Jay Cutler And Matt Cassel Less Than Stellar In Debut

NFL News - August 16th, 2009 - Written by Bruce

The Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs were hoping for a much bettor debut by their new franchise quarterbacks.  Both Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel struggled in their team's first preseason game last night. The Bears were on the road last night playing at the Buffalo Bills. In his first opportunity to impress his new teammates, Cutler got off to a rough start completing only five out of ten passes for 64 yards. On his worst throw of the night, Cutler severely under threw his receiver in a pass which was intercepted by Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin. Later in the game, Cutler nearly threw another interception when one of his passes hit a Bills defender squarely in the chest. It had to be a disappointment for Cutler to play so poorly in the first game with his new team. When asked about his play after game Cutler said, "It's too early to start to panic. It's preseason, I feel fine about it." The Bills got great production by both starting QB Trent Edwards and his backup Ryan Fitzpatrick, which was enough to earn Buffalo a 27-20 victory.

Last night's preseason game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs signified Matt Cassel's first game with the Chiefs. In a rainy night in Kansas City, Cassel only completed two of his five passes for a very pedestrian fifteen yards. After stepping in as the New England Patriots starting quarterback when Tom Brady got hurt last year, Cassel played extremely well which earned him a six year $63 million contract from the Chiefs this off season. He played three series in his Kansas City debut last night, but was unable to find much success. His back up, Brodie Croyle, had a much better game than Cassel completing 12 of 18 passes for 145 yards. The Chiefs are coming off a very disappointing 2-14 season last year. They are hoping that Cassel will be a productive quarterback for them for years to come. The visiting Texans won last night's game by a score of 16-10.

Even though it is only the preseason, the struggles by Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel have to be a big disappointing for their new teams. Both the Bears and Chiefs have big expectations of their new quarterbacks, but their poor play last night was definitely not the start they wanted. Bears fans have been buzzing since the team acquired Cutler this off season. He has one of the strongest arms in the NFL, and he his play the last two years has made Cutler one of the top young quarterbacks in the league. Last year was Matt Cassel's only season as a starting quarterback. Even going back to college, Cassel was a career back up to both Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC. He is hoping to prove that his great year last season was more than just a product of New England's dynamic offense. Last night was just the beginning for both Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel with their new teams. Both of them will be looking to play much better when their teams take the field in their next preseason games.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/