Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 QB Croyle has the look of a starter All signs point to the Chiefs’ second-year player taking the reins from Trent Green. By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star Brodie Croyle In the next five weeks, Brodie Croyle will get married in Mississippi and begin in earnest the process of trying to win the starting quarterback’s job at Chiefs training camp in Wisconsin. Compared to the wedding, he said, “football is a piece of cake.” That’s no reflection on his July 14 nuptials but more on Croyle’s offseason, which has gone about as smoothly as the Chiefs could hope. With only today’s practice remaining among their offseason work, Croyle has shown the Chiefs nothing that would shake their view that he’s the top candidate to replace the departed Trent Green. Croyle may have in fact raised himself in the eyes of the Chiefs and coach Herm Edwards with some sharp throws and intelligent decision-making. If he continues to play well in camp and the preseason, the job is probably his no matter how well the other candidate, veteran Damon Huard, fares. The Chiefs will withhold final judgment on a starting quarterback until the preseason. But there was the unmistakable feeling at practice Tuesday that as the offseason is winding down, so is the quarterback competition. Even Huard acknowledged it. “Everybody would love to find the young quarterback to be the starter for the next 10 years,” Huard said of Croyle, a third-round draft pick last season. “Might everybody be rooting for the young guy to win? Maybe in some ways. But the old guy will go out there and compete, too.” The feeling was fortified Tuesday when Croyle got all of the first-team snaps. Huard was mostly a bystander at practice. In the absence of Casey Printers, rookie Jeff Terrell took whatever work Croyle didn’t get. “(Terrell) has been standing out here for 11 practices and all he gets to do is warm-ups and throw to receivers in drills,” Edwards said. “I told him for these two days he was going to get to play football. He was excited about that.” These final two practices were designed for the younger players anyway. Several key veterans, including Larry Johnson, Tony Gonzalez and Donnie Edwards, were absent Tuesday and the Chiefs don’t expect them today. Still, these plans fit in nicely with the ones the Chiefs have for Croyle, among the most important of their younger players. “He’s progressing,” Edwards said. “We’ve put him in a lot of situations in practice — blitz periods, red zone, third downs. Now he’s going to have to do that in competition with Damon.” Croyle has adequately handled much of what the Chiefs have thrown his way. They fully understand tougher tests are coming soon. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable and more and more confident and getting used to where my receivers are going to be,” Croyle said. “I’ve gotten a lot better since day one.” The Chiefs were expecting no revelations about Croyle from a month’s worth of offseason practices. Such workouts are conducted in shorts and T-shirts, contact with the quarterback is strictly off-limits, and they are frequently carried out at something far less than game speed. “There’s not anything about him I didn’t already know,” wide receiver Eddie Kennison said. “I know how competitive he is. He’s just an old country boy that likes to hunt and play football. He’s not an outrageous guy, he’s not a flamboyant guy.” From last year’s practices, they knew Croyle was capable of making all of the necessary throws. They knew from watching him in college at Alabama that he had the commanding huddle presence every team looks for in a quarterback. Still, they discovered some qualities, some subtle and others not, and most to their delight. “You can tell he was around Trent Green,” safety Bernard Pollard said. “A lot of the things Trent did and the way he carried himself, you can see that in Brodie. The way he looks off from a receiver. He’ll look at one receiver and then come back to his left and you thought he was going right with the ball and he went the other way.” Bolded part is encouraging. I'm so happy they are throwing him in there to see what he's got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 He will be a star. He is getting married on my birthday, and I have him in a dynasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I consider him a sleeper in this year or the next... dump-offs to LJ with Gonzo are nice...he just has to find a go-to WR.... it might be a good idea to own LJ in a PPR league since he'll be seeing plenty of dump-offs from the young QB.. but I honestly thought Huard would have it for at least 6 games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Go figure. I expected Huard to start one more year. oh well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I don't know why this is so surprising ... I commented on it months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebdog Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I love writers that create stories based on what might be there. Could Croyle be the opening day starter? sure. Don't make it sound like Huard sees the writing on the wall or something. Where exactly does he say the competition is all but over??? Its not even camp yet. Let's wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I don't know why this is so surprising ... 1 - Huard did so well last year 2 - Croyle hasn't proven squat on the field (to say the least). Lots of guys look good in practice/pre-season. I'm not exactly convinced Croyle has the job yet either, but it does sound more likely than I figured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 1 - Huard did so well last year 2 - Croyle hasn't proven squat on the field (to say the least). Lots of guys look good in practice/pre-season. I'm not exactly convinced Croyle has the job yet either, but it does sound more likely than I figured. exactly... I figured Croyle would make strides and use this regular season to prepare even further to either start by mid-season or the following season.... the fact that people are saying the job is his....is alot more than I expected at this point.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 At least one of KC's veteran offensive linemen was talking about Croyle before the NFL draft as if the starting job was his to lose...this is not all that shocking (to me, at least). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 I love writers that create stories based on what might be there. Could Croyle be the opening day starter? sure. Don't make it sound like Huard sees the writing on the wall or something. Where exactly does he say the competition is all but over??? Its not even camp yet. Let's wait and see. I'm not exactly convinced Croyle has the job yet either, but it does sound more likely than I figured. The Chiefs will withhold final judgment on a starting quarterback until the preseason. But there was the unmistakable feeling at practice Tuesday that as the offseason is winding down, so is the quarterback competition. Even Huard acknowledged it. “Everybody would love to find the young quarterback to be the starter for the next 10 years,” Huard said of Croyle, a third-round draft pick last season. “Might everybody be rooting for the young guy to win? Maybe in some ways. But the old guy will go out there and compete, too.” The feeling was fortified Tuesday when Croyle got all of the first-team snaps. Huard was mostly a bystander at practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 (edited) At least one of KC's veteran offensive linemen was talking about Croyle before the NFL draft as if the starting job was his to lose...this is not all that shocking (to me, at least). http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?show...02344&hl=Croyle Edited June 20, 2007 by Hat Trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAUgrad Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Meh......I'll reserve judgement on this until the preaseason is almost over. We'll see how good a QB he actually is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 I don't know why this is so surprising ... I commented on it months ago. The only reason I mentioned it was because there IS/WAS supposed to be a competition. I was more or less solidifying what the reports were 2 months ago that it WAS/IS his job to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 DMD figures Huard to be the starter as does many others, so I guess I should have never even mentioned it. You're upset that some people think/thought Huard might be the starter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 You're upset that some people think/thought Huard might be the starter? No, not at all. Nice try on the fishing expedition though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Croyle = Koy Detmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 Croyle = Koy Detmer. elaborate......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Hard to believe that Huard's performance last year didn't speak for itself. What the hell else does the guy have to do to be the #1 QB? Swallow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 The Chiefs will withhold final judgment on a starting quarterback until the preseason. But there was the unmistakable feeling at practice Tuesday that as the offseason is winding down, so is the quarterback competition. Even Huard acknowledged it. “Everybody would love to find the young quarterback to be the starter for the next 10 years,” Huard said of Croyle, a third-round draft pick last season. “Might everybody be rooting for the young guy to win? Maybe in some ways. But the old guy will go out there and compete, too.” The feeling was fortified Tuesday when Croyle got all of the first-team snaps. Huard was mostly a bystander at practice. what did Huard acknowledge exactly in that statement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 what did Huard acknowledge exactly in that statement? That the writing is on the wall....that the Chiefs want to see Croyle succeed and be the better QB. I'm sure he has something to say about that, as he said, he's going to compete too. Don't kill the messenger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 Hard to believe that Huard's performance last year didn't speak for itself. What the hell else does the guy have to do to be the #1 QB? Swallow? Thing is the Chiefs haven't had a young QB for a long time. Mgmnt sees Rivers, Cutler, and Russell all in the same division. I hear ya though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Regardless, it'll be a miracle if we sniff .500... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Hard to believe that Huard's performance last year didn't speak for itself. What the hell else does the guy have to do to be the #1 QB? Swallow? lol - exactly Since Huard is both a vet and (I assume) knows the system better, wouldn't make sense to give Croyle a lot more snaps, at least at this point? What if Sorgi gets a lot of snaps in Colts camp - whoa QB controversy - And KC can do better than .500 IMO, but there are several big "if's" - like will all the carries LJ got last year hurt him like a lot think it will, will whoever the QB is be fine, and biggest of all IMO what about that OL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 21, 2007 Author Share Posted June 21, 2007 Regardless, it'll be a miracle if we sniff .500... Well I tend to disagree, and I'm an optimist and most Chiefs fans are feeling like you are, so I'm in a large minority, I know. I feel they'll go anywhere from 6-10 to 9-7. I do not think they'll go 3-13 like I THINK I have seen you and CD predict. Herm gets his teams to the playoffs, plain and simple. He's done it with many QB problems in the past as well. lol - exactly Since Huard is both a vet and (I assume) knows the system better, wouldn't make sense to give Croyle a lot more snaps, at least at this point?I hear ya, and logic says your probably right What if Sorgi gets a lot of snaps in Colts camp - whoa QB controversy -So we're comparing Huard a lifetime backup and journeyman to Manning a year in and year out Pro Bowler who also now has a ring and might be the best QB of all time some day? Come on now And KC can do better than .500 IMOno arguement here, but there are several big "if's" - like will all the carries LJ got last year hurt him like a lot think it willI dont think they will eitherr maninly cause he's only 27 years old and only has 2 1/2 seasons of work under his belt, maybe less, will whoever the QB is be finebig question mark, and biggest of all IMO what about that OL....they'll surely struggle some, but at least they have the giys in place where they want them for now and are going to gel for the next few months, its not like theres an open competition in camp for any of the line positions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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