Matt Cassel and 4 NFL Players Holding Their Teams Back in 2012

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Football is the ultimate team sport. If one player isn't playing up to par, he has the ability to keep the team from reaching its potential.

Those players need to be held accountable and I'm happy to do that for you. Besides, the first step in correcting a problem is to identify it.

Click through to see who is holding back your team.

Matt Cassel, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

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Scott Pioli gambled on Matt Cassel and it appears he lost. Whether Pioli will have to pay for it with his job or not still remains to be seen.

He could survive because the Kansas City Chiefs have quite a bit of talent. There are top-tier players on both sides of the ball.

However, Cassel is the engine that drives the train, and it is currently off the tracks. He has two more interceptions than touchdowns and is completing a little over half of his throws. 

There isn't much to indicate that he is going to turn it around this year or in the future. The Chiefs might want to think quarterback in the draft.

Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Detroit Lions

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There is a lot wrong with the Detroit Lions. A lack of discipline, poor tackling and dropped passes.

Lots of dropped passes and Brandon Pettigrew is the worst offender. 

Statistics can be a little dodgy regarding drops. However, Pettigrew has at least five, including a dropped touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.

There are few plays that destroy morale more than a dropped pass. Everyone did their jobs except for the pass-catcher.

Pettigrew has to stop killing the Lions if they are going to regain their 2011 form. 

Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets

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The New York Jets are another team with quite a few problems. However, none are bigger than the man behind center. And no, Tim Tebow is not the answer either.

Saying Mark Sanchez is struggling would be akin to saying that waterboarding tickles a little. It's a lie, no matter how you slice it.

Sanchez is completing just barely over half of his passes. I mean literally one less completion and he would be below the you're-still-not-completoing-nearly-enough-passes line. 

At least he has thrown one more touchdowns than interceptions. So there's that.

Jermichael Finley, TE, Green Bay Packers

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There is little to no difference between Jermichael Finley and Brandon Pettigrew. They are essentially the same player.

Finley has at least four drops this year, if not more. 

Just like Pettigrew, he is immensely talented and has the potential to be the type of tight end that goes in the first few rounds of a fantasy draft. 

Until he figure out how to catch consistently, he'll remain in the lower rounds. 

Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

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The Philadelphia Eagles have never been able to live up to their Dream Team moniker. Perhaps with another quarterback they could at least be the Redeem Team.

The defense is loaded with talented players. The Eagles rank third against the pass and are at least average against the rush. They're even decent at keeping points off the board, which is especially astonishing considering the number of turnovers they have to deal with.

Who's responsible for the large majority of those turnovers? Vick. In just three games, he had seven by himself. That's the very definition of holding a team back.