Exactly what I was thinking.
This guy's been SUPER efficient.

He's completing 66% of his passes, has 5 more TD's than Interceptions, is averaging better than 7 yards per completion, and has a QB Rating of 90 on the year.

What more can you expect of the guy?

:spock:

He's been sacked more than any QB in the league - 34 times.

This is nowhere near the same OL that Brady produced almost identical numbers behind in his first 11 games.

He's not a Top 5 pick...

Haha... My sentiments exactly.
The guy's spent a bunch of time on the ground this season.

Same stuff we heard with Brady early on.

Yep.

The guy had to win a ****ing SB to get any credit...

No, it's a better one with a QB who holds the ball too long.

Your mom. :D

Even if you believe that to be true, Brady was dumped 21 times behind the same O-Line the year prior.

Cassell has been very effective this season.

Dumped 21 times the whole season on a team that threw it 40 times a game out of 4 wide sets. Yeah, I'm sure a line of the same players all got demonstrably worse at once.

:spock:

I'm not saying he's not prone to hold on to the ball, but the Pats OL has been a revolving door this season due to injuries.

Regardless, it comes back to one thing.

People here aren't willing to give a guy credit unless he was a high pick.

He's a backup, 7th round pick that is the 8th ranked QB in the league in yardage, 11th in QB rating, and has lead his team (who the entire free world left for dead 10 minutes into the season) to a 7-4 record and a great shot at a playoff spot.

Why is is that hard to appreciate what he's done, instead of giving everyone on that team credit BUT Cassel?

ROFL

Because he's not a good player. He's the same guy he was three weeks ago, when everyone in New England was ready to cut bait with him. There isn't a starting QB in the league who wouldn't put up those numbers with the weapons he has on offense.

Go back and watch the tape from that NFLN game two weeks ago...he put up 400 of the least impressive passing yards you'll ever see. You can't judge a guy by his stat line.

You might wanna talk to a couple Patriot fans.
Koppen, for one, hasn't been as good in 2008.
And injuries have made for a bunch of personnel changes on the right side.

Hochstein is a good enough player to ameliorate any deterioration/injury to Koppen