Wile_E_Coyote
03-21-2007, 10:09 AM
Croyle will get his chance http://www.kansascity.com/multimedia/kansascity/archive/news/video_camera_icon.gifVIDEO (http://scp.thefifthnetwork.com/cmdprx/cmdprx.ashx?cmd=ifdlp&plstID=67051ef1-8609-4194-a38a-732f97a5e041&videoGUID=317CEEEF-CEA2-43AE-8207-EA0F0C64CE92&channelId=ID0E1AAC)
Chiefs coach says QB will have opportunity to prove he can start.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Herm Edwards talks about Will Shields, Trent Green | video (http://scp.thefifthnetwork.com/cmdprx/cmdprx.ashx?cmd=ifdlp&plstID=67051ef1-8609-4194-a38a-732f97a5e041&videoGUID=317CEEEF-CEA2-43AE-8207-EA0F0C64CE92&channelId=ID0E1AAC) Chiefs coach discusses roster moves | video (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/=)
Brodie Croyle’s NFL career, though brief, is less than impressive. It consists statistically of two games, seven passes, three completions and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Yet the job as Chiefs starting quarterback appears to be his to lose.
Coach Herm Edwards stopped short in a media briefing on Tuesday of making that declaration. But Edwards did indicate Croyle would get much of the work when the Chiefs begin offseason practice in May and at training camp when it begins in July.
“He’s going to get an opportunity,” Edwards said. “Maybe it doesn’t work out. But at least you’ll know. That’s not to say he’s going to be the starter. I don’t know who that guy is going to be at this point. But it needs to be open for competition, in my opinion, from what happened last year. It’s just the way we need to go.
“I want to find out where he’s at. Until you give players the ability to go out there and do it, you never know. It’s just a matter of getting Brodie some reps where he’s in competition and … where you can see how he can perform.”
The Chiefs last month re-signed veteran quarterback Damon Huard to prevent him from leaving as a free agent. They also have Trent Green, their starter for the last six seasons, and maintain he would be welcomed back if he can’t find a home elsewhere in the league.
Whether Green wants to stay is another matter, one he hasn’t declared publicly. Even if he does, both Green and Huard appear to be insurance in case the Chiefs decide Croyle isn’t ready.
One of the veteran quarterbacks could begin next season as the starter, but if so, he may be given the spot just temporarily until Edwards and his offensive coaches determine that Croyle is ready to play.
“We’ve got three good candidates, two proven guys that have played a lot of football and a young player,” Edwards said. “Is he ready to play? Could I say that today? I don’t know. You’re asking me a question I can’t answer.
“You’ve got a pretty good idea with the other two guys. Their history tells you what they are, for the most part. They have more history than Brodie. He doesn’t have any history at all.”
The Chiefs scheduled 14 offseason practices beginning in May and ending in June, about a month before the start of training camp. They also will have a three-day minicamp in early June.
Edwards said he and his staff would begin to get an idea of Croyle’s readiness before training camp starts. But he indicated they would want to see Croyle play in training camp and at least a couple of the preseason games before declaring him to be the starter.
“You can see some things (in the offseason), but he has to go under the live fire,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to create that in the preseason in how you play the guy. You’ve got to make sure he’s playing with the (starters) and he’s playing against good players.”
The indecision at quarterback threatens to again send the Chiefs into the season lacking offensive unity. Several key offensive players missed time in the offseason and training camp last year, and the results showed early.
The Chiefs scored just 16 points in the first two games, both losses.
“I knew we were going to be slow on offense (to start the season),” Edwards said. “You could just tell. We never had our starting offense play together the whole spring.”
The Chiefs expect all of their veterans to participate when their offseason practice begins. But they won’t have resolved their quarterback situation by then.
Two of their starting offensive linemen, guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann, were also considering retirement.
If the Chiefs are missing some of their key veterans, don’t look for Edwards to make up for lost spring practice time in the summer or fall.
“We’re not preparing for 16 games,” he said. “This program is set up all the way to the playoffs and the championship game, everything we do.
That’s why it’s kind of important that when we start off, you get going now. At the end, you can’t catch up. I’m cutting back at the end, not adding, to keep you fresh.
“If I had done that last year, with this football team, in my opinion, with some of the veterans we had, we had no shot. We would have died on the vine. We had so many veteran guys.”
-So who is Herm calling a fruit?
<HR class=infobox-hr-separator color=#cccccc SIZE=1>
Chiefs coach says QB will have opportunity to prove he can start.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Herm Edwards talks about Will Shields, Trent Green | video (http://scp.thefifthnetwork.com/cmdprx/cmdprx.ashx?cmd=ifdlp&plstID=67051ef1-8609-4194-a38a-732f97a5e041&videoGUID=317CEEEF-CEA2-43AE-8207-EA0F0C64CE92&channelId=ID0E1AAC) Chiefs coach discusses roster moves | video (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/=)
Brodie Croyle’s NFL career, though brief, is less than impressive. It consists statistically of two games, seven passes, three completions and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Yet the job as Chiefs starting quarterback appears to be his to lose.
Coach Herm Edwards stopped short in a media briefing on Tuesday of making that declaration. But Edwards did indicate Croyle would get much of the work when the Chiefs begin offseason practice in May and at training camp when it begins in July.
“He’s going to get an opportunity,” Edwards said. “Maybe it doesn’t work out. But at least you’ll know. That’s not to say he’s going to be the starter. I don’t know who that guy is going to be at this point. But it needs to be open for competition, in my opinion, from what happened last year. It’s just the way we need to go.
“I want to find out where he’s at. Until you give players the ability to go out there and do it, you never know. It’s just a matter of getting Brodie some reps where he’s in competition and … where you can see how he can perform.”
The Chiefs last month re-signed veteran quarterback Damon Huard to prevent him from leaving as a free agent. They also have Trent Green, their starter for the last six seasons, and maintain he would be welcomed back if he can’t find a home elsewhere in the league.
Whether Green wants to stay is another matter, one he hasn’t declared publicly. Even if he does, both Green and Huard appear to be insurance in case the Chiefs decide Croyle isn’t ready.
One of the veteran quarterbacks could begin next season as the starter, but if so, he may be given the spot just temporarily until Edwards and his offensive coaches determine that Croyle is ready to play.
“We’ve got three good candidates, two proven guys that have played a lot of football and a young player,” Edwards said. “Is he ready to play? Could I say that today? I don’t know. You’re asking me a question I can’t answer.
“You’ve got a pretty good idea with the other two guys. Their history tells you what they are, for the most part. They have more history than Brodie. He doesn’t have any history at all.”
The Chiefs scheduled 14 offseason practices beginning in May and ending in June, about a month before the start of training camp. They also will have a three-day minicamp in early June.
Edwards said he and his staff would begin to get an idea of Croyle’s readiness before training camp starts. But he indicated they would want to see Croyle play in training camp and at least a couple of the preseason games before declaring him to be the starter.
“You can see some things (in the offseason), but he has to go under the live fire,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to create that in the preseason in how you play the guy. You’ve got to make sure he’s playing with the (starters) and he’s playing against good players.”
The indecision at quarterback threatens to again send the Chiefs into the season lacking offensive unity. Several key offensive players missed time in the offseason and training camp last year, and the results showed early.
The Chiefs scored just 16 points in the first two games, both losses.
“I knew we were going to be slow on offense (to start the season),” Edwards said. “You could just tell. We never had our starting offense play together the whole spring.”
The Chiefs expect all of their veterans to participate when their offseason practice begins. But they won’t have resolved their quarterback situation by then.
Two of their starting offensive linemen, guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann, were also considering retirement.
If the Chiefs are missing some of their key veterans, don’t look for Edwards to make up for lost spring practice time in the summer or fall.
“We’re not preparing for 16 games,” he said. “This program is set up all the way to the playoffs and the championship game, everything we do.
That’s why it’s kind of important that when we start off, you get going now. At the end, you can’t catch up. I’m cutting back at the end, not adding, to keep you fresh.
“If I had done that last year, with this football team, in my opinion, with some of the veterans we had, we had no shot. We would have died on the vine. We had so many veteran guys.”
-So who is Herm calling a fruit?
<HR class=infobox-hr-separator color=#cccccc SIZE=1>