Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden is another classic example of a player that will always be the victim of his draft stock. Though it was not his fault he was a first-round pick, he will always be viewed through that prism.
And when he gets benched, like he did this week in Dallas for Matt Cassel, it's something that will come with undo scrutiny. This is probably why Weeden responded this way on Wednesday when asked about the issue:
"I'm pissed," he said, via NFL Media's Desmond Purnell.
In a way, he has a point. If he was looked at as any other backup, wouldn't a 72.45 percent completion rate, two touchdowns and two picks over 3.25 games be all right? Is Matt Cassel, a quarterback with a career completion percentage below 60 and a TD-to-INT ratio of 96-70, a marked improvement?
"I feel great," Cassel said, via Purnell. "There's a lot of carryover from the different systems I've been in. I was with Norv Turner and he was a numbers system and there's a number system here. (The coach who) I had in Kansas City, he had all the same protection schemes, and then a lot of the formational stuff was the same stuff as having Greg Roman. Now it's just putting it all together. I'm feeling good with all that. I've had three weeks at it now and I feel pretty comfortable and I'm growing each and every day and at the same time I'm feeling very comfortable. Obviously I think the coaches have enough of a comfort level with me to think I can go in there and do it."
Weeden went on to say that he'd be a professional about the whole thing because that's what he's been asked to do his entire career. That's what he's had to do when everyone invariably expects more out of him than he delivers.
Until the Cowboys find out what they have in Cassel the way every other team that signs him does, Weeden will have to wait for another chance.
