shaneo69
03-07-2007, 11:52 AM
WEIR: Quarterback Quandry
Mar 07, 2007, 7:52:09 AM by Eileen Weir
Last week’s news of the Kansas City Chiefs inking a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with quarterback Damon Huard registered as the first big news of the off season, giving Chiefs fans a glimpse of the team’s future. Coupled with yesterday’s joint statement from the Chiefs and Trent Green’s lawyer that the quarterback could peddle his talents elsewhere, if so chose, was the story of the off-season despite the out-of-character quick signing of two unrestricted free agents.
Fretting over the statuses of Huard, one of the surprises of the 2006 season, and team leader Green has been the preoccupation of Kansas Citians since Green returned to the starting lineup on November 19th, posting a 4-3 record in the final weeks of the season and a miserable 23-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card Game.
Displaying only fleeting moments of his former greatness, Green gave Chiefs followers reason for concern over the quarterback’s current health and future success. As Green struggled to accumulate just seven first downs and 126 yards of total offense in the team’s final post-season showing, roars of dissent rose from countless Kansas City area households demanding Green’s benching in favor of the younger Huard who had won the affections of the Chiefs faithful by pulling off an improbable 5-3 record in his eight starts.
With the reality of free agency looming, Chiefs fans adopted a demeanor of resigned hopelessness believing that Huard would be among the NFL’s hottest properties on the open market. Understanding the financial implications of cutting contracted player Green, few in the Kansas City community supposed that team executives would successfully figure a way to retain both quarterbacks, with up-and-comer Brodie Croyle in the foreseeable background.
With fans and media performing the mental gymnastics of figuring out how the team could corral its current corps of quarterbacks in totality, reactions to the Huard signing met with varied reactions. Seasoned fans who have considered themselves long-suffering under the restrained management decisions of GM Carl Peterson demonstrated sheer delight that the team would make a bold move to retain the quarterback who has clearly ascended to the top of the QB heap in the hearts and minds of ticket holders. Viewing the deal as a harbinger of a daring new approach to player acquisition and development, progressive Chiefs supporters applauded the transaction as an aggressive and farsighted move towards immediate and future success. Crediting head coach Herm Edwards for playing a major role in the Huard decision, local fans finally surrendered the tightly held notion that Edwards is a strict conservative.
This being Kansas City, a town that is insufferably and inexplicably self-conscious, doubters made their presence known suggesting that Huard eagerly signed the reported $7.5 million three-year deal out of a perceived desperation. Free to ply his trades in the competitive marketplace, skeptics pronounced Huard as undesirable, reckoning that quarterback-needy teams would take a pass on the Chiefs back-up. Maintaining that Huard remained an unknown in the league for ten years for a good reason, disparaging observers greeted the contract announcement with a fair amount of dread. Agonizing over the money – too much to pay a designated second stringer but not enough for a starter at a key position – cynical fans were left to wonder what team personnel has planned for the veteran QB.
With no accompanying news forthcoming from One Arrowhead Drive about the status of presumed-starter Green, conspiracy theories abounded about how the quarterback concoction would ultimately work out. A statement from Green’s agent led to further speculation about the team’s 6-year starter. The press corps was quick to conjecture that Green had been secretly told to take a pay cut in order to make room for critical free-agent deals, including Huard’s. Others in the media readily opined that a renegotiation process was already in progress allowing Green to remain on the team at his current salary and compete for the starting job.
Still others called for Green’s immediate retirement. An exasperating convention of the press, tolling of the death bell rang out across the land. With obituaries to Green’s career appearing on the sports page and eulogizing commentary emanating from radios and television sets, a contingent of Kansas Citians were content to bury the possibility of a renewed Green returning to dominance as the team’s lead QB. Patronizingly offering Green some hope of catching on in a supporting role on a descending team frantic for some veteran leadership, a premature surrendering of Green to football oblivion captured column inches and airtime in the local sports coverage.
Green’s lack of public reaction to the Huard news inspired piqued curiosity among Chiefs loyalists. Lurking around the perimeter of Green’s personal life hoping in an unguarded moment the gentlemanly professional would display an incident of furious indignation for us to gaze upon, interest immediate turned en masse from Huard’s satisfaction to Green’s alleged frustration. In a week when national headlines were dominated by the rehabilitation efforts of a sheared pop star and the ghoulish description of a three-week-old corpse bedecked in a pink prom dress and tiara being laid to rest in a Bahamian cemetery, the American public was clearly in a gruesome mood. A palpable sense of disappointment came over an expectant Chiefs populace who felt denied of a virulent soul-bearing bitterness from Trent Green.
Truth be told, this is the scenario we all dared not to dream. Recalling the skillful accuracy of Green throughout the glory days of the Chiefs offense, fans are willing to give the likeable leader another opportunity to compete. Excusing a 2006 season plagued by injury and perhaps returning to action while not fully recuperated from a vicious concussion and a lack of proper game preparedness, compassionate Chiefs fans are not quite ready to pull the plug on their two-time Pro Bowler.
But a fondness for Green does not trump fans’ desire for immediate improvement in the team’s record. Chiefs stakeholders are eager to see if Huard can continue to prove himself as a legitimate starter on one of the league’s better teams.
Above all else, sophisticated sports enthusiasts in Kansas City cite competition as their chief ethic. We can tolerate losing, we say, as long as we are a perennial contender. We like gripping contests almost as much as heart-stopping victories. If that brand of competition is what we truly crave, we’re in luck. The quarterback competition is setting up to be a thriller. And to think, how few have even mentioned Brodie Croyle yet.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of Carl Peterson.
Mar 07, 2007, 7:52:09 AM by Eileen Weir
Last week’s news of the Kansas City Chiefs inking a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with quarterback Damon Huard registered as the first big news of the off season, giving Chiefs fans a glimpse of the team’s future. Coupled with yesterday’s joint statement from the Chiefs and Trent Green’s lawyer that the quarterback could peddle his talents elsewhere, if so chose, was the story of the off-season despite the out-of-character quick signing of two unrestricted free agents.
Fretting over the statuses of Huard, one of the surprises of the 2006 season, and team leader Green has been the preoccupation of Kansas Citians since Green returned to the starting lineup on November 19th, posting a 4-3 record in the final weeks of the season and a miserable 23-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card Game.
Displaying only fleeting moments of his former greatness, Green gave Chiefs followers reason for concern over the quarterback’s current health and future success. As Green struggled to accumulate just seven first downs and 126 yards of total offense in the team’s final post-season showing, roars of dissent rose from countless Kansas City area households demanding Green’s benching in favor of the younger Huard who had won the affections of the Chiefs faithful by pulling off an improbable 5-3 record in his eight starts.
With the reality of free agency looming, Chiefs fans adopted a demeanor of resigned hopelessness believing that Huard would be among the NFL’s hottest properties on the open market. Understanding the financial implications of cutting contracted player Green, few in the Kansas City community supposed that team executives would successfully figure a way to retain both quarterbacks, with up-and-comer Brodie Croyle in the foreseeable background.
With fans and media performing the mental gymnastics of figuring out how the team could corral its current corps of quarterbacks in totality, reactions to the Huard signing met with varied reactions. Seasoned fans who have considered themselves long-suffering under the restrained management decisions of GM Carl Peterson demonstrated sheer delight that the team would make a bold move to retain the quarterback who has clearly ascended to the top of the QB heap in the hearts and minds of ticket holders. Viewing the deal as a harbinger of a daring new approach to player acquisition and development, progressive Chiefs supporters applauded the transaction as an aggressive and farsighted move towards immediate and future success. Crediting head coach Herm Edwards for playing a major role in the Huard decision, local fans finally surrendered the tightly held notion that Edwards is a strict conservative.
This being Kansas City, a town that is insufferably and inexplicably self-conscious, doubters made their presence known suggesting that Huard eagerly signed the reported $7.5 million three-year deal out of a perceived desperation. Free to ply his trades in the competitive marketplace, skeptics pronounced Huard as undesirable, reckoning that quarterback-needy teams would take a pass on the Chiefs back-up. Maintaining that Huard remained an unknown in the league for ten years for a good reason, disparaging observers greeted the contract announcement with a fair amount of dread. Agonizing over the money – too much to pay a designated second stringer but not enough for a starter at a key position – cynical fans were left to wonder what team personnel has planned for the veteran QB.
With no accompanying news forthcoming from One Arrowhead Drive about the status of presumed-starter Green, conspiracy theories abounded about how the quarterback concoction would ultimately work out. A statement from Green’s agent led to further speculation about the team’s 6-year starter. The press corps was quick to conjecture that Green had been secretly told to take a pay cut in order to make room for critical free-agent deals, including Huard’s. Others in the media readily opined that a renegotiation process was already in progress allowing Green to remain on the team at his current salary and compete for the starting job.
Still others called for Green’s immediate retirement. An exasperating convention of the press, tolling of the death bell rang out across the land. With obituaries to Green’s career appearing on the sports page and eulogizing commentary emanating from radios and television sets, a contingent of Kansas Citians were content to bury the possibility of a renewed Green returning to dominance as the team’s lead QB. Patronizingly offering Green some hope of catching on in a supporting role on a descending team frantic for some veteran leadership, a premature surrendering of Green to football oblivion captured column inches and airtime in the local sports coverage.
Green’s lack of public reaction to the Huard news inspired piqued curiosity among Chiefs loyalists. Lurking around the perimeter of Green’s personal life hoping in an unguarded moment the gentlemanly professional would display an incident of furious indignation for us to gaze upon, interest immediate turned en masse from Huard’s satisfaction to Green’s alleged frustration. In a week when national headlines were dominated by the rehabilitation efforts of a sheared pop star and the ghoulish description of a three-week-old corpse bedecked in a pink prom dress and tiara being laid to rest in a Bahamian cemetery, the American public was clearly in a gruesome mood. A palpable sense of disappointment came over an expectant Chiefs populace who felt denied of a virulent soul-bearing bitterness from Trent Green.
Truth be told, this is the scenario we all dared not to dream. Recalling the skillful accuracy of Green throughout the glory days of the Chiefs offense, fans are willing to give the likeable leader another opportunity to compete. Excusing a 2006 season plagued by injury and perhaps returning to action while not fully recuperated from a vicious concussion and a lack of proper game preparedness, compassionate Chiefs fans are not quite ready to pull the plug on their two-time Pro Bowler.
But a fondness for Green does not trump fans’ desire for immediate improvement in the team’s record. Chiefs stakeholders are eager to see if Huard can continue to prove himself as a legitimate starter on one of the league’s better teams.
Above all else, sophisticated sports enthusiasts in Kansas City cite competition as their chief ethic. We can tolerate losing, we say, as long as we are a perennial contender. We like gripping contests almost as much as heart-stopping victories. If that brand of competition is what we truly crave, we’re in luck. The quarterback competition is setting up to be a thriller. And to think, how few have even mentioned Brodie Croyle yet.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of Carl Peterson.