Brett Arrrghve: The Ripple Effect Of The Bucs Trade
For those of you are sick of hearing about Brett Favre, deal with it. He’s possibly the NFL’s most popular player, and he’s being traded from a franchise he’s won more games for than any other QB has ever won for any other franchise. It looks like Favre is going to switch Bays–going from the Green Bay Packers to the Tampa Bay Bucanneers. Arrrgh! This is the biggest NFL news since Michael Vick got sent to Oz. No, not the one with Dorothy and Toto, although Leavenworth is in Kansas.
Anyway, the real news here for Chiefs fans is that the Bucs have a jillion QBs. Why is that news? Because the Chiefs don’t have a good back-up option at quarterback. Tyler Thigpen is short, and he’s a better athlete than quarterback. As for Damon Huard, it became clear to me last season that he prefers holding a clipboard to getting shellacked. Plus, neither player has impressed anyone up in River Falls. The Chiefs need a back-up quarterback, preferably one who has some long-term potential should Brodie Croyle fail.
Now, my first choice would be Byron Leftwich. who recently looked great in a workout for the Titans. Leftwich is still only 28, and I honestly see him as extremely undervalued at this point. I mean, he’s a former first-rounder who’s had some success in the league. It’s not like he’s Joey Harrington. Perhaps the reason he’s still out there is his price tag. Or maybe it’s because his poor performance in Atlanta, which isn’t fair. He joined the Falcons very late, and was injured for much of the season. The Falcons were an absolute mess last year, too put things nicely. I don’t hold anything that happened there against him.
We lead the league in cap room, and are looking for young players, so he should be a good fit. Remember, 28 is young for a quarterback. Leftwich is tough, he’s smart, he’s a team player and a natural leader. He’s also never had two targets as talented as Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez. And he’s used to playing in a run-oriented offense due to his days with Jaguars. I think he’d be a good fit for Chan Gailey.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Leftwich is out of the Chiefs’ price range. Additionally, bringing in Leftwich, a former longtime starter, wouldn’t exactly be viewed as a ringing endorsement for Croyle. That’s why I’m looking back to Tampa.
Tampa will have six quarterbacks after trading for Favre–Favre, Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, tantilizing rookie speedster Josh Johnson, Luke McCown and Chris Simms. Even if Jon “Captain Quarterback” Gruden ends up keeping four–more than most teams ever do–he’s still got to let two guys go, or trade them. My guess is that those guys will be McCown and Simms. McCown isn’t bad, but as you all know I’m really high on Simms.
I don’t really feel like Simms had the opportunity to succeed in Tampa Bay, and for that reason he is undervalued. Big 12 fans will remember the losses to OU, but what I remember is his insane QB rating at Texas, and then him engineering several comeback wins as a Buc. He’s been better than Brodie in both college and the pros. Just wanted to throw that out there for all the people who were screaming that Brodie hasn’t had a fair shot either. Plus, I’d feel better if we gambled on two guys instead of just one.
I think the Chiefs should move Huard for a day-two draft pick, keep Thigpen around for at least the preseason, and bring in another guy, preferably Leftwich or Simms. Brodie Croyle has looked good so far, but should he falter or get injured (the latter is very likely), we need to invest time in a QB who could potentially be part of our rebuilding project.
What does everybody else think about Favre, Leftwich, Simms and the crazy QB carousel in Tampa Bay?
I’ve thought about Simms for quite some team, stemming from around when I first posted on this site quite awhile back. The only problem with him, (that others brought up to me, anyway) would be that he’s a lefty. Albert is being groomed as a LT. Which would be rendered moot with a lefty QB. Also, D-mac was an average LT, (when uninjured) and a just-below-average LT when he was injured. I doubt it’d make a significant difference, D-mac still couldn’t cut it. I would give some thought to Herb Taylor at RT, and Albert at LT. Then either way we go, we have a fast, strong, young tackle prospect blocking. Not bad IMO. But hmm, enough of the Herbie homerism.
I’ve also given some thought to Leftwich, and although on paper it seems like a good pickup, watch highlights of him, or game tape. He’s got a very awkward/slow throwing motion. We need to get that ball rifled out as quickly as possible. That’s where Brodie actually has Leftwich beat. Stronger arm, quicker release.
And I don’t think Gruden’s gonna let go of Luke… I think Garcia will be so pissed off he’d jump ship at the first sign of Brett on the grounds. So I think that’s one of the QB’s would be let go. It was Garcia-fest-07 last year, and he lit things up down in Tampa, and then they bring in Brett freakin-can’t-get-enough-news-coverage Favre? He’d be gone so fast you’d hafta change ‘Speedy Gonzalez’ to ‘Speedy Garcia’.. Yeah, lame I know. Give me a break, it’s 4 in the morning. ahaha. Anyways.
I don’t see us being even remotely interested in Garcia, seeing as how he’s what, 38? So Simms would be the only logical one, and I’m not even sure on that, yet. Hmmmmm, this post is quite long, but then again, what posts of mine aren’t? You guys know the drill by now -.-
August 6th, 2008 at 3:09 amIf were going to bring in another QB to our team and it’s between Simms or Leftwich. I would have no doubt in my mind that Simms would be the better of the two. Leftwich just stinks it up on the field and just makes the most lousy descisions on the field. His release is so slow no wonder he gets intercepted all the damn time. Now Simms is a tough kid and needs a chance with another team. He has a good arm with a fast release and can move around in the pocket pretty well. The one thing I don’t like was all the batted balls at the line of scrimmage. I live in the Tampa Bay area and I like what the kid has to offer with his ability to play.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:10 am- ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas
August 6th, 2008 at 9:54 amOk, so let’s say we do get Simms. Would Branden Albert be ok as a great RT to block Simms’ blind side? Or would Taylor still work in the RT position? And how would that look to Brodie, who by everything I am reading has done pretty darn good in camp?
August 6th, 2008 at 10:28 amSeems a bit premature to be considering backup QBs right now. If they need to, I imagine what the Chiefs will do is wait until final cuts are made to see who shakes out.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:52 amBack from a 18 day European Cruise. Man, did I miss alot of stuff!
Maybe it will be Simms. But I hear the Bears are looking at him strongly.
I do believe that Huards time is up.
GO CHIEFS!
August 6th, 2008 at 11:44 amCroyle is the starter and the organization is committed to developing him for at least one full season, so whoever we grab will be the back-up and Leftwich is too pricey to sit on the bench. I would entertain trading Huard and grabbing one of the younger guys though.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pmI guess I need to start of with a sigh here: siiiiiighhhhnnnn! I am SO tired of the BF fiasco and the talking heads at ESPNutjobs…
I’m only going to comment on BF once. REGARDLESS of his ambivalence and indecision, he should never take a snap anywhere in the future besides Green Bay. If the brain trust running the Packers think they’re a better team without him, I want a kilo of what they’re smokin!
Trading him is the worst possible move in the history of sports – except maybe for pissing him off so bad he doesn’t want to play for you ever again.
The fallout of this trade will decimate that team in ways nobody can forsee now. But you can bet your arse the other guys on that team know now exactly what winning means to mgmt, and when those guys come to the end of their contracts… it will look like rats leaving the Titanic.
It’s pretty clear Ted Thompson is more concerned about winning with ‘his guy’ (Aaron Rodgers) than he is with winning. If they win with Brett, he’s afraid he will not get more than very little of the credit for building that team – and he’s probably right about that to some degree… but it’s his job to put the best possible team on the field for the fans and he’s blowing it on that score.
The only way this fiasco doesn’t damage Brett’s reputation is if he takes whichever team he ends up with to a superbowl championship – preferrably with a playoff win over the Pack along the way. And I have to say that it would be a sad thing to watch Brett eliminate the Packers from a championship run… maybe one of the saddest things I can imagine. You would have to believe such an event would not only damage Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, it will also have a profound effect on the way the fans of GB view Brett’s legacy in GB.
As to which QB might become available to KC… of all of them out there I only like Simms. He’s a much greater talent than he’s been able to show anywhere he’s ever been. Leftwich? Please. That guy is more than just uncoordinated… bad feet, bad mechanics, bad judgement… I could probably tolerate McCown, but I dont like his footwork either. Here’s hoping Brodie blossoms into the kind of solid QB we hope he can become. I’m high on the kid, but I’m an optimist at heart. As much as I like him, I have to admit Adam is right about his potential to be a bust as well – at least if he IS a bust, he’s a 3rd round bust!
August 6th, 2008 at 12:21 pmCurtMerzFan
GREAT post about the BF situation. It is an NFL travesty.
I disagree about one thing. If BF takes another team to the SB and kicks GB’s ass on the way, more power to him. It also should be the end of Thompson’s tenure with GB. He is an idiot. I wonder is he as much of an idiot as the GM in Detroit?
August 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pmCurt, I can’t agree with your BF assessment. Personally, I wouldn’t want him either unless all I cared about was selling tickets. Did everyone forget that his last pass was an interception thrown deep in his own territory in OT during the NFC championship game? That sums up Favre’s career in a nutshell. He leads in pass completions because he leads in pass attempts. He leads in TDs because he leads in INTs. He’s always been one of the most overrated QBs to ever rock an NFL uni IMO. Because he is simple and plainspoken and a generally nice everyman’s kind of guy, ESPN and NFLN have clung to the guys jock so hard that you wonder how he can scramble when pressure comes. He had a good season last year, but the two years before that he tried doing too much and he forced the ball in spaces he shouldn’t have. Oh yeah, did I mention HE’S ON THE COVER OF MADDEN!! Kiss that consecutive start streak adios.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:36 pmA bit off topic but if we need a backup QB, it sounds like we might be in a good position to deal away a decent backup RB as part of the exchange. Seriously, between Charles, Battle, Savage, & Smith it’s starting to look like we’re stacked with really good backup RBs. From the way things are looking right now, I’d deal away Kolby Smith in a heartbeat if we got something decent in return. Thoughts anyone?
August 6th, 2008 at 12:45 pmI would, too, Double D. Not sure his value will ever be higher. Not a bad idea at all. And we do need a back-up QB. I’ll just go out on a limb and say it.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pmWe have a promising young starter, an interesting and athletic young back up, and a veteran backup. I’m comfortable with that for now.
To Byron Leftwich: No.
Chris Simms? NO.
I agree that Simms deserves a chance with another team, but not the Chiefs. I don’t think Simms will ever amount to anything in the NFL. Hell, he’s listed at like 4th string right now with the Bucs. He was handed the starting job and given the opportunity to succeed, and he didn’t even come close.
Adam, you mention that Simms had a great career in college. Well, so did Rex Grossman. So did Ryan Leaf. So did David Carr, and so did Joey Harrington. The list goes on.
I’m just not remotely interested.
I’ll tell you who DOES interest me, though. Troy Smith. I love this kid. I’m expecting him to start for the Ravens. If he doesn’t, and he gets released, I think he’d be an excellent pick-up. That is assuming Croyle fails.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:32 pmI like Troy Smith alot too. He’s a MUCH better QB than he gets credit for, and he shows up BIG in big games.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:56 pmNice pic Zach!
I don’t know much about any of the aforementioned QB’s, so I can’t give an opinion on who we should get. But I would totally agree that we need a backup. Everything from training camp indicates that Thiggy is coming along slowly and Huard is pretty well done.
If Brodie goes down (and no I still don’t believe he’s injury prone) I think the season goes in the tank.
Great idea with the Kolby trade. From what I’ve been hearing we have a boatload of talent at RB now.
Sudden – good point about the Madden cover. It didn’t occur to me since he was still supposedly retired when it was announced. Super bad idea for him to decide to come back.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:58 pmI like Simms and he’d be a good pickup. McCown isnt bad as a backup either. However, what hasnt been discussed here is what if Favre lands on the Jets.
I say Chad Pennington could be a Chief very soon. Favre is possibly on his way to NYJ. The Jets have 2 young guys in Clemens and Ainge along with Pennington. Pennington would be the natural one to leave. Herm LOVES Pennington. And it would be so easy for Herm to publicly say that Croyle is our starter and Pennington is just added depth at the position. At the same time he can tell Pennington and the coaches that if Croyle doesn’t show a hell of a lot of improvement real quick then the job is Chads.
Now I am no insider, I am just reading the tea leaves based on whats happening.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pmGreat thoughts, Maine. I would definitely be open to Pennington. He doesn’t have a canon, but he is extremely smart and makes good decisions. Plus, he’s a leader. I like both of the Marshall QBs. Not gonna lie. Pennington isn’t exactly young, however, especially with his injury history.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pmReally good points Maine.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pmPennington: Natural leader, great guy, poor arm strength. Or so goes the national consensus. However, his arm has been limited by injuries he’s just starting to recover from, and I’ve been hearing that this offseason Chad has been very strength intensive in his workouts.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pmThat’s just it, Pennington has been injured, alot. He’s got the intangibles, we’d be throwing out one injury prone QB for another. Not exactly a perfect scenario. And Troy Smith? Seriously? We basically had Troy Smith in Printers. He did the same type of things. Had decent accuracy, moderate arm strength, a scrambler’s sense of when to get the hell out of a collapsing pocket, and more importantly, he was the only one to move our offense constantly and consistently in last year’s pre-season. So what do we do? Yeap, that’s right. Boot him. If we were seriously interested in Troy Smith we would have kept a ‘clone’ of him in Casey. Ain’t gonna happen.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:49 pmsudden i dont get how favre leads in tds BECAUSE he leads in ints. you are right about completions but thats the same reason he leads in int’s(attempts)
August 6th, 2008 at 8:19 pmand for the last 2 years that team has been VERY young and he has had to try to do it all himself. maybe thats the reason for the TERRIBLE pass in the championship game, late in his career, young team, might be his last chance to get another sb, and it looks like everything is falling apart, he tried to win the game too hard. if he would have completed that pass everyone would have loved him, look at the denver game, OT first play and BAM TD like 80 yarder
Scott:
Believe it or not, Brodie Croyle IS, in fact, injury prone. That’s my one major concern about him.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:32 pmWOW! Even SBC admitted something negative about Brodie
August 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm