Chiefs Covitz: Croyle does well in first game back after season-ending injury in 2008 - Page 4

**Tribal Warfare** · 08-16-2009, 01:52 AM

Chiefs’ Croyle does well in first game back after season-ending injury in 2008
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star

Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle shook off nearly 10 months of rust on Saturday night.

He demonstrated he could take a hit. He showed he could still move around the pocket as well as move the pile on the quarterback sneak. And he calmly directed the 2-minute drive.

All were significant steps in the comeback of Croyle, who played four series and completed 12 of 18 passes for 145 yards in the Chiefs’ 16-10 loss to Houston in the preseason opener at Arrowhead Stadium.

“It felt good to get back out there,” said Croyle. “You had butterflies you normally don’t have … but once I got out there and once I got going, I got settled back in, got the feel of the pocket again, and at that point, it becomes football.”

A year ago, Croyle opened the season as the Chiefs’ starter and cornerstone to then-coach Herm Edwards’ youth movement. But injuries knocked him out of both of his starts — a right shoulder injury when sacked in the season opener at New England and a season-ending knee injury when hit while passing on Oct. 19 against Tennessee.

After an offseason of rehabbing his knee and his pride, Croyle is battling Tyler Thigpen — an 11-game starter in 2008 — for the second-team quarterback during training camp.

“I feel great; I felt good all camp,” Croyle said. “It was fun to actually get to play football. After all the rehab, all the working out, all the stuff you do to get back out there, it makes it all worthwhile when you get out there playing.”

Croyle, in his first series after replacing starter Matt Cassel, was a sitting target when Houston rookie defensive end Connor Barwin blew past Chiefs offensive tackle Branden Albert. Barwin, the Texans’ second-round draft pick, buried Croyle into the fresh, new Arrowhead Stadium turf, but the quarterback bounced right up, his surgically repaired left knee able to withstand the hit.

“I did not think about the knee,” Croyle said. “For anybody who has had surgeries, the biggest mental step is getting over it. Anytime you’re coming back from an injury, you want to get that first hit out of the way.”

Then, in Croyle’s second series, with the Chiefs trailing 13-0 and 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the half, he drove the offense 49 yards in nine plays, culminating with Ryan Succop’s 47-yard field goal as time expired.

Croyle completed four of seven passes for 48 yards on the drive, including passes of 14 yards to Mark Bradley; 14 to Dwayne Bowe and one down the middle for 12 yards to Rodney Wright, who called timeout with 1 second to play.

Showing his old mobility, Croyle rolled left to avoid pressure before he hit Bowe, who made a diving catch.

Croyle, playing in a driving rain, opened the second half by completing five of seven passes for 57 yards before the drive bogged down at the Houston 24 with a fourth-down pass that was nearly intercepted by Texans defensive tackle Frank Okam.

Croyle kept the drive alive by converting a fourth and 1 with a quarterback sneak. He also set up a nice screen pass to running back Dantrell Savage for 11 yards and a deep seam pattern to Mark Bradley for 22 yards.

“There were a lot of shot-put throws,” Croyle said of throwing in the rain. “A lot of balls you normally hang onto a little bit longer, waiting for things to happen and laying it out there and letting them run to it, but there wasn’t a whole lot of zip on them.”

But there was enough zip to please head coach Todd Haley.

“It was great for Brodie,” Haley said. “He got a lot of playing time in some difficult situations and made a couple of really nice throws in poor weather conditions to say the least. That’s nothing but positive for Brodie to get his feet wet, gain confidence in his knee and get back to playing football.”

Croyle, the Chiefs’ third-round draft pick in 2006, made one critical mistake when called for intentional grounding after he tried throwing the ball away, but it did not reach the line of scrimmage.

“I went to throw it, and the receiver got hit,” Croyle said. “It wasn’t going to be close to him, but it was going to be close enough. I couldn’t throw it past the line of scrimmage with offensive linemen being downfield. I should have thrown it closer to a running back or out of bounds.”

**BigMeatballDave** · 08-16-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silock

Gaining weight is simply a matter of eating more. .

No, its not. I know plenty of people who eat all the time and they are thin people.

**DeezNutz** · 08-16-2009, 09:16 PM

Some people don't have the physical makeup to play football. Period.

Unfortunately for him, Croyle is one of these people.

If he sees the field in the regular season, he will get hurt again. This isn't even a question. And then people will try to make excuses for him and blame the line, just like some have done in this thread.

It's all bullshit. Croyle is not an NFL player, and I would love for his name to be filtered on this forum.

Silock · 08-16-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigChiefDave

No, its not. I know plenty of people who eat all the time and they are thin people.

Yes, it is. You have to eat more calories than you burn. It's fairly simple. Just because someone eats all the time doesn't mean they're going to gain weight if they're just burning it all off. They have to eat even more. It's not impossible to eat 12,000 calories per day... just ask Michael Phelps.

T-post Tom · 08-16-2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefaRoo

Croyle can throw it a bit but he's fragile and inexperienced. Further, he hasn't won when he's played.

Anyone who gets too excited should just look at that reeruned grounding call he had against him. It was a drive killing mistake that showed he's not always thinking.

Not really a whole lot of options on that play as he was about to get killed & the O-linemen were downfield.

“I went to throw it, and the receiver got hit,” Croyle said. “It wasn’t going to be close to him, but it was going to be close enough. I couldn’t throw it past the line of scrimmage with offensive linemen being downfield. I should have thrown it closer to a running back or out of bounds.”

08-16-2009, 01:52 AM
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $952813	Covitz: Croyle does well in first game back after season-ending injury in 2008 Chiefs’ Croyle does well in first game back after season-ending injury in 2008 By RANDY COVITZ The Kansas City Star Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle shook off nearly 10 months of rust on Saturday night. He demonstrated he could take a hit. He showed he could still move around the pocket as well as move the pile on the quarterback sneak. And he calmly directed the 2-minute drive. All were significant steps in the comeback of Croyle, who played four series and completed 12 of 18 passes for 145 yards in the Chiefs’ 16-10 loss to Houston in the preseason opener at Arrowhead Stadium. “It felt good to get back out there,” said Croyle. “You had butterflies you normally don’t have … but once I got out there and once I got going, I got settled back in, got the feel of the pocket again, and at that point, it becomes football.” A year ago, Croyle opened the season as the Chiefs’ starter and cornerstone to then-coach Herm Edwards’ youth movement. But injuries knocked him out of both of his starts — a right shoulder injury when sacked in the season opener at New England and a season-ending knee injury when hit while passing on Oct. 19 against Tennessee. After an offseason of rehabbing his knee and his pride, Croyle is battling Tyler Thigpen — an 11-game starter in 2008 — for the second-team quarterback during training camp. “I feel great; I felt good all camp,” Croyle said. “It was fun to actually get to play football. After all the rehab, all the working out, all the stuff you do to get back out there, it makes it all worthwhile when you get out there playing.” Croyle, in his first series after replacing starter Matt Cassel, was a sitting target when Houston rookie defensive end Connor Barwin blew past Chiefs offensive tackle Branden Albert. Barwin, the Texans’ second-round draft pick, buried Croyle into the fresh, new Arrowhead Stadium turf, but the quarterback bounced right up, his surgically repaired left knee able to withstand the hit. “I did not think about the knee,” Croyle said. “For anybody who has had surgeries, the biggest mental step is getting over it. Anytime you’re coming back from an injury, you want to get that first hit out of the way.” Then, in Croyle’s second series, with the Chiefs trailing 13-0 and 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the half, he drove the offense 49 yards in nine plays, culminating with Ryan Succop’s 47-yard field goal as time expired. Croyle completed four of seven passes for 48 yards on the drive, including passes of 14 yards to Mark Bradley; 14 to Dwayne Bowe and one down the middle for 12 yards to Rodney Wright, who called timeout with 1 second to play. Showing his old mobility, Croyle rolled left to avoid pressure before he hit Bowe, who made a diving catch. Croyle, playing in a driving rain, opened the second half by completing five of seven passes for 57 yards before the drive bogged down at the Houston 24 with a fourth-down pass that was nearly intercepted by Texans defensive tackle Frank Okam. Croyle kept the drive alive by converting a fourth and 1 with a quarterback sneak. He also set up a nice screen pass to running back Dantrell Savage for 11 yards and a deep seam pattern to Mark Bradley for 22 yards. “There were a lot of shot-put throws,” Croyle said of throwing in the rain. “A lot of balls you normally hang onto a little bit longer, waiting for things to happen and laying it out there and letting them run to it, but there wasn’t a whole lot of zip on them.” But there was enough zip to please head coach Todd Haley. “It was great for Brodie,” Haley said. “He got a lot of playing time in some difficult situations and made a couple of really nice throws in poor weather conditions to say the least. That’s nothing but positive for Brodie to get his feet wet, gain confidence in his knee and get back to playing football.” Croyle, the Chiefs’ third-round draft pick in 2006, made one critical mistake when called for intentional grounding after he tried throwing the ball away, but it did not reach the line of scrimmage. “I went to throw it, and the receiver got hit,” Croyle said. “It wasn’t going to be close to him, but it was going to be close enough. I couldn’t throw it past the line of scrimmage with offensive linemen being downfield. I should have thrown it closer to a running back or out of bounds.”
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