"Last year, Matt Cassel emerged as one of the NFL's more responsible quarterbacks — but not without a discouraging start.

He threw two interceptions in a win at Cleveland in week two, and then somehow, the picks all but disappeared. Cassel wasn't flashy, and he didn't possess one of the NFL's more dazzling arms, but after the Browns game last season, Cassel threw just two interceptions in his next 10 starts, finishing 2010 with 27 touchdowns and seven picks.

What he did well was protect the ball. And if that was his quarterback's specialty, coach Todd Haley said at the time, that was plenty. It also was enough to earn Cassel his first trip to the Pro Bowl.

Through two games this season, however, Cassel already has thrown four interceptions and just one touchdown. On Wednesday, Haley said it's too soon to panic about Cassel's early returns, but he did emphasize one fact that seems essential to the Chiefs' ability to pull out of their early season nosedive."