Matt Cassel now has everything he wants. After waiting three years, he became a starting quarterback last season. He was designated a franchise player in 2009, traded to a team to be their franchise quarterback, and now, with his six-year $60-plus million contract, Cassel is paid like a franchise quarterback. Now he has to live up to it. Nothing crushes quarterbacks more than expectations. It's hard enough to go to a new team and play at the same level established at the previous address. But money changes things. Cassel can't just play like Matt Cassel of the New England Patriots. With the zeroes on his bi-weekly paycheck that puts him in the neighborhood of other top passers, the Kansas City Chiefs' Matt Cassel (or maybe it's Matt Ca$$el now) has to be better. How much more is expected out of a player that completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 3,946 yards with 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions? The fans will demand the moon. K.C. fans know what a Pro Bowl quarterback is supposed to do. They had one for six years with Trent Green. Green set the bar pretty high in his first five years with the Chiefs. If Matt isn't up to 4,000 yards and at least 25 touchdowns, then Cassel better buy some high tech headphones to cancel out the criticism. A lot of people believe Cassel is a product of the system in New England and will be exposed in Kansas City. They look at him as a present-day Rob Johnson. Johnson, as you may recall, had a career day with Jacksonville when Rob led the Jaguars to a 28-27 win over Baltimore by connecting on 83 percent of his passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns, the second one being the winning score. Johnson also rushed for 31 yards, 25 of them on a touchdown run to open the scoring. Johnson was then traded to Buffalo in the off-season for a first round pick and the Bills gave Johnson a hefty raise. In return Johnson provided them with four injury-riddled seasons and played the villain in the quarterback controversy, as fans wanted Doug Flutie while the front office pushed for the younger Johnson. Rob never had a winning season with the Bills. It's a coincidence that both Johnson and Cassel are Californians. Fans reasoned that Johnson was too laid back as to why he was a failure. Perception isn't always reality, but Cassel has to win over the fans, not just the locker room. Reports out of Kansas City say Cassel is winning over his teammates and the coaching staff. That's important, but the popular vote doesn't start until Week 1. Winning on the field will be difficult. Cassel has one proven offensive weapon in running back Larry Johnson. Perennial Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez was traded to Atlanta. Cassel's top target is wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. But without another dangerous wide out, Bowe will be double-teamed week-in and week-out. This is far from the embarrassment of riches Cassel enjoyed in New England with receivers Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, running backs Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk. Another question is whether Cassel can execute a new offensive system. The Patriots ran a multi-receiver West Coast-style passing game that catered to Cassel's short passing strength. New Chiefs head coach Todd Haley wants to execute a downfield passing attack. Cassel wasn't accurate going deep last year. Standing behind an offensive line that gave up 37 sacks isn't a good match if Cassel has to wait for his receivers to get open either. It's a daunting challenge for Cassel to turn around the Chiefs, but he could do it. His improvement over the course of last season gives reason to believe that Cassel isn't another Rob Johnson. A playoff birth is a bit much, but Cassel has to lead the offensive turnaround to respectability. The offense is on his shoulders this year. Matt Cassel is being paid like a money player. Now, he must play like one. Read more by Randolph Charlotin at his New England Patriots blog at . He can be reached at talktome@randolphc.com.