Rand attempts to drum up support for Huard

shaneo69 · 08-16-2007, 12:13 PM

RAND: Look beneath Huard's label
Aug 16, 2007, 6:08:35 AM by Jonathan Rand

Damon Huard won’t just be battling the Miami Dolphins tonight. He’ll also be battling the stereotype of a journeyman quarterback. Considering that he’s never won a full-time starting job in 10 previous NFL seasons, why would he suddenly have the talent to win one now?

This is conventional wisdom in the NFL, or any professional sport. Though supposedly an NFL player gets a chance to prove himself anew each summer, some players start training camp wearing labels that are hard to lose.

Some players have been so good for so long that they get the benefit of the doubt even when they hit the skids. Others have ridden the bench for so long that even sparkling performances are dismissed as flukes. That’s the box in which Huard finds himself these days.

How else do you explain him finishing 2006 with a passer rating better than anybody else’s but Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning, yet go into camp perceived by the media and public as the underdog in the race between him and second-year quarterback Brodie Croyle?

It’s as if Huard’s 98.0 rating and 11 touchdown passes with just one interception was a mirage. We keep reading and hearing that Huard hasn’t proven he can perform like that over an entire season – and maybe he can’t. But there was absolutely nothing fluky about his 2006 season.

Huard didn’t exactly fall into a situation tailor-made for success. It’s not as if he stepped in two or three times for Peyton Manning and made sure a high-powered offense and championship team stayed on track. Huard went 5-3 as a starter despite taking over an offense that needed to run Larry Johnson 416 times just to be average. The Chiefs went 4-5, playoffs included, behind Trent Green, now the Dolphins starter.

But surely Huard, at 34, hasn’t suddenly blossomed into a winner, has he? You’re usually safe to assume that leopards don’t change their spots, yet not all quarterbacks blossom according to some scientific table.

Kurt Warner was 28 and had been in the NFL for just one season when Green was injured in the 1999 preseason and Warner emerged as the league’s best quarterback. Green was a 31-year-old who’d bounced around when he came to the Chiefs in 2001 and got the chance to establish himself as a two-time Pro Bowl player. Brad Johnson had been to one Pro Bowl but was more or less a 34–year-old journeyman when he popped up with a big season in 2002 and led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory.

Quarterbacks can be inscrutable. How else can you explain coaches who watch them for countless hours on video and on the practice field and still start the wrong guy?

Chiefs coach Herm Edwards really can’t go too far wrong, though. Should he tap Croyle and see him struggle badly, he knows that Huard has shown the ability to quickly shake off rust. Should he go with Huard and see him fail to duplicate his 2006 success, Croyle could go in without feeling quite as much pressure as he would face by opening the season behind center.

Huard has all the attributes coaches want in a backup – experience, poise and the willingness to accept whatever role he’s given. But it would be a mistake to treat him as if his 2006 performance never happened. The Chiefs just might need the guy again.

**HemiEd** · 08-16-2007, 12:34 PM

Nonsense, Huard should have been able to beat out Marino and Brady if he is anything more than a back up. Right htismaqe?

**Tribal Warfare** · 08-16-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Nonsense, Huard should have been able to beat out Marino and Brady if he is anything more than a back up. Right htismaqe?

No bullshit, you made that comment ingest but it's correct. If one is good enough to be a starter lke Mark Brunelll when he played for the Packers or Schaub now,they'll find a starting position immediately somewhere around league.

StcChief · 08-16-2007, 12:51 PM

Huard only if Brodie is NOT capable and ready.

Brodie must Get the forced pass stuff outta his system.
check down. 3 more games to show he's ready.

Otherwise start Huard to win. early.

**HemiEd** · 08-16-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

No bullshit, you made that comment ingest but it's correct. If one is good enough to be a starter lke Mark Brunelll when he played for the Packers or Schaub now,they'll find a starting position immediately somewhere around league.

I disagree with your post in so many ways, I don't know where to begin. It's probably not worth it anyway, there are too many intangibles involved. I don't see it as Black and White as you do.

htismaqe · 08-16-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Nonsense, Huard should have been able to beat out Marino and Brady if he is anything more than a back up. Right htismaqe?

Of course, he wouldn't have beat out Marino or Brady.

Of course, I fail to remember a time when the league was made up of just two teams.

htismaqe · 08-16-2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I disagree with your post in so many ways, I don't know where to begin. It's probably not worth it anyway, there are too many intangibles involved. I don't see it as Black and White as you do.

That's a copout.

There's 32 teams in the league. In the 10 years Huard has been in the league, ALL of them have looked for a starting QB, some of them more than once. The Chiefs have had THREE starting QB's since Huard entered the league.

If he was starting material, he would have gotten a starting job. It's as simple as that. Even Huard, by signing his latest contract, acknowledges the truth that alot of Chief fans don't want to acknowledge.

orange · 08-16-2007, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Nonsense, Huard should have been able to beat out Marino and Brady if he is anything more than a back up. Right htismaqe?

Huard also was a backup to Jay Fiedler.

'Nuff said?

htismaqe · 08-16-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orange

Huard also was a backup to Jay Fiedler.

'Nuff said?

Ouch, that stings.

InChiefsHeaven · 08-16-2007, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orange

Huard also was a backup to Jay Fiedler.

'Nuff said?

Boom.

**HemiEd** · 08-16-2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's a copout.

There's 32 teams in the league. In the 10 years Huard has been in the league, ALL of them have looked for a starting QB, some of them more than once. The Chiefs have had THREE starting QB's since Huard entered the league.

If he was starting material, he would have gotten a starting job. It's as simple as that. Even Huard, by signing his latest contract, acknowledges the truth that alot of Chief fans don't want to acknowledge.

I will agree, it was a copout, I am swamped here at work today.

I just don't see it as Black and White as some of you. I want them to utilize the talent they have in place at it's utmost potential.
Has Huard ever had a chance to reach his full potential?
Last year can be argued to delerium, the fact is he was successful under very tough circumstances.
But as you and this article state, all 32 teams see him as a backup. Is that label justly deserved?

**HemiEd** · 08-16-2007, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orange

Huard also was a backup to Jay Fiedler.

'Nuff said?

And what idiot coach did that? The same one that wore two different shoes to work one day.

htismaqe · 08-16-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I will agree, it was a copout, I am swamped here at work today.

Not a problem, I do it to, for the same reason.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I just don't see it as Black and White as some of you. I want them to utilize the talent they have in place at it's utmost potential.

Pardon me if I have to laugh at your use of the words "talent" and "potential" in a conversation about Damon Huard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Has Huard ever had a chance to reach his full potential?

It's been 10 years. He's played for a half-dozen (or more) coaches. The answer to that is an unequivocal yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Last year can be argued to delerium, the fact is he was successful under very tough circumstances.

He was successful at what he was ASKED TO DO. Everybody squawks about the 1 INT and the QB Rating, but at the end of the day, the guy threw ELEVEN touchdowns. It's pretty easy to see why he did what he did - short leash, safe offense - tailor made for exactly what he did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

But as you and this article state, all 32 teams see him as a backup. Is that label justly deserved?

Obviously, Huard himself feels it's deserved. Why else would he sign a 3-year, $7M contract - obvious backup money - 3 days before free agency even starts?

Eleazar · 08-16-2007, 02:08 PM

If Croyle isn't ready then I'm fine with running Huard out there. If he needs more time he needs more time. Running him out there behind our porous line isn't going to help if he isn't ready to play the game at NFL speed.

htismaqe · 08-16-2007, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

If Croyle isn't ready then I'm fine with running Huard out there. If he needs more time he needs more time. Running him out there behind our porous line isn't going to help if he isn't ready to play the game at NFL speed.

If Croyle is bad enough, after having a year in the system, that we NEED to play Huard, cut him. He's useless. Cut Croyle, sign another cheap vet to backup Huard and prepare to draft another QB next year.

08-16-2007, 12:13 PM
shaneo69 Smug Weasel Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Bleachers at Busch Casino cash: $10004900	Rand attempts to drum up support for Huard RAND: Look beneath Huard's label Aug 16, 2007, 6:08:35 AM by Jonathan Rand Damon Huard won’t just be battling the Miami Dolphins tonight. He’ll also be battling the stereotype of a journeyman quarterback. Considering that he’s never won a full-time starting job in 10 previous NFL seasons, why would he suddenly have the talent to win one now? This is conventional wisdom in the NFL, or any professional sport. Though supposedly an NFL player gets a chance to prove himself anew each summer, some players start training camp wearing labels that are hard to lose. Some players have been so good for so long that they get the benefit of the doubt even when they hit the skids. Others have ridden the bench for so long that even sparkling performances are dismissed as flukes. That’s the box in which Huard finds himself these days. How else do you explain him finishing 2006 with a passer rating better than anybody else’s but Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning, yet go into camp perceived by the media and public as the underdog in the race between him and second-year quarterback Brodie Croyle? It’s as if Huard’s 98.0 rating and 11 touchdown passes with just one interception was a mirage. We keep reading and hearing that Huard hasn’t proven he can perform like that over an entire season – and maybe he can’t. But there was absolutely nothing fluky about his 2006 season. Huard didn’t exactly fall into a situation tailor-made for success. It’s not as if he stepped in two or three times for Peyton Manning and made sure a high-powered offense and championship team stayed on track. Huard went 5-3 as a starter despite taking over an offense that needed to run Larry Johnson 416 times just to be average. The Chiefs went 4-5, playoffs included, behind Trent Green, now the Dolphins starter. But surely Huard, at 34, hasn’t suddenly blossomed into a winner, has he? You’re usually safe to assume that leopards don’t change their spots, yet not all quarterbacks blossom according to some scientific table. Kurt Warner was 28 and had been in the NFL for just one season when Green was injured in the 1999 preseason and Warner emerged as the league’s best quarterback. Green was a 31-year-old who’d bounced around when he came to the Chiefs in 2001 and got the chance to establish himself as a two-time Pro Bowl player. Brad Johnson had been to one Pro Bowl but was more or less a 34–year-old journeyman when he popped up with a big season in 2002 and led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory. Quarterbacks can be inscrutable. How else can you explain coaches who watch them for countless hours on video and on the practice field and still start the wrong guy? Chiefs coach Herm Edwards really can’t go too far wrong, though. Should he tap Croyle and see him struggle badly, he knows that Huard has shown the ability to quickly shake off rust. Should he go with Huard and see him fail to duplicate his 2006 success, Croyle could go in without feeling quite as much pressure as he would face by opening the season behind center. Huard has all the attributes coaches want in a backup – experience, poise and the willingness to accept whatever role he’s given. But it would be a mistake to treat him as if his 2006 performance never happened. The Chiefs just might need the guy again.
Posts: 4,910

08-16-2007, 12:34 PM	#2
HemiEd Supporter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ozarks Casino cash: $3160564	Nonsense, Huard should have been able to beat out Marino and Brady if he is anything more than a back up. Right htismaqe?
Posts: 33,452

08-16-2007, 12:51 PM	#4
StcChief Playing for #1 Draft Pick Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Just West of Lambs land Casino cash: $10004900	Huard only if Brodie is NOT capable and ready. Brodie must Get the forced pass stuff outta his system. check down. 3 more games to show he's ready. Otherwise start Huard to win. early.
Posts: 25,901

08-16-2007, 02:08 PM	#14
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	If Croyle isn't ready then I'm fine with running Huard out there. If he needs more time he needs more time. Running him out there behind our porous line isn't going to help if he isn't ready to play the game at NFL speed.
Posts: 80,659