C-Mac
11-15-2007, 07:51 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/361776.html
Croyle begins his job as Chiefs’ starting quarterback
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Brodie Croyle stood at a podium, his hands buried deep in his pockets, as he calmly and politely answered questions in his Dixie drawl.
On the outside, Croyle was calm, composed and as laid back as a country boy from Alabama could be.
On the inside, he was churning.
Croyle, the Chiefs’ third-round pick from Alabama in 2006, will make his first NFL start Sunday at Indianapolis against Peyton Manning and the Super Bowl champion Colts.
And the day can’t get here soon enough.
“I’m anxious,” said Croyle, 24. “What better stage can you go onto? Going in there and playing one of the best quarterbacks who has ever played, playing a great defense and the defending Super Bowl champs.
“This is something that I’ve been working for since I was a young kid. It’s finally here.”
Croyle’s first full work day as the Chiefs’ No. 1 quarterback began with some razzing from his teammates, who formally initiated him as the starter with some good-natured ribbing — especially from defensive end Jared Allen, who proclaimed him “The Golden Boy.”
“He promised six touchdown passes this week,” Allen boasted.
Croyle rolled his eyes.
“I’m so ready for this week to be over so Jared Allen will be quiet,” Croyle said. “He’s always got something smart to say … Every wisecrack the quarterback gets, I’ve heard every one at least 10 times.”
It was more serious on the practice field, when Croyle worked exclusively with the No. 1 unit as opposed to dividing time as the backup to Damon Huard.
“Obviously, it’s a different feeling,” Croyle said. “Knowing you’re the backup, you have to be ready to go in at any point in time. Now, they’re saying, ‘Here’s the ball, go score some points, go win some games.’ It’s definitely different from that point of view.
“There are still some things I’m trying to figure out about certain receivers. We’ll get there.”
And there are some adjustments the receivers have to make to Croyle, who throws with more velocity than Huard.
“Brodie has that young arm,” said tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs’ leading receiver with 55 catches and four touchdowns. “That ball is coming. It’s coming. It’s one thing I kid him about, and I’m half-serious, too: ‘Hey, sometime take a little off that ball. Make it a little easy on us.’ That’s just him. That’s just how he’s thrown ever since I’ve been playing with him, like a Brett Favre throw, and it’s something you have to prepare for.
“He’s going to give us a different dimension. He’s more mobile. Damon has been beat up. He’s a little bit older. With Brodie coming in, he has fresh legs, he can get out of the pocket, he can move around. We need him to do that. He’ll make plays with his feet.”
Croyle has appeared in three games in relief of Huard, all in desperate situations in losses to Chicago, Jacksonville and Denver. He has completed 27 of 47 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but it will be a whole new ballgame as the starter.
“Every game, I’ve been trying to play catch-up,” he said. “They knew we were going to throw the ball. There have been some small windows here and there, but I’m excited about the opportunity to have them off-balance and have our whole playbook to throw at them instead of our 2-minute offense.”
Croyle had an opportunity to claim the starting job in training camp, but some untimely interceptions in preseason games derailed that opportunity. He believes he has learned from his mistakes.
“I learned a lot from it,” said Croyle. “I learned a lot of things not to do. Everything I’ve gone after to win, I’ve usually won. I had to learn to deal with not winning a job. I think that helped me grow, mature.
“When I had my opportunities to play this year, we didn’t play like we did in the preseason and did not make the same mistakes. It ultimately might have helped me with my teammates, too, how they saw me regroup after all that had happened.”
His family, too, has watched how Croyle has picked himself up from failing to win the starting job and having to watch from the sidelines. His parents, John and Tee, have not missed a game this year, and they’ll join Croyle’s wife, Kelli, and his sister and brother-in-law at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Sunday.
“The preseason was tough, but he got through it, and it made him better and got him ready for now,” John Croyle said. “Brodie had the best of both worlds; he had Damon and Trent Green both showing him the ropes. He’s ready to go because they trained him. Coach Edwards believes in him, or he wouldn’t be playing.”
John Croyle, who played for Bear Bryant’s 1973 national championship team at Alabama, sees no fear in his son. He remembered Brodie’s first game at Alabama when he was sent into the game as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma.
“We didn’t think he was going to play, and all of a sudden we looked up and he was in,” John Croyle said, “Afterward, he said, ‘It was fun.’ I asked, ‘Were you nervous?’ and he said, ‘No, sir, I knew what to do.’
“He doesn’t get nervous.
“Mike Shula (former Alabama coach) said it best when he said, ‘The bigger the situation, the slower (Brodie’s) heartbeat.’ He loves to play.”
Croyle begins his job as Chiefs’ starting quarterback
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Brodie Croyle stood at a podium, his hands buried deep in his pockets, as he calmly and politely answered questions in his Dixie drawl.
On the outside, Croyle was calm, composed and as laid back as a country boy from Alabama could be.
On the inside, he was churning.
Croyle, the Chiefs’ third-round pick from Alabama in 2006, will make his first NFL start Sunday at Indianapolis against Peyton Manning and the Super Bowl champion Colts.
And the day can’t get here soon enough.
“I’m anxious,” said Croyle, 24. “What better stage can you go onto? Going in there and playing one of the best quarterbacks who has ever played, playing a great defense and the defending Super Bowl champs.
“This is something that I’ve been working for since I was a young kid. It’s finally here.”
Croyle’s first full work day as the Chiefs’ No. 1 quarterback began with some razzing from his teammates, who formally initiated him as the starter with some good-natured ribbing — especially from defensive end Jared Allen, who proclaimed him “The Golden Boy.”
“He promised six touchdown passes this week,” Allen boasted.
Croyle rolled his eyes.
“I’m so ready for this week to be over so Jared Allen will be quiet,” Croyle said. “He’s always got something smart to say … Every wisecrack the quarterback gets, I’ve heard every one at least 10 times.”
It was more serious on the practice field, when Croyle worked exclusively with the No. 1 unit as opposed to dividing time as the backup to Damon Huard.
“Obviously, it’s a different feeling,” Croyle said. “Knowing you’re the backup, you have to be ready to go in at any point in time. Now, they’re saying, ‘Here’s the ball, go score some points, go win some games.’ It’s definitely different from that point of view.
“There are still some things I’m trying to figure out about certain receivers. We’ll get there.”
And there are some adjustments the receivers have to make to Croyle, who throws with more velocity than Huard.
“Brodie has that young arm,” said tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs’ leading receiver with 55 catches and four touchdowns. “That ball is coming. It’s coming. It’s one thing I kid him about, and I’m half-serious, too: ‘Hey, sometime take a little off that ball. Make it a little easy on us.’ That’s just him. That’s just how he’s thrown ever since I’ve been playing with him, like a Brett Favre throw, and it’s something you have to prepare for.
“He’s going to give us a different dimension. He’s more mobile. Damon has been beat up. He’s a little bit older. With Brodie coming in, he has fresh legs, he can get out of the pocket, he can move around. We need him to do that. He’ll make plays with his feet.”
Croyle has appeared in three games in relief of Huard, all in desperate situations in losses to Chicago, Jacksonville and Denver. He has completed 27 of 47 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but it will be a whole new ballgame as the starter.
“Every game, I’ve been trying to play catch-up,” he said. “They knew we were going to throw the ball. There have been some small windows here and there, but I’m excited about the opportunity to have them off-balance and have our whole playbook to throw at them instead of our 2-minute offense.”
Croyle had an opportunity to claim the starting job in training camp, but some untimely interceptions in preseason games derailed that opportunity. He believes he has learned from his mistakes.
“I learned a lot from it,” said Croyle. “I learned a lot of things not to do. Everything I’ve gone after to win, I’ve usually won. I had to learn to deal with not winning a job. I think that helped me grow, mature.
“When I had my opportunities to play this year, we didn’t play like we did in the preseason and did not make the same mistakes. It ultimately might have helped me with my teammates, too, how they saw me regroup after all that had happened.”
His family, too, has watched how Croyle has picked himself up from failing to win the starting job and having to watch from the sidelines. His parents, John and Tee, have not missed a game this year, and they’ll join Croyle’s wife, Kelli, and his sister and brother-in-law at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Sunday.
“The preseason was tough, but he got through it, and it made him better and got him ready for now,” John Croyle said. “Brodie had the best of both worlds; he had Damon and Trent Green both showing him the ropes. He’s ready to go because they trained him. Coach Edwards believes in him, or he wouldn’t be playing.”
John Croyle, who played for Bear Bryant’s 1973 national championship team at Alabama, sees no fear in his son. He remembered Brodie’s first game at Alabama when he was sent into the game as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma.
“We didn’t think he was going to play, and all of a sudden we looked up and he was in,” John Croyle said, “Afterward, he said, ‘It was fun.’ I asked, ‘Were you nervous?’ and he said, ‘No, sir, I knew what to do.’
“He doesn’t get nervous.
“Mike Shula (former Alabama coach) said it best when he said, ‘The bigger the situation, the slower (Brodie’s) heartbeat.’ He loves to play.”