Cowboys Banking on Cassel's Experience

In moving from Brandon Weeden to Matt Cassel, the Dallas Cowboys are banking on the value of firsthand experience.

Interestingly enough, the move comes as Cassel has exactly three times as many NFL starts to his name as Brandon Weeden, with 72 and 24 career starts, respectively. Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson acknowledged that the experience factor came into play when the team made the decision to move to Cassel this week.

“The fact that he’s played so much,” Wilson told the team’s official website. “He has a lot more starts in this league than Brandon. He’s played a lot more football. He’s been in situations where he has had to come in in the middle of the season.

“These are experiences he can draw on.”

Granted, Weeden’s numbers weren’t bad in two of his three starts for the Cowboys. But he also hasn’t won a start in his last 11 tries.

“It’s a bottom-line business. We haven’t been scoring a lot of points,” Wilson said. “That’s a reflection on everyone on the offense. It’s not just Brandon. Certainly Brandon has played fairly well considering he hasn’t played that much. I think the offense needed something and getting a new quarterback in there maybe gives us a little spark that could ignite us.”