Q: There are only two weeks left in the season. As a player, has this season gone fast or slow?

MATT CASSEL: “You know, it’s crazy when you start getting into games and you start rolling from one week to the next, they start running into each other and it goes by pretty quick. There’s been a lot of change and there’s been a lot of turnover and everything like that, but when you get in the middle of it, it goes by very quickly.”

Q: You are still trying to get on sync with your receivers to some extent because they keep changing a lot. Has that been a constant challenge for you?

CASSEL: “I do think it’s been a challenge at times. I don’t think that we’ve played up to the ability that we’ve wanted to throughout the course of the year. Whether we need to continue to build that relationship or that rapport with those receivers, and the tight ends and everybody else, it’s a constant work in progress and so we just have to continue to work hard. We’ve got two more games to continue to get better. I think that as a group, we have played better and we’re going to try to continue to do that.”

Q: Do you feel the Cleveland game is your best game as a Chief?

CASSEL: “You know, when you look at it and you look back at the film, it was a very good game. I probably could say that. We were operating well, we were moving the ball, we were running the ball well so the play action was there and the passing game was crisp – guys were getting open, we were delivering the ball and we put up points. As long as we can continue to build on what we’ve been doing well, and (RB) Jamaal (Charles) has given us a tremendous lift, which has been great for the play action pass game.”

Q: You talk about Jamaal and the play action. If Jamaal had been the guy since Week 1, do you think the offense would be farther along?

CASSEL: “I can’t really answer that. I don’t really know, to be completely honest. All I do know is that Jamaal, since he’s stepped in, he’s really grasped that role and done a tremendous job for us.”

Q: You had a great game Sunday, and if it weren’t for the dropped passes, you probably would have had a monster game and won the game. Is there any particular idea for the drops, because it has been an issue for quite some time?

CASSEL: “No, not in particular to be completely honest. It’s one of those things that happens in football. There are going to be times when I go out and I miss a pass and I know that. I don’t get down on guys when they drop passes for the most part because I know that it’s part of the game. I thought it was big that a lot of these guys, they came right back and they made plays down the stretch. That’s what you have to do, you have to have a short memory and we’ve got to continue to move on. In terms of answering the problem and what we have to do, I don’t do that. That’s something the coaches and the receivers and everybody else have to go over and I’m just going to continue to work hard and do my job and hopefully we can continue to get better.”

Q: Is it possible that at least a little bit of that problem comes from the number of different receivers that have been coming and going?

CASSEL: “I really don’t know. That would probably be a better question to ask one of the receivers and they may be able to give you some better insight to how they feel and how that has affected them versus me, because I just go out and try to be consistent in what I do. Like I said, I go through my reads, I look down the field and I try to go with the right place to the ball.”

Q: The last three years have been pretty tough around the community and the fans. As the quarterback and face of the franchise, what do you do to get people in the community to not give up on the team?

CASSEL: “You just have to continue to push forward and hopefully we can turn this thing around as quickly as possible, get some wins, and get people excited again about Kansas City football. I know that it’s been a difficult few years on the fans and this community and we’re just going to continue to keep working hard. There’s nothing else we can do other than trying to get better each and every day on the field, get some wins together and gradually just continue to get better and better and it results in good things on Sunday.”

Q: Is part of your job description as the quarterback to try to reach out to the fans, the community, is that part of your job, more so than other positions?

CASSEL: “Part of my job is to win ballgames. Being a quarterback of any NFL team, that’s the primary goal. If you do that, it takes care of the rest of it. My goal as the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is to go out and win ballgames and obviously, we’ve failed to do that this year so far on a lot of different levels and I’ve got to get better and I’ve got to do the things that I’ve got to do to help this franchise and this team win.”

Q: Aside from going out and trying to make the Chiefs a playoff team, is there anything off the field that you feel a responsibility to do to try to bring the fans back after a couple of down years?

CASSEL: “I think there are a number of things. My focus during the season is this team, being here at the facility, doing whatever I can to help this football team win on the field. During the off-season when you have time to do it, go out in the community, meet people, to give back, to do community service. I think that’s all part of being the quarterback of a team.”

Q: Is it the team’s job to go out to the people/fans and say, ‘hey, don’t forget about us,’ or is it just as simple as, if you win, they will be there?

CASSEL: “That’s a tough question to ask. Like I said before, if you win ballgames, a lot of that takes care of itself. There’s no doubt we have a responsibility to our fan base but I think the reason why they come to the games is to watch a good product out on the field and to watch us win.”

Q: Looking at the Cincinnati defense, what concerns you going into the game?

CASSEL: “They’ve got a very explosive defense. They’ve got a lot of speed, especially in the linebacking corps. They move around a lot, they’re not a very complicated scheme like we’ve seen from the Steelers, but they do what they do really really well and they do it at a high speed and good tempo. We’re going to have to do a good job getting to the next level on those linebackers, they’ve been great in the secondary as well, so we’ve got our work cut out for us, and as an offense that’s trying to show some production and show some life and that we’re getting better, this will be a good test for us.”

Q: Their starting corners have 11 interceptions. When you look at the tape, are they that good or are they throwing at them and they’re getting a lot of opportunities?

CASSEL: “Well, when you watch the tape, both of them have great skill levels and so they’re making plays. When we try to throw the ball outside, you can’t be lazy with the ball, you can’t leave it inside, you can’t be lazy on your drops because a lot of times they’re looking in at you, so we just have to do a good job as an offensive unit, receivers included, of not giving anything away and not giving them chances to get their hands on the ball.”

Q: As a team leader, how tough has it been to get guys to focus on finishing out this season?

CASSEL: “We haven’t had any problems with anybody focusing. Everybody’s coming to work and we’re working as hard as we were in Week 1 so the guys know what’s at stake. We have to try to get this thing going in the right direction and build on something as we go into next year and build some momentum and everybody’s here working 110 percent.”

Q: How do you spend the holidays on a work week?

CASSEL: “Just here mostly. We’ll be here throughout the course of the week. Even on Friday, we’ll be in here a little bit and we’ll be working, trying to get better.”

Q: Do you have any Christmas traditions that you’re able to keep even when you’re playing?

CASSEL: “Not really. We do the tree and we just get ready for Christmas like everybody else. But right now, when you’re in season, football comes first unfortunately, but it does, so you go forward.”

Q: What can Santa bring you?

CASSEL: “A win. How’s that? That would be great.”