Brodie Croyle will be the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, and there’s no doubt about it.
The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that the Chiefs are having a quarterback battle, but it isn’t for the the starting spot. No instead it is for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. That’s because Brodie Croyle has already been rewarded the starting job by head coach Herm Edwards.
“It’s his team now,” Edwards said. “But he knows that, really to win them over, he’s got to win.”
Nothing against Croyle but I followed his college career at Alabama very closely and never saw him as an NFL quarterback. Even when asking the biggest Crimson Tide fans I know about Croyle’s starting role in Kansas City all I get is remarks like, “Croyle a QB? In the NFL? (laughter)” or “he will never make it.”
I agree completely, and being a Florida Gators fan I don’t often agree with my Crimson Tide brethren.
This time around I do though.
Why? Well every time I drive around my hometown, about 30 minutes from Tuscaloosa, I always see a bumper sticker that says “honk if you sacked Brodie.” That’s because during his senior season, in his final Iron Bowl game, Croyle was sacked seven times against in state rival Auburn. He was completely immobile and actually ran into quite a few sacks.
It’s actually one of the more talked about game’s in the rivalries recent history, and considering Auburn has dominated it the last five years there isn’t a whole lot of things for Crimson Tide fans to discuss that have went well. That leaves Croyle’s final Iron Bowl as the main thing Alabama fans like to complain about constantly.
Croyle has not been impressive in the 11 NFL games he has played in either. As he enters his third season in the league the 25 year old will still have to deal with the fact that he’s thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. For the record that’s six touchdowns, and eight interceptions for Kansas City’s starting quarterback.
I can’t believe I’m using starting quarterback and Brodie Croyle in the same sentence.
I know that young quarterbacks have to get on the field in order for the team to know whether or not they are the longterm answer, but I just don’t know what Kansas City has seen in Croyle to point them in that direction.
I really have nothing against the guy. He’s a great competitor and he seems like a smart kid. He makes good decisions on the field most of the time, but is inaccurate and doesn’t have an overpowering arm.
Throwing to Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe will certainly help Croyle. Gonzalez is experienced and will run be a great target when the young quarterback finds himself in trouble. Bowe is growing up in a hurry and has developed into one of the better young NFL receivers. Last year the two combined to catch 169 passes for 2,167 yards and 10 touchdowns.
That’s more touchdowns that Croyle has thrown in his entire NFL career, although it has been in limited playing time.
Let me say this Chiefs fans. Croyle was a third-round pick out of Alabama, meaning this isn’t a situation where you have to play the guy because he has already signed a huge rookie contract. Why are they already announcing Croyle their starter? Why not let some guys come in and fight over it? That’s the main thing I don’t understand, but there’s a reason Edwards (who I like a lot) is an NFL coach and why I’m not.
Maybe it will work out for the Chiefs. Maybe Croyle will be amazing and develop into one of the better young NFL quarterbacks over night. I just don’t see it happening.
Edwards says famously that “you play to win the game”, so maybe Kansas City can figure out a way to win “the game” with Brodie Croyle under center. Good luck.
Tags: Brodie Croyle, Kansas City Chiefs
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Undoubtably, Kansas City and Edwards have seen much more out of Croyle than the Florida Gator fan has seen. For someone who followed his career at Bama very closely–you sure did miss alot?? Croyle was a leader, he was the starting QB for a team (Alabama) that is always thought of as a national powerhouse and played in the toughest conference in college football.(SEC)
Only a rival gator fan could come up with a statement about Tide fans laughing at Croyle being a NFL QB. About the bumper stickers, I live in Tuscaloosa and have never seen any thing like that, of course I am not a Florida Gator fan who is from T-Town???????? Just a quick recap for you, in his career at Bama, Croyle was the most prolific passer in Crimson Tide history. He is first in career completions (488), attempts (869), yards (6,382) and TDs (41). He has a .562 career passing percentage and owns the school record with 190 consecutive completions without an interception. At the Combine, he ran a 4.9 with a 30.5-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot, 8-inch broad jump. His strong arm and compact delivery that wastes little motion and allows him to get the ball off nicely under pressure had drawn high raves from NFL scouts.
Speaking of Croyle being a 3rd round pick, if he had not got hurt he would have been a for sure 1st round pick. Looking back, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, & Peyton Manning first years in the NFL were not as good as Croyle…I’m not saying that he is that caliber of player at this early stage in his career…..but he has the strong arm, and has the leader mentality on and off the field. My final comment is that Croyle has the ability to become a great QB, Herm Edwards see’s him practice and play every week, if he did not have the ability and the mentality to become the future of the Chiefs, the coaching staff and players would not be behind him and pulling for his success to lead this team into the future. If Brodie can stay healthy and not get hurt, there is going to be a lot of critics of him that say…………I knew he could do it, I’ve been behind him all the time!!!!!!!
True Bama & KC Fan
Here’s proof of the “Honk if you sacked Brodie” signs. The first link is a google search showing numerous websites discussing it. The second is a picture of the sticker.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=honk+if+you+sacked+brodie&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.aunews.net/images/dbimages/products/105/full/20060428_103137.jpg
Since it is not my job to go into where I am from in my articles I did not but I have lived in both Florida and Alabama, answering how I am a Gators fan that lives in Tuscaloosa.
I completely disagree with you on how Alabama fans view Croyle. He was very successful at Alabama, but the Crimson Tide have never been a passing school. To show you how bad they have been in passing categories all I have to say is that before Croyle broke those records Andrew Zow owned most of them. I honestly don’t know of an Alabama fan other than you that thinks Brodie can be successful in the NFL. Good luck to him though, I don’t have anything against him.