Leftwich in Red: The Scoop From a Jags Blogger

Chris, the lead blogger from SB Nation’s Jacksonville Jaguars blog “Big Cat Country”, was nice enough to give us his opinion on Byron Leftwich potentially joining our Kansas City Chiefs. Chris is a fellow Springfieldian — who I’ve gotten to know through my other site Pacman Jonesin’ — and a great guy. Additionally, since he lives in Missouri and has watched every snap Leftwich has ever taken, nobody is better suited to give us this scoop. Thanks, Chris, and everybody be sure to go check out Big Cat Country. That will be a site you’ll definitely want to remember come week five, when the Jags come back to Kansas City.

So Byron Leftwich is about to be a free agent or traded. What’s that mean for Kansas City? First off, he belongs in your top five strongest arms in the NFL. Byron’s long delivery gives him amazing strength. He can throw a deep ball with a pretty good amount of accuracy. Of course, this begs the question of if anyone on the Chiefs roster can run fast enough to get under Byron’s quick ball? We’ve got “quick” receivers in Jacksonville, but never had that speedy guy who could get deep enough and fast enough to utilize Byron properly.

That said, he’s a good quarterback. He knows how to study film, he plays with a whole lot of heart, and I think he has a lot of “unmeasurables” that make him valuable to any team. First off, pay no attention to anyone who says that he’s fat, slow, etc. He’ll admit that he’s the “Slowest Black Quarterback”, but he’s got the moves in the pocket to buy a little time. With a guy like ToGo as an option, Byron’s mobility could be enough to do the trick.

Injuries are a concern with Byron, but not for what you think. Byron tries to play through everything. He wants to lead by example and make the plays. Sometimes he’s exasperated injuries by rushing back too early, hence the madness of his ankle last season. Byron’s fully recovered from that, so he’s got a clean bill of health. I wonder if your offensive line could keep him upright enough.

Let’s be frank, the Chiefs quarterbacks haven’t looked so good this year. I’m in Missouri, I’m stuck watching Chiefs coverage when I’d rather see my Jags. But you’ve got the benefit here of a guy who’s watched every snap Byron’s ever taken in the NFL. I know he’s a talented quarterback, just not the right one for Jacksonville. I could see Herm Edwards doing great things for his confidence. Byron knows how to play on a run first offense, so he’ll fit right in there.

Frankly, if I have to lose Byron as a Jag, I’d be OK with him in KC. I think he’d be a good fit, but not a great one.