Teicher: Croyle to start at QB against Titans

[Tribal Warfare]

Croyle to start at QB against Titans
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

Brodie Croyle will get another chance to make the Chiefs his team in their next game on Oct. 19 against Tennessee at Arrowhead Stadium. Coach Herm Edwards confirmed Croyle will make his return as the starting quarterback then.

It could be Croyle’s final chance if he can’t stay healthy. As much as anything in a season turned rotten beyond anyone’s imagination, the Chiefs need some stability at quarterback.

If Croyle can’t provide it, the Chiefs will find someone in the offseason who they believe can. So Croyle on Monday didn’t need anyone to tell him how much he needs to avoid injury, for his sake as well as that of his team.

“It’s vital,” he said. “The quarterback has to be out there, has to play. I haven’t been there. Obviously, when I get back, it’s vital for me to stay healthy and vital for me to try to find a way to help this team win.”

The Chiefs fell to 1-4 after Sunday’s 34-0 loss at Carolina. They gained just 127 yards, making it their most futile offensive game in 22 seasons.

Quarterback play is only one reason, but a significant one. The Chiefs counted on Croyle to stabilize the situation, but he separated his shoulder in the season-opening loss at New England.

He missed four games, leaving the spot in the often unsteady hands of Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard. The Chiefs beat Denver two weeks ago when Larry Johnson rushed for 198 yards but otherwise were dismal offensively in losses to Oakland, Atlanta and the Panthers.

The Chiefs are looking to Croyle to not only give them an offensive boost but also stick around for a while.

“You can’t put it all on him, though,” Edwards said. “We feel he can do some things for us, and it’s good to have him back. They’ve got to put some of it on themselves, though. They can’t just expect him to ride in on a white horse. We’re hoping he can stay healthy and help us win some games. He’s capable of doing that.”

Croyle has neither helped the Chiefs win nor been able to stay healthy. He is 0-7 as their starter and missed time last season because of injuries to his back and throwing hand.

Edwards has said Croyle will start the rest of the season as long as he’s healthy, so his ability to secure the position for the long term might have as much to do with his ability to stay in one piece as playing lights out.

Croyle missed time in college at Alabama because of injuries, so he’s often been asked about whether he’s too brittle to play quarterback. He’s always irritated by the insinuations that he’s not tough enough.

“If it was up to me, I would have tried to play awhile back,” said Croyle, who began throwing in practice last week. “We have a great training staff and great doctors who have been smart about it.

“I won’t be 100 percent. I probably won’t be 100 percent the rest of the year. I’m close enough. It’s just one of those things that ain’t going to go away until you have a couple of months to sit there and rest it.

“It’s not comfortable. I’m not altering my motion, which is the main thing we (didn’t want) to do. It’s football. Everybody plays with pain.

“If I’m healthy, I’m going to go. I just have to make sure that over the next two weeks that everything keeps going the way it’s supposed to be and we don’t have any setbacks. If that’s so, then we’ll be ready to go against Tennessee.”

The Chiefs will practice three times this week before scattering for the weekend, their only one of the season without a game. Offensively, they need to use the time wisely.

Croyle has missed a month, so by now he’s a little bit of a stranger to his teammates. In his absence, the Chiefs not only used Huard and Thigpen, but wide receiver Marques Hagans also took a few snaps at quarterback.

“It’s tough sometimes to get that chemistry when there are all these different quarterbacks,” wide receiver Devard Darling said. “Consistency is the big thing. It’s hard to get things going when the quarterback keeps changing.

“It almost like we’re starting from scratch again. We’ll have Brodie back at quarterback, and the coaches said we’re working on fundamentals this week. It’s kind of like we’re hitting the reset button.”

They can only hope that means Croyle can succeed where Thigpen and Huard consistently couldn’t.

“We just have to get going again,” Croyle said. “We’ve got to get everything rolling and everybody back on the same page. We’re going to be here all week practicing.”