy winner, Vinny Testaverde to be the emergency QB.
2008 Season and Breakthrough Success
In the 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cassel became the starting quarterback of the Patriots when Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in the first quarter from a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. Cassel led the Patriots to an 17–10 victory, completing 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown; Cassel's drives accounted for all of New England's points.
In week 2 the Patriots played against Brett Favre and the New York Jets. This was Cassel's first start in the NFL and noted many times that it was his first start in a Football game since he was in high school. Cassel started and finished the game completing 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards; no touchdowns, though, he also threw no interceptions. The Patriots' 19–10 victory was the first time in six tries that a quarterback making his first NFL start defeated a team led by Brett Favre.
In week 11, the Patriots played the Jets again, this time in Foxboro. At first it appeard as if the Jets would rout the Patriots. In the Patriots' 34–31 overtime loss to the New York Jets, on November 13, 2008, Cassel led the Patriots on three unanswered scoring drives to bring them back from a 24–6 deficit with two minutes left in the first half, and threw a 16-yard touchdown to Randy Moss on 4th-and-1 with one second remaining to send the game into overtime. He finished 30-for-51 passing, with 400 yards, 3 touchdowns (and a pass for a two-point conversion), and no interceptions for a passer rating of 103.4, and 62 yards rushing on eight attempts. Cassel became the first Patriot to throw for 300 yards and rush for 50 yards in the same game, and the first player since at least the NFL merger to have 400 passing yards and 60 rushing yards in the same game. However, though an impressive comeback, the Jets recieved the ball first in sudden death overtime and merely kicked a field goal to pick up the victory against the division rival Patriots.
In Week 12, Cassel led the Patriots to a 48–28 win over the Miami Dolphins, who in Week 3 had ended the Patriots' NFL record 21-game win streak in an embarassing 38-13 rout in Foxboro. While Cassel threw for just 131 yards in the Week 3 loss, his Week 12 performance topped his performance against the Jets: Cassel completed 30 of 43 passes for 415 yards, three touchdowns to Randy Moss, and one interception, for a passer rating of 114.0; Cassel also had 14 yards on two rushes, including an 8-yard touchdown run. The performance made Cassel the first quarterback in franchise history, and only the fifth quarterback in NFL history, to have consecutive games with 400+ yards passing an accomplishment that presumed future Football Hall of Famer Tom Brady has yet to accomplish. His efforts against the Dolphins earned him the title of AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in the 2008 regular season.
