RIVER FALLS, Wis. — After four years at Southern Cal and four more in New England, Matt Cassel has a team of his own.

So what if the Chiefs have become one of the NFL’s worst franchises and are coming off a two-win season? For the first time since high school, Cassel isn’t the man behind the man — and he’s loving every minute of it.
Throwing pinpoint passes all across the field, Cassel has been sharp and almost giddy through the first practices of Chiefs training camp, talking so much first-year coach Todd Haley had to tell him to shut up a couple of times.
The fifth-year quarterback carries the hopes of a moribund franchise after throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 23 touchdowns in place of Tom Brady in New England last season.