Quote:
Originally Posted by KCChiefsfan88
What about that final drive against the Dolphins... in probably the most defining moment of the season for Thigpen. The defense forced the Dolphins to turn the ball over and Thigpen had the opportunity to drive the offense down the field to tie the game with a touchdown.
How did Thigpen respond under the only major pressure situation he was faced with all season, the only real situation he was in to lead the Chiefs to tie and send a game into OT? He melted down... completely choked. First down- incomplete pass (not even close to the WR), Second down- another wild incompletion, Third down- Sacked (held on to the ball too long looking for Tony Gonzalez), Fourth down- INT.
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Seriously?
The second start of the guy's career and you're ready to throw the towel in on him because he couldn't "handle the preassure"? How many of the great QBs stuggled in their first couple of starts? In just looking at the QBs in the pro-bowl THIS year -
Peyton started all 16 games with a 3-13 record, threw 28 interceptions, his QB rating was 71
Bret Favre still throws interceptions all over the field, his first year, he threw the ball 4 times and had 2 ints. Managed 13 ints with 13 starts his second year in the nfl
Cutler managed to win 2 of his 5 starts his first season with a QB rat of 88 - probably the best first season of the AFC probowl qbs.
Kerry Collins completed less than half of his passes his first season, threw more INTs than TDs, and had a rating of 61.9.
On the NFC side, you've got...
Warner - No question about his performance once he got a chance to start. But he bounced around until he was 27 before he even got signed by his first NFL team. After 3 solid years in StL, he became a backup and was viewed by many as nothing more until he stepped up this year. His first season of true starting he neted 109 QB rating.
Brees - Threw one more TD than INT, had a QB rating of 76.9. Last pick of the 2nd round - I was frustrated because the 1st and 2nd round picks we gave for Green and DV could have been used to get him, thought he would have made a decent QB for us. But all the experts say he wouldn't have been any good in the NFL because he's only 6- too short.
Last but not least, we have Eli Manning who Giants fans wanted to send packing after 4 years.
Look back and you'll see most of the great QBs weren't stellar in their first seasons. Not every QB is going to be like Brady or Warner, ALMOST ALL of them are going to struggle for their first couple of years. Some that fair better have the luxury of playing for better teams - Cassel for example (in the list above, I'd include Favre, Cuttler and Warner in the group benifiting from a team around them their first season, as well as Tom Brady).
Last year Thigpen accounted for 1 less TD (22) than the entire Chiefs team in 2007 (23). in the games following the Bye week, his qb ratings were not too far off from some of the better QBs in the NFL. Also keep in mind, you really can't put every loss on Thigpen. We lost a lot of games, not because of Thigpen, but dropped passes, poor running, poor D, missed FGs, poor coaching and so on.
Ever since I became a Chiefs fan, one observation I've made is I don't think the Chiefs fan base as a whole could survive drafting and developing a QB. They would boo him at games, complain about his performances, and ask (beg) that coaches and management do something different.
Say we draft Stafford or Sanchez, how long does anyone think the fanbase would put up with bad numbers before they are filled with grumbling and complaining, reffering to the QB as "Another First Round Bust."