Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens
So will former Patriots QB Matt Cassel make his Kansas City debut on Sunday against one of the most feared defenses in football in the Baltimore Ravens?
We won’t know until right before kickoff. But currently the Chiefs are 13-point underdogs on WagerWeb.com – tied for the longest odds on the board with the Lions at New Orleans.
Kansas City gave up a second-round pick to get Cassel (and Mike Vrabel) from the Patriots and then gave Cassel a $63 million deal despite the fact he has started only one season in the NFL.
But Cassel injured his left knee during the Chiefs’ third preseason game and has been limited since. He is officially questionable and will be a game-time decision. Even when he did play this preseason, he didn’t look sharp – neither did anyone on the Chief offense.
As for who would start if Cassel is out, new coach Todd Haley was noncommittal on the statuses of backups Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen – those two are a combined 1-18 in their NFL careers.
“Still not decided. All those (quarterbacks) got reps this week, really, because there are a lot of different scenarios that could go on,” he said.
As for the Ravens, they have no QB worries with second-year player Joe Flacco. He helped lead Baltimore to the AFC Championship Game in 2008, where the Ravens were beaten by the Steelers for the third time last year.
However, the Ravens did lose defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, now the head coach of the Jets. Thus this will mark Greg Mattison’s debut in the job. Mattison pledges not to change much from the previous system. That Raven defense hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 35 games. But the last one to do it will be in this game: Kansas City’s Larry Johnson, who ran for 120 yards in 2006.
The Chiefs are 3-1 all-time against the Ravens and are unbeaten in Baltimore. But the Ravens have won five home games in a row in September. Baltimore is 36-12 at home since 2003, the third-best mark in the NFL. K.C. has lost three straight openers.
INJURY REPORT
CHIEFS: QUESTIONABLE: QB Matt Cassel (knee), WR Terrance Copper (hamstring), CB Brandon Flowers (shoulder). RAVENS: DOUBTFUL: TE L.J. Smith (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: LB Dannell Ellerbe (knee). PROBABLE: LB Brendon Ayanbadejo (foot), DE Haloti Ngata (knee).
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