FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 1/4/2009 4:29pm et

ESPN.com reports the New England Patriots will use the franchise tag on QB Matt Cassel, sources told ESPN�s Chris Mortensen. The team�s intention to use the tag on Cassel was first reported by the National Football Post. Cassel would be guaranteed over $14 million.

The Huddle Take: Interesting to say the least. Not sure if the franchise tag has been used for a 'backup' QB before, so this has question marks all over it regarding the future of Tom Brady. Another head scratching move by the Patriots, but they do tend to work out, at least so far.

Posted: 12/13/2008 1:08pm et

The Associated Press reports the New England Patriots are declining to say whether QB Matt Cassel (personal) will play in Week 15 following the death of his father. 'We'll do our thing after practice and let you know,' head coach Bill Belichick said Friday, Dec. 12.

The Huddle Take: Fantasy owners should continue to follow this situation through the weekend as Cassell could have a nice day against an Oakland defense that has given up its fair share of passing yardage to opposing quarterbacks this season. If Cassell plays then he is a solid No. 1 option for Week 15.

Posted: 12/11/2008 4:43pm et

The Boston Globe reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel (personal) has returned to the team after leaving Wednesday, Dec. 10, because of the death of his father.

The Huddle Take: Cassel takes on an Oakland defense that has been pretty stout against the pass, with the exception of last week when it was roasted by Philip Rivers. But considering the emotion Cassel will be playing with, you could probably put the '85 Bears out there and he'd still find a way to beat them.

Posted: 12/10/2008 5:02pm et

The Associated Press report New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said QB Matt Cassel has left the team because his father passed away Monday, Dec. 8. Belichick does not know when Cassel will return to the team.

The Huddle Take: It still appears that Cassel will play this week but how this might affect his playing performance is unknown. He already has a tougher matchup with the Raiders that he will not be preparing as much but many players in similar situations play even better.

Posted: 11/24/2008 11:56am et

Patriots.com reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel became the fifth player in NFL history to throw for at least 400 yards in back-to-back games.

The Huddle Take: Cassel is 60-for-91 with six touchdowns and 815 yards in the two contests. The volume of opportunities certainly contributes to the monster yardage, but Cassel is also taking more chances down the field and seems more comfortable throwing the ball near Randy Moss and letting him make plays.

Posted: 11/23/2008 10:05pm et

The Associated Press reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel was 30-for-43 for 415 yards with three touchdowns and an interception during the team?s Week 12 game.

The Huddle Take: A tremendous effort for Cassel who was abused in the earlier meeting with Miami this season. With the Patriots still battling for the AFC East crown even with Tom Brady out for the year, Cassel has stepped up and provided much needed leadership. Look for Matt Cassel to be a productive quarterback for the remainder of the season as New England will have a schedule that wreaks of passing success with games against Seattle, Oakland and Arizona during weeks 14-16.

Posted: 11/14/2008 12:49pm et

The Associated Press reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel was 30-for-51 for 400 yards with three touchdowns in Week 11. He also ran the ball eight times for 62 yards in the game.

The Huddle Take: If there's such a thing as a "quiet" 400 yards, that's what Cassel posted in Thursday night's loss. Big plays were few and far between, but with the ground game sputtering—Cassel's 62 yards nearly matched the 63 put up by the rest of the squad—Matt threw 50 times and through sheer volume accumulated some gaudy stats.

Posted: 10/27/2008 12:28pm et

The Boston Herald reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel's confidence has been growing each week. "You see the confidence in the huddle when he's calling the play," OG Logan Mankins said. "He's improving every week. He's going to keep getting better. That's probably scary for other teams."

The Huddle Take: Maybe scare for Patriots opponents but welcome news for fantasy owners who have suffered through subdued numbers for Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Last week's three touchdowns and this week's career-high 267 yards passing yards certainly support the theory that Cassel is getting more comfortable in his role—and, more importantly, that Bill Belichick's confidence in Cassel is increasing to the point that he's letting him take a few more shots down the field.

Posted: 10/26/2008 11:09pm et

The Associated Press reports New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel went 21-for-33 for a career-high 267 yards in the team's Week 8 game. He also threw one touchdown and two interceptions in the game.

The Huddle Take: With all the problems the Patriots have seen this year, it appears that QB Matt Cassel is settling in and starting to play the way the Patriots had envisioned when he took over for Tom Brady who has been lost for the season. Cassel makes a nice No. 2 quarterback for fantasy teams but is quickly emerging as a solid every week option as he develops chemistry with Randy Moss and the other receivers in New England.

Posted: 10/21/2008 11:35am et

Cassel was sacked six times in Week 7, bringing the team's total to 26 sacks on the season. The Patriots were sacked just 21 times all of last season.

The Huddle Take: Cassel's not going to get lucky enough to play defenses like Denver's every week. He's worth starting consideration at home against the Rams this week, but when the matchups get tougher, steer clear. He's not only a huge injury risk due to the amount of punishment he's taking, a good defense will limit Cassel's numbers signifcantly.