Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

The Brodie Croyle story is over.

Croyle tells the Birmingham News that he is retiring from NFL football.

“I’m very grateful for everything football gave me,” said Croyle, 29, who prepped at Westbrook Christian in Rainbow City. “I just felt it was time, and that’s a mutual decision with NFL football. There’s very few guys who retire on their own terms. It was a fun ride, but I’m glad to be back, glad to be doing what I’m doing.”

Croyle never won a game as an NFL starter, despite multiple opportunities. While Croyle was never surrounded by a good team, he was never the difference-maker the Chiefs were hoping for. Croyle also had bad luck with injuries, leading many fans anoint him “Brokie Croyle.” In the end, his attractive wife who appeared alongside him on HBO’s Hard Knocks, ended up being more popular in Kansas City than the former 3rd round pick.

Croyle tried out for several teams last offseason but failed to make a roster. He did spend a brief portion of the preseason with the Cardinals.

We wish Brodie and his wife Kelly the best in whatever is next.

Many plots unfolded during Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field—some comic, some tragic, and it’s not necessarily easy to tell which is which. The Chiefs broke their four-game losing streak and their string of approximately 417* consecutive offensive drives without a touchdown. Quarterback Tyler Palko got his first touchdown pass and his first win as an NFL starter, which officially makes him better than Brodie Croyle. Kansas City kept its slim playoff hopes alive. Todd Haley continued to dress like a middle-school gym teacher.

*Approximately.

And, for anyone who missed it (and if you looked away for even a moment, you might have), recently acquired quarterback Kyle Orton came in for the first play of the second quarter, his first play as a Kansas City Chief, which also turned out to be his last play—of the game, perhaps of the season, and therefore, since he is only signed for the rest of the year, possibly of his entire Chiefs career. Orton had been plucked off of waivers several days earlier to fill in for quarterback Matt Cassel, who is sidelined with a hand injury. So what does Orton do? He gets sidelined with a hand injury. See? Tragic and comic.

Orton may very well return in the weeks to come—he has recovered from just this type of dislocated-finger injury before—but some observers are speculating that the Chiefs may have just paid $2.5 million for one incomplete pass, making that flea flicker “quite possibly the most expensive single play in franchise history.”

And in case this is indeed the end, the only chance Chiefs fans and Kyle Orton will have to know each other, let’s not forget this time we’ve had together. True, we’ve had our ups and downs—or rather, Orton was up, and then he went down. But respect must be paid.

And I really must learn to use iMovie. Don’t worry…the following video is only twice as long as Orton’s total playing time for the Chiefs. So let us pause for just a moment or two (all we’ll need) to relive the Kyle Orton Era in Kansas City…

There was a moment during Sunday’s game in San Diego—well, there were several, but this one in particular will make the point—when nothing else about the Kansas City Chiefs’ woeful 2011 season mattered: With a minute-and-a-half left, the Chiefs had just tightened the score to 20-17, and the Chargers—having just failed to convert a third-and-eight—decided to go for it on fourth-and-inches, on what they hoped would be the last meaningful play of the game. But San Diego and Philip Rivers forgot the whole “sneaky” part essential to a successful quarterback sneak. The Chiefs saw it coming from a mile (actually, inches) away, and even an overly generous spot and the fickle imprecision of an official chain measurement couldn’t deny them a huge stop.

The Chiefs, only down by three, now had the ball, the momentum, decent field position, and—thanks in part to the fact that Rivers hadn’t run nearly as many seconds off the clock as he could have*—plenty of time with which to work. A quick 23-yard pass to Leonard Pope into San Diego territory underlined just what was happening here: the Chiefs weren’t struggling to set up a tie game and overtime, they were driving toward their first win of the season.

*No, there weren’t any well-coached teams out there this day.

But the fact that it would be their first win was—in the moment—completely irrelevant to me. There was no context outside of the scoreboard and the game clock. It didn’t matter that even three points might still be a tall order for a team that in three games so far had been outscored 109-27. It didn’t matter that the Chiefs were going to have to finish this drive without Jamaal Charles or Tony Moeaki. It didn’t matter that last year, with those players, on this same field, the soon-to-be-playoff-bound Chiefs had been wholly embarrassed 31-0 (albeit with Brodie Croyle filling in for Matt Cassel). It didn’t matter either that this year, until the last few possessions, Cassel had looked shakier than Croyle at his worst.

So what? The same pieces of this puzzle that had completely fallen apart on us the first two weeks appeared to be coming together. Even the same blank sideline expression of head coach Todd Haley (overcompensating for last week’s strawberry/melon-colored velour hooded blouse with a slightly more bad-ass black windbreaker) now seemed less clueless and more confidence-inspiring. Despite everything—again, because nothing else mattered—it looked likely that the Chiefs could beat the Chargers, in very dramatic fashion, and announce themselves as the champions of this game on this day. This was the Super Bowl.

This moment, this dose of adrenaline, was precisely the kind of fix that had lead to our addiction in the first place. The reason we are Chiefs fans, and stay Chiefs fans, is for the ever-present anticipation of the next one of these moments. As I’ve tried to deal with the opening debacles of this season, I’ve pointed out that I (merely) expect to be entertained. On Sunday, the Chiefs fulfilled that expectation. Even their last play on offense—as stultifying a way to lose a game as Cassel’s interception was—was still another moment: it felt good to be angry, to care.

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Brodie Croyle's arm.

Kent Somers of azcentral.com is reporting that the former Chiefs QB is expected to sign with the Arizona Cardinals today.

Sources tell me the Cardinals plan to place Croyle on IR by the end of the week.

Just kidding. Best of luck to Brodie. Hopefully and can carve out a career for himself out in Arizona. We wish him the best.

WARNING: This post ends with a bad rap parody.

It’s hard to believe, maybe, that this week marks the four-year anniversary of the debut of HBO’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, to celebrate,* the NFL Network broadcast a HK:TCWTKCC marathon yesterday. For one day, it was August 2007 all over again, and the whole gang was there: Herm Edwards, of course, and Gunther “%&#^@!” Cunningham, along with the stars of the show: Turk and Tank. Boomer Grigsby. The Croyles (mostly Kelli). And poor, poor Bobby Sippio.

*”To celebrate” is one way to put it. “To kill six dead hours in the middle of a Monday” is another.

It can also be hard to remember that, at the time, things didn’t look so bad. There was hope. We were coming off a 2006 season in which the Chiefs—though some of you, I’m sure, got “this thing twisted and think we backed into this deal”—were a playoff team, with an All-Pro running back that had just lead the league in carries and finished second in yards. Meanwhile, All-World tight end Tony Gonzalez had been signed to a five-year extension. And now, HBO was reviving its acclaimed NFL training-camp reality series and wanted to feature the Chiefs and only the Chiefs—and had been spending the whole summer hyping it.

No, we didn’t know at that moment just how hard we would all be knocked over the next three years. As late as that Halloween, it still seemed like we would continue to have something to root for. First, there were those 24 unanswered second-half points in San Diego to erase a double-digit halftime deficit. Then, in a very sloppy game in Oakland, the Chiefs outlasted the Raiders to prevail 12-10, securing a 4-3 record and, heading into their bye week, first place in the AFC West. That was October 21, 2007.

The Chiefs would not win again until September 28, 2008. They would lose 12 games in a row and 28 of their next 30, getting outscored 808-499 during that stretch—though the close, late-game losses would be the most pathetic and painful.

(You know, just in case you didn’t remember all that.)

But the point is that now, four years later, though we may whine and moan about our young Chiefs’ growing pains, we also have much to cheer. Which means it’s time for another parody.

So with all apologies* to Jaz-Z for hijacking his original (and to Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, who co-wrote the original original), please enjoy, if possible. Just don’t ask me to perform it for you.

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So all in all it appears that unfortunately I was right about free agency up to this point.  No big splashes (unless you count picking up the Cardinals #2 receiver) and a few decent players picked up at bargain prices.  According to Scott Pioli he has no set cap for spending from the Hunt family, and basically has free reign to pay for and pick up whoever he wants for the team.  Evidently Pioli never saw the movie “Blank Check.”

So either Pioli is lying (or how I’m sure he would justify it telling a “half-truth”) or he really doesn’t see any big free agents that are worth the asking price.  At least here the Chiefs are consistent, applying the same mode of thinking that brought the Chiefs Mike Vrabel: Bring in veterans that can play a couple of years to help mentor draft picks until they are ready to take over.  I don’t mind that line of thought other than the fact that it makes for a dull free agent market.

Another interesting piece of information from this press conference was that Haley and Pioli had a so called “comprehensive plan” for dealing with free agency.  I think we can all agree that nothing that they have done so far appears to be all that comprehensive. During the FA threads it was mentioned that weighing all of the gains and losses that the Chiefs were a worse team this year than last year.  Granted that may be true, but the more I think about it the more I think that is not the question we should ask.  I think the real question that should be at the forefront of our Addict brain is:  Are the Chiefs better than the other AFC West teams?

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It looks like this is the end of the road for Kansas City Chiefs QB of the future Brodie Croyle. THe Chiefs signed a number of their own free agents yesterday and Croyle was not among them. They also have QB’s Ricky Stanzi and Tyler Palko on the roster. There is no more room for Croyle.

Drafted to  eventually take over for an aging Trent Green, Coryle never panned out. A string of injuries hampered his development, as did a terrible offensive line. Croyle will leave Kansas City as perhaps one of the biggest busts in franchise history. He never won a game, going 0-10 as a starter.

His career stat line is 181 completions in 319 attempts, 56.7% completion percentage for 1.669 yards passing, an average of 5.6 yards per completion. He threw eight touchdowns vs. nine interceptions. He was sacked 26 times and fumbled five times, losing three.

His injuries aside, Croyle probably was never going to make it as an NFL starter. He just was never able to make anything happen when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, give his poor play last season, he may also be finished as a backup. He is 28 years old and time is running out.

I’ve always liked Croyle. He seems like a great kid and I admired the way he fought his way back onto the roster after his terrible knee injury. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be for Brodie “Brokie” Croyle.

Don’t feel too bad for Brodie, though. He is a still a millionaire.

So long Brodie Croyle.

Quick trivia question: Who exactly is Hannibal Hamlin?

a)    The cannibalistic serial killer in Silence of the Lambs.
b)    The star of the hit ‘80s legal/inappropriate-office-sex drama L.A. Law.
c)    The Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leader in punts inside the 20-yard line.
d)    The Vice President under Abraham Lincoln from 1861-65.

Well, as anyone with either a passion for 19^th-Century American political history or access to Google already knows, the answer is not a), or b), or even c). Hamlin, a U.S. Senator from Maine, was the other half of Lincoln’s ticket. He was later appointed ambassador to Spain, and was considered, I’m sure, an all-around great guy by his friends as well as the staff at his favorite diner in Bangor.

What does this fact have to do with the Kansas City Chiefs? Well, in and of itself, absolutely nothing. So why do I bother mentioning it (other than as a bit of minutiae I picked up in eager anticipation of last night’s premiere of Ridley Scott’s new docu-thriller Gettysburg on the History Channel*)?

*Seriously. It was AWE-some. You should check it out on rerun.

Consider: Passed over for a second term in favor of Andrew Johnson, Hannibal Hamlin’s tenure as #2 expired in March 1865, mere weeks before Lincoln’s career-and-life-ending-injury at Ford’s Theater forced Johnson to enter the presidency with little more than a few practice speeches under his belt. Indeed, he was not up to the task, and the country spent the rest of the decade mired in a long, painful rebuilding process known as Reconstruction. Congress even tried to cut Johnson before his contract was up.

I think you know where I’m going with this: Whether in the White House or the National Football League, a good backup is essential, particularly at the leadership position.

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The 2011 NFL Draft is over, the picks are all in, and now the grades are going out. Of course, giving a team a report card on its draft choices is sort of like grading a student on their class selection at the beginning of the semester: “Jimmy’s really weak in math, so I’m glad to see he’s talking calculus, and I’m not sure what ‘Intro to Global Sensitivity Analysis’ is, but maybe it’ll make him into less of an asshole.” The real passing and/or failing hasn’t even begun.

So for now, the grades we give are, like the picks themselves, educated guesses in response to the following: “Will _____ be a good player for us? Will he make our team better?” And so far, the answer for most of the players picked seems to be, happily, “Yeah…I really think so.”

But there’s a secondary consideration, an aspect that concerns all of us, and especially those of us who have taken it upon ourselves to write and/or comment about this team week in and week out: “Will _____ be a good story for us? Will he make our team that much more interesting?”

Of course, interesting isn’t necessarily good. But for every Chad Ochocinco who coasts on talent and early success, says whatever he wants to get attention, perhaps changes his name to a Spanish number, launches a reality TV show, and in his spare time plays soccer, there’s a Priest Holmes who goes undrafted, works harder than anyone, overcomes injury, overcomes rejection, and then overcomes injury again to become one of the greatest ever—and in his spare time plays chess just to relax.

Looking over the crop of new stories about to join the larger Chiefs narrative, there are reasons to be excited about the potential of these picks. So while all the football grades are going out, here are my evaluations on the human-interest angle for each draftee, on a five-star scale, from downright dull (think Varsity Blues…Necessary Roughness…The Longest Yard (2005 version)) to a legend in the making (Rudy…Brian’s Song…The Longest Yard (1974)).

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Few positions evoke as much interest as quarterback when it comes to the NFL Draft.  With the NFL becoming a pass first league, it is no wonder that QBs have become so important.  In fact, perhaps the easiest way to see which teams are still looking for a franchise QB is to look at the teams picking early in the first round.  All told you could make a case that about 1/3 of the NFL is still looking for their QB.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, they have already found their guy.  Matt Cassel is not another Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, but he did come in and steady the QB position.  My guess is that he will be the Chiefs QB for at least 5 more years.  So get used to him.

I freely admit that I went into the 2010 season with grave reservations about Cassel.  The way he started the season didn’t allay those concerns.  However, he had some good games and has earned the starting QB job for the Chiefs.  Now we just need to give him some guys to catch the ball.  But wide receiver is not the topic for this preview, it is quarterback.

The reason for this is twofold.  The first reason is that Chiefs’ backup QB Brodie Croyle looked miserable in the one game he played in 2010.  If he is a bad backup and has stopped progressing then it is time to cut him loose.  This means that the Chiefs will be looking for a new backup QB.  That is why I am previewing the quarterback position.
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We continue taking a look at various prospects the Kansas City Chiefs might be interested in drafting by moving to former Alabama QB Greg McElroy.

We have been going through a seven round mock draft provided to us by NFL Mocks over the past couple of weeks. We’ve been taking an individual look at each of the players Mocks had the Chiefs selecting. In the 5^th round of the mock draft, NFL Mocks suggested the Chiefs take a QB.

Here is what they had to say:

Brodie Croyle is awful. He started one game for the injured Matt Cassel and he put in a pitiful performance. Greg McElroy reminds me a lot of Matt Cassel. He’s a very intelligent QB who deciphers defenses and reacts very well. He doesn’t have great physical tools, but Greg was a leader at Alabama and I think he could be a starter somewhere down the line.

Let’s take a closer look at McElroy and try to decide if he would be a good fit in KC.

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Now that the 2010 NFL Season has concluded, it is time to focus on the offseason.  Unfortunately, this offseason will be marred by concern over NFL Labor negotiations.  However, since I can’t go up to each negotiator, slap their face, and tell them to get the deal done; I’ll have to find something else to keep myself busy.  Since the draft is a sure thing with or without a new CBA, I figured I would focus on that.

Before reading this I need you to understand three things.  The first is that I am doing this based on the idea of no free agency.  Second, I am pretending that I’m sitting in the General Manager’s seat.  I am not pretending that I am Scott Pioli.  However, it should be known that he and I share our like for smart, high character guys.  Third is that these choices will change many times before the actual draft occurs.  One of the biggest events leading up to the Draft, the NFL Combine, has not yet occurred and so these players will move up and down the board depending on their performance there.  With that being said, here is my Chiefs’ mock draft.
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Champs, shmamps -- have you forgotten? This smirking face should haunt your dreams. (Credit: Paul Sakuma-AP)

The Kansas City Chiefs are the 2010 AFC West Champs, and it’s not even 2011 yet. Before Sunday, so many of us still agonized over whether this moment would come at all, let alone with a game left to play in the regular season—and a week left to contemplate the potential implications and complications of the team’s fortunes.

Like Big Matt, I woke up Monday wondering if indeed it had all really happened. I picked up the morning paper and there it was: “Chiefs Clinch AFC West.” Even then, for a second, I worried that I had mistakenly grabbed a copy of The Onion, especially when I opened the sports section and read “Toledo Stunned in Pizza Bowl”—which, as it would turn out, was also an actual headline.*

*Heartfelt condolences go out to those Toledo alums and fans who had been dreaming since childhood of a Little Caesars Pizza Bowl championship.

Yes, it’s real. But since we are Chiefs fans, we only allow ourselves a few moments of stress-free celebration, followed immediately by ohmigod ohmigod—now what are we going to do about this? Do we rest Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles on Sunday? Do we put Brodie Alabama in for a strategic “cleanup call?”* Do we just punt out of bounds every time we get the ball? When is a good time to pull the defensive starters and how soon do we suspend Shaun Smith’s Twitter account?

*Seriously, WTF?

This fretting, of course, is silly. The Chiefs must play all out and win on Sunday, and I have heard many good reasons why: To guarantee that #3 seed. To ensure K.C. hosts the New York Jets, a team everyone has deemed to be the Chiefs’ least intimidating potential opponent. To avoid a possible divisional-round match-up at New England. To preserve the “Arrowhead Mystique”—that aura of invincibility that breaks the will of any visiting team.*

*And, based on Sunday’s attendance figures, the will of many potential ticket-buyers.

But for all the analysis, it seems we are too easily overlooking why a win is needed most of all: To beat the Raiders. Period.*

*This asterisk is here only to drive home the point that no asterisk to this statement is necessary. (more…)

"No! It's right, left, right, twirl, jump, kneel, smile! Stupid!" (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Here we go again with another Friday night, and the microphone is unoccupied on the best Kansas City Chiefs blog on the internet (yeah, that’s right, Google it).  Yes fellow friends, it is Open Mic Night here at AA, or as I refer to it “Super Fun Ultra Awesome Time!!!”  We have had a heck of a week as fans and as a site.  There have been up’s, there have been downs, and there have been eggs laid in San Diego, twice in one week.  Kansas City fans watched in horror and disgust as their newly found hero QB Matt Cassel sat on the sidelines, and second string QB Brodie Croyle took the field with a team that looked, well, atrocious.

After the fallout Big Matt put it out there that Brodie Croyle and the myth of the kid with the golden arm can be officially put to rest.  Victor followed up the next day and shrugged it off along with the Chiefs players and staff, acknowledging that the division goes to the team with the most wins, not the “best” team.  I posted about the remaining games for the Chiefs and proclaimed to the Chargers and world, “Catch us if you can!”  Adam kept pace with his article, and brought us home for the week saying that if the season came to the last game against the Raiders, that it would be exhilarating to watch the Chiefs battle for the division down the stretch.

So that’s the week in review here at Arrowhead Addict.  A couple of topics I want to throw out there:

Do you think that Cassel will play Sunday against the Rams (I hope so, I have tickets), and if he does not what do you think the game will look like for KC?

After the total decimation in San Diego last weekend, even if the Chiefs do win the division do you think they deserve to be in the playoffs?  The reason I ask is that I look at the NFC West and the fact that a team with a losing record could host a playoff game, and I don’t think any of them deserve that if they finish 7-9.  After that shutout, there are some serious questions  raised about the validity of this team as a playoff contender.

The next Matt Blundin? (source: goarrowhead.com)

From the moment I heard about Matt Cassel’s appendectomy, I knew how this was going to play out.  It was just so obvious.  I considered writing an article Friday “predicting” Croyle’s inevitable terrible game, but restrained myself.  The thought of the comments I was sure to receive made me shudder.

I don’t know why so many people insist Brodie Croyle has a great arm.  It can’t be based on anything he’s done for us in an actual game.  When Brodie starts, the offense doesn’t move and we lose.  Every time.  Yet here we are in year five of his career, and people are still talking about what a great downfield passer he is.  And it isn’t just the “everything is awesome all the time” crowd, either.  I know plenty of smart football fans who were legitimately excited to see Croyle in action yesterday.  A few were even predicting he’d outshine Cassel.  It was mind-boggling.

I’ve been called a hater many times this year (mostly by angry mouth-breathers* with atrocious grammar), and obviously I don’t appreciate it.  But if you want to call me a Brodie Croyle hater, I’ve got no problem with that.  Because while I might not hate the man personally, I definitely hate seeing him play quarterback for my football team.

*The irony is that those accusing me of “hating” always seem so hate-filled themselves.

I’m sure excuses are being fabricated for Croyle even as I write this.  I’ve read several already.  The most popular seem to be a) “He only got to throw 17 passes!” and b) “It wasn’t Croyle’s fault; the team let him down!”  These ignore the fact that the reason he only threw 17 times was because he couldn’t convert a third down to save his life.  The rest of the team played poorly, no doubt.  But I think this game would’ve been very different with Cassel under center.  We probably still lose, but we don’t humiliate ourselves in the process.  Cassel would’ve converted a few third downs and at least moved the chains and put some points on the board.  The humiliation was pure Croyle.

If there is one silver lining to the beat-down we suffered yesterday, its that any talk of Croyle becoming the starter can officially be put to rest.  It should’ve been put to rest years ago.  Yes, the guy whips short passes really hard.  That doesn’t mean he has a good deep ball, and it certainly doesn’t mean he has “all the tools.”  If this playoff-threatening catastrophe was the last piece of evidence needed, then so be it.  The case for Brodie Croyle as NFL quarterback is officially closed.

A Croyle retrospectacus from your boy Big Matt after the jump:

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The time is now to get aboard the Croyle bandwagon.

C'mon Brodie! (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We sure have had a rollercoaster of a week in the Chief’s Nation.  First going up with the win over Denver, up more with San Deigos’s loss, then down down down with our defining game of the season being even more in question because Matt Cassel had a bum appendix.  It now looks very likely that Brodie “Kleenex” Croyle will be calling the shots Sunday against the Chargers, and although he is 0-9 as a starter in the NFL, the rest of the team has improved enough to give us hope, which says a lot about how this year has played out.

Here at AA Big Matt started us out on the rollercoaster upswing by rejoicing in disbelief that the Chargers lost, followed by Lyle’s astute breakdown of the Chiefs organization, likening their process to that of building a skyscraper.  I reflected back on the beginning of the Pioli/Haley era and decided that I used to be a hater, and Merlin claimed that this season we positioned ourselves to play with house money (also that we should enjoy it while it lasts).  After the bad news it was  Adam that helped us as we fell back to earth from the Matt Cassel high of the last two months.  But, after all, it’s not the going up part on a roller coaster that’s exciting, it’s the coming down part.  We just need to hope the track stays together…

So what do you want to talk about Addicts?  The night is yours, but I have a couple of things that have rolled around in my scatterbrain lately.  First is, who is going to win the game tomorrow?  You will see my pick along with the staff’s in the morning, but I want to know what you think.  Second, however far-fetched this may seem to ask, do you think there is anything Croyle could do if he plays that could cost Cassel his job or put it in question?  I mean, if he goes out there and does look like Tom Brady, how fast do you think a QB controversy could start?  Like I said, far-fetched, but a curiosity of mine nonetheless.  Have a great night!

Looks like it might be the Brodie Croyle show after all.

According to Josh Looney, QB Matt Cassel will be listed Doubtful on the Chiefs official injury report to be released later today.

JoshLooney Josh Looney
Matt Cassel will officially be listed as doubtful #Chiefs

Start sending positive thoughts and vibes Mr. Croyle’s way. You can do it Brodie!

Brodie Croyle could stir up some crazy talk this Thursday. (source: yardbarker.com)

Chiefs backup QB Brodie Croyle has a chance to stir up a mini QB controversy this Thursday when he returns to action against the Green Bay Packers.

Don’t believe me? Just watch.

Chiefs Nation is getting nervous. A couple of months ago, most fans were happy to blame all of Matt Cassel’s 2009 struggles on his 2009 teammates. Most reasonable fans would admit that Cassel was far from a finished project but no one was ready to call him a bust just yet. They wanted to see what he did with some talent around him.

Now that the 2010 preseason is nearly complete, it is apparent that Cassel does have talent around him. His offensive line looks light years ahead of last year’s group. He is throwing to the same top two receivers he ended the season throwing to in 2009 in Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers. Bowe thus far looks like a new man, holding on to most of his passes in limited action. The running game that sputtered a season ago when lead by Larry Jonson appears to be one of the most dynamic in the league being lead by Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles. Dexter McCluster has emerged as an offensive X-factor and Javier Arenas is setting Cassel and the offense up with favorable field position.

Only to most observers, Cassel looks, well, the same. He is holding on to the ball too long. He appears just as skittish in the pocket this year when he has time to throw as he did last year when he didn’t. He is not throwing the ball down field and appears content with checking down to his outlet man or or falling forward for a one yard gain.

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Here are some expectations I have for the Chiefs 2010 preseason:

The first-team offense will struggle, and we’ll hear it’s because they’re using a limited playbook- This hardly even qualifies as a prediction.  It happens every year, and this year will be no exception.  If the offense ever looks the slightest bit out of sync, we’ll be reminded that they aren’t showing their best stuff.  The phrase “cloak-and-dagger” will probably be used.  Apparently during the preseason every offensive coordinator becomes a never-nude.  Won’t take off the cutoffs.

(source: foodcourtlunch.com)

There probably is something to this, actually.  I’m sure most teams really do scale down their playbooks when the games don’t count.  It makes sense.  But there’s no denying it sounds a lot like all the other excuses we’re fed by the Chiefs spin doctors any time anything goes wrong.  I rank “we didn’t show anything” right after “nobody was calling” on the “lamest things a GM can say” list.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

The Kansas City Chiefs used to be Brodie Coryle’s team.

Briefly.

Ok. Perhaps saying the Chiefs were actually Croyle’s team may be stretching it a bit. He was never really the starter long enough to take ownership of the squad but there was a period, however briefly, where he was the man.

Though it seems like eons since Croyle was the Chiefs QB of the future, it was just 2 years ago that he started the season as the starter. In fact, Croyle opened the 2009 season as the starting QB as well, albeit due to an injury to Matt Cassel.

We all know the Croyle’s story. Chosen in the 3rd round of the draft by the Herman Edwards regime, he was to be the eventual replacement of Trent Green. Yet since being drafted in 2006, Croyle’s only significant playing time came in 2007 when he started 7 games and appeared in 2 others. He lost all of those starts and while he didn’t play horribly, he wasn’t spectacular either. He finished the 2007 season with 1,227 yards passing with a 56.7 completion percentage. He threw 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions and only averaged 5.5 yards per pass.

Some would argue that Croyle’s 2007 numbers were due to a lack of experience, combined with terrible offensive line play. Some might also claim that Herm Edwards was too conservative in his offensive approach and that he didn’t allow Croyle to throw downfield enough. Excuses aside, the 2007 ended with there being more questions about Croyle’s future than answers.

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Well, now Josh Looney is reporting the same thing over at http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article-2/Insider-Blog-Cassels-Crisp/5eaa084f-0711-4929-babb-87f18283d971

Looney reports that Cassel looked nearly flawless today, connecting with all of his receivers with accuracy. In particular, Cassel appears to be developing a strong relationship with WR Jereme Urban.

QB Matt Cassel was the story of the day at OTA #9. His throws were crisp, on point and he just looked to have a grove going. At one point in Red Zone seven-on-seven work, Cassel connected on three straight TDs and he looked to have a great relationship with Jerheme Urban throughout the day

Other notes:

*DJ and Belcher are still running with the first team. Again, it is only June but still…

*Urban had a rough time early but according to Looney, he is coming on strong. He has been making plays over the middle and in the red zone.

*QB Brodie Croyle still has an injured finger and has been a limited practice participant this week. In his absence, QB Tyler Palko has been seeing some snaps with the 2nd team. Matt Gutierrez had better watch his back.

*There was no change in the rehab zone. Charles, Lawrence, Long, Moeaki, Charles, Cottam and Grimes remain in “No Man’s Land.”

This was the last practice for the week. The Chiefs will have the weekend off and will resume OTA’s on Monday. The end of next week will see the Mandatory Mini Camp kick off.

We’ll have more later after Bob Gretz posts his report.

Source: Yardbarker.com

As we are nearing the end of the OTA season, I am looking ahead to the long, long weeks in between the conclusion of the offseason program and the beginning of training camp. Historically, July is the month where Chiefs news will be very scarce.

In the spirit of training camp, I’ve decided we should come up with our very own depth chart. There are sure to be more than a few position battles this summer lets get a head start and see how Addict Nation thinks the team should look this September.

Each day we will have a poll to deal with another position. You will vote on who you think the starter should be. However the standing shake out will determine the teams depth. For instance, if we vote on QB and Matt Cassel gets the most votes, followed by Croyle, followed by Gutierrez, the depth chart will follow the results. Some of these will be clear cut and some won’t. The key to make this fun, however, isn’t just to vote but to debate. If you think Croyle is a better QB than Cassel, don’t just vote but tell us why in the comments. When all is said and done, we can see if the Chiefs chose the same guys we do to be the team’s starters.

Let’s start with the offense and the most important position on the team.

We review the QB’s, after the jump.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

My fellow lead blogger Andrew Crocker has taken a lot of heat around here for daring to suggest that the Chiefs might venture to pick QB Jimmy Clausen in the first round. I myself, have stated on many occasions that I think “Crock Pot” as we affectionately call him around AA, is off his rocker. Now to be clear, I don’t think the Chiefs taking Clausen is a totally crazy idea. If Scott Pioli hadn’t brought in Matt Cassel last season, I think the Chiefs would certainly be snatching up Clausen next Thursday. Taking a guy you believe can be your franchise QB is never crazy. I just don’t believe there is any way it is going to happen.

Taking Clausen would just send way too many mixed messages to Matt Cassel and to the team. There is no way the Chiefs could keep both QB’s around without casing a ton of controversy and second guessing of the Chiefs decision makers. The only way to make it work, would be for the Chiefs to unload Cassel, though his trade value is certainly hurt after his less than stellar 2009 season and because of his big contract. KC would not likely be able to dump Cassel and recoup the 2nd round pick they traded for him. Scott Pioli would be raked over the coals for trading a 2nd round pick for a QB one year, signing him to a huge contract and then dumping him to use a top 5 pick on another QB the following year. It would be a knee-jerk reaction and Scott Pioli is not that kind of guy. It would also send a message that the guys making the decisions aren’t so sure of themselves.

Taking a QB in the 3rd round, however, sends a much subtler message. That and the Chiefs interest in Tony Pike, after the jump.

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Remember these guys? Sigh...

There have been plenty of those types of guys that have run through Arrowhead Stadium over the years. Few ever registered much of a blip on the radar screen because their sense of entitlement far exceeded their skill level. A guy like Dale Carter fit the picture, although some would say because of his background he didn’t really know that some of what he was doing was wrong. But there’s no doubt that he felt the rules didn’t apply to him. Only in the last year or so Carter has come to discover that what he did in his Kansas City career hurt himself and a lot of other people. Bam Morris and Tamarick Vanover would fall into that class as well. The Royals had their share too, guys like Willie Wilson and Willie Mays Aiken and the others hooked up in the drug scandal some 20-plus years ago.

Those are just a few that cracked the surface of jurisprudence. There are many others that didn’t break any laws, but their actions were just as despicable. There was one former Chiefs player who held an orgy at his home the night his first child was born. His wife and daughter were in the hospital and he and a few teammates were enjoying a wild night at the house. He felt entitled. Not surprisingly, he’s lived a troubled life to this day because his entitlements ran out with his ability to play the game.

I don’t feel sorry for him, nor do I feel sorry for Tiger. They knew better.

Monday Morning Grab Bag & Cup O’Chiefs 2/22-BobGretz.com

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Let me begin by saying that I believed at the time of his hire that Scott Pioli was the best choice available. I still believe that but would also add that Scott Pioli was probably the only candidate worth having. A “no-brainer” if you will. At a time when time was truly of the essence, it still troubles me that Clark Hunt took so long to agree to terms with Pioli.  It is because Pioli came so late to KC that I think it is not only tough, but also unfair, to make a definitive call on how well or poorly he has performed. Lest there be any doubts as to my motives here, any negative opinions I express should not be regarded as some sort of indictment against Pioli, but rather simply my critique of major moves he has made and the approach he appears to be taking all in the ultimate hope being that even he can recognize his weaknesses and thus improve upon them.

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Croyle arrives at training camp and strikes an eerily appropriate pose.

Now that Todd Haley has identified some of the players he believes will be core guys for the program moving forward, I thought we’d take some time to talk about and discuss the new leaders of this team.

 One of the more surprising core players mentioned by Haley was backup QB, Brodie Croyle.

 Known as “Brokie Croyle” to many Chiefs fans, Brodie was once touted by the old regime as the future of the franchise. Unfortunately for Croyle, due to a combination of poor play, injury problems and an absolutely dreadful team and coaching staff, that future never really arrived.

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Ray-Ray Lewis and the Ravens will snap Brodie in two, and then Thiggy Smalls would come in relief comic relief and get more ass-rippings from Todd Haley than completions. I seriously don’t know if I will be able to stomach it. Croyle missed Dwayne Bowe, one of the biggest WRs in the NFL, at least six times the other night in a half. Meanwhile, Thigpen threw two picks against back-ups on possibly the worst defense in the NFL. Watching those two quarterbacks in the same game is akin to watching Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton co-star in the same movie. I would rather have my inner thighs waxed by Brock Lesnar.

Seriously, I have not been waiting for a young franchise quarterback since Todd Blackledge flopped when I was five years old only to land him and see him sit out the first game of the season. That’s kinda like wandering through the desert and seeing a big puddle of water only to have your camel piss in it before you can take a drink.  Excuse my French here, but if I have to endure Croyle/Thigpen again the taste won’t be much different than piss water. Last year, they were at the heart of Harmageddon, the single worst football experience of my life. Yes, even worse than three-a-days at Emporia State in 100 degree weather with scents from a nearby bakery and slaughterhouse converging to gag me underneath my facemask. This is how frustrated I am with these two “quarterbacks,” two players that only a complete idiot like Herm Edwards would consider starting options.

Cassel, Haley, if you guys can pull it off — and I don’t care how as long as we don’t jeopardize M.C.’s future, which might even be worth it — please get No. 7 out there Sunday. It will eat me alive to see Terrell Suggs complete a Mortal Kombat-style fatality on Croyle (“get over here!”),  with Ed Reed picking off Thigpen six times as an encore. Save us, Matt Cassel, you’re our only hope.

Don’t miss out on the chance to get $80 off the price of CBSSports.com’s Fantasy Football Commissioner. Click here to get started. Time is definitely running out on this unique offer, so act now.

Thanks a lot, Kent Babb. Brodie Croyle giving Matt Cassel a push at quarterback? You know you have gone too far with the B.S. speculation when Adam Teicher, the Mort of Kansas City football, is shooting down your gossip. Always been a fan of yours, but c’mon now.

Seriously, the Chiefs would have to be nuts to give up on a $63-million QB after one preseason game for a QB who can’t stay healthy. Brodie Croyle making it through a regular season as a starter healthy is about as likely as Flava Flav becoming our next President. Croyle does possess a canon of an arm, but I still question both his decision making and his gonads — dude does not like getting hit. Not one bit.

Oh, and then there’s the fact that Croyle was throwing to Dwayne Bowe against scrubs during the first preseason game. Most of us Addicts could have found Bowe once or twice against those second- and third-stringers. They were that physically overmatched by D-Bowe, aka Boldin Midwest.

Let’s tomahawk chop this rumor before it gets rolling. Yes, the Best Boys are not huge Croyle fans, but this is about the Chiefs, about Cassel, about our future. Most of all it is about not wasting air, ink, keystrokes and time, because, barring a Cassel injury, Croyle will never be Todd Haley’s starter. In fact, if Cassel did go down, my guess is that Haley would bring in a new quarterback to at least hold down the fort. He’s no Herm Edwards. He won’t gamble his career on Mr. Glass.

(Adam Best is the senior editor of Arrowhead Addict. Follow him daily via email/RSS feed and Twitter.)

What’s going to happen to Brodie Croyle? I think he will ask to be released or traded after it becomes clear he is stuck behind Matt Cassel and Tyler Thigpen, probably next offseason. Personally, I think he’s a career clipboard holder, but that’s just me. He’s way too frail to be counted on as a starter, and that’s even if you think he has the talent. I don’t. I just haven’t seen it.

Addicts, what will become of Brodie Croyle?

Post-Blackledge Stress Disorder – A condition that has tormented Chiefs fans ever since the Chiefs selected quarterback Todd Blackledge out of Penn State seventh overall in the 1983 NFL Draft. Blackledge became a monumental bust, and most Chiefs fans never recovered.The condition is typically defined as chronic paranoia when it comes to drafting a first-round quarterback, a voyage which almost every NFL team must eventually take.

The severity of this condition has worsened over the years. After former Chiefs GM Carl Peterson (1989-2009) refused to select a first-round quarterback during his 20-year tenure, Chiefs Nation has become much more resistant to the idea of their beloved team doing just that. Medical experts compare it to when a person becomes so obese they’d rather just accept their current state, instead of having the courage to step on a scale, accept the problem and take the proper measures to correct it. One of the surefire signs of PBSD is denial.

In recent years, PBSD has become so severe within the Chiefs Nation community that many fans openly stated that they preferred Brodie “Brokie” Croyle to Chad Pennington, Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, and more recently Tyler Thigpen to Mark Sanchez, Matt Cassel and Matt Leinart.

Another recent turn in this chronic state of mental illness is delusional thinking. For instance, many fans currently think that new Chiefs GM Scott Pioli finding another Tom Brady or Matt Cassel in the final rounds of the draft is a mortal lock.

PBSD is a very serious condition. There is no current known cure for this ailment, although experts hope the Chiefs actually drafting or trading for a legitimate young franchise quarterback will eliminate all symptoms.

Now before all you Herm Apologists and homers and insane sheep come out and stomp your feet and cry “but we ARE looking better”- hear me out. I’m you! I’m die-hard Chiefs! I hate Denver and Oakland and can’t imagine going to a game in any other stadium than Arrowhead! I am the guy that found Joe Phillips! I am the guy who called for Brodie Croyle’s head! I am the guy who gave you LJ’s accuser! I love you man! Sometimes when we love so deeply we have to give out some tough love. Lock the doors, this has went from column to intervention.

I think Tyler Thigpen is good. I’ll say it again, Tyler Thigpen is good. The guy looks like a capable NFL QB. I don’t know if he can start and win games yet, but he gives the illusion of a good football team. A mirage in a dusty desert Chiefs fans crawl to — reaching out for, holding out hope that someone can rescue us from QB hell and quench our thirst for stability. Oh, hahaha! But then there’s Herm Edwards and Ashton Kutcher there at the water’s edge to kick sand in your face with his 32nd ranked defense. You’re on Punk’d!

Some of my detractors out there, newly-anointed Hermaphrodites, claim that I never have anything good to say about Herm. My reply is, give me something good to say! Why do you think I named him Harm? Because the guy does nothing but bad things for our team. We need a Hippocratic Coaching oath that includes “Do no Harm“, the Lombardi Pledge or Ditka Doctrine could be some good names for said oath.

Fact of the matter is, Mr. Thigpen hasn’t won a game yet, and its not for a lack of trying. The same old Herm reasons also apply here why we are still losing games- poor clock management, poor decisions on 3rd and 4th down, not kicking to send a game to overtime… Common denominator = Herm. The only reason the Thigpen isn’t hurt yet a la Croyle & Huard is because of the spread offense. Thiggy Smalls should be on his hands and knees every G.D. night thanking Chan Gailey for his head still being attached to his body.

We went to the spread offense out of necessity! Necessity! We had to get 8 guys out of our box so we could breathe on offense because Herm’s vanilla ice cream offense melted down our hand — and then like Brodie Croyle’s urine — went straight down the leg. Had we not switched to the spread, we’d be signing more guys off the street and Mark Wahlberg isn’t walking through the doors anytime soon.

You know and I know that we aren’t playing Herm football right now and that’s where this Thigpen mirage comes from. We see the ball flying around and making some first downs and even some touchdowns, but still come up short but “Hey at least it was fun to watch right?” Right and wrong, because next year when we have a starting QB and some semblance of an offensive line and maybe some new toys on defense we are going to be right back to square one with Harm Edwards football. Running the ball (if we still have LJ) and trying to play the vaunted Tampa 2 without the right linebackers and we are going to be having all these same conversations again.

• Why can’t we keep our QB upright?
• What is Herm doing/thinking/watching on that play?
• Why are we losing games in the 4th quarter?
• Why are we running the ball up the gut 3 times and punting?

Get ready Hermlovers, because this is what this site will look like just under a year from now.

Clark Hunt — if you or your minions are reading this, I implore you, I beg you…make your mark on this franchise. Its time to step out of Daddy’s rather large shadow and take the reigns of this stagecoach because its headed over the cliff and the horses have blinders on. Hire us a winning coach and the rest of the pieces will fall into place. None of this “do-over” and free shit season pass business. This football team is exactly that, a business. Treat it as such.

I love the Addicts and all Chiefs fans, but I spit the Herm Edwards bait out, and I’m not falling for this debacle and never will. We are worse than the Detroit Lions record-wise. Think about that.

1-18 is UNACCEPTABLE!

I picked us to go 4-12 again this year. Not too much to ask for and it could still happen, but until I see improvement on the win/loss record, we aren’t getting any better no matter how thirsty we are for victories, what we are seeing now is a mirage, and a lot of Chiefs fans are seeing what they want to see.

First of all, my main claim in this edition of Crane Damage is, Bob Gretz is a bitch. He wins this week’s EFFYOU award (which I hand out at my discretion). I hate to throw the “B” label on another man, but I feel in this case the shoe (or bra) fits. Bob Gretz is a douche for telling people Brodie had tears in his eyes going into the tunnel. Keep that shit in the locker room Bobby!

First of all, this report was apparently to cause fan empathy and/or pity toward Croyle, as Gretz is the mouthpiece for the Chiefs. “Oh, but it shows how much the young man cares about football…” save it, shut it. That report did no one any favors. It does make me pity him, but more than before…and that’s not a good thing. Don’t tell me its because he’s crying because of how bad he wants to be out there. Please, any man in America wants to be out there playing quarterback for an NFL team so spare me the Baloney N’ Gretz please. I can picture Gretz, standing there…looking for anything to tell the listeners about our wounded warrior…spots the tears and a lightbulb turns on over his head. He reports it without really thinking it through. Who did that help? It sure didn’t help Brodie and his image, and I don’t see how it benefited the fan base either. Ignorance would have been bliss here. I feel bad enough already for Brodie, so bad in fact, I’m not gonna call him Brokie* anymore. Its just too fitting a nickname that eventually becomes an insult. *fingers crossed

There is, however, good news Chiefs fans! So shed no more tears because Bro-Bro is going to volunteer for a radical government “bone-reinforcing” experiment. There is a doctor out there that has volunteered his services to perform a risky, but necessary, operation on Brodie Croyle’s entire body. The Canadian Government approached Croyle and his agent, Babe Winkelman, with the idea of replacing his skeleton, one bone at a time, with solid adamantium (the strongest metal known to mankind).

The operation will also have some additional effects like animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, retracting bone claws, and a healing factor that allows him to quickly recover from virtually any wound, disease or toxin or big hit. This healing ability will enable doctors to bond the near-indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeleton and claws–making him impervious to attacks from villains of the NFL like Albert Hanynesworth and Adailus Thomas.

The operation will serve Brodie in two forms, the first being that he will be resistant to the NFL’s most punishing hits over and over again…but as a side effect, he may perhaps, at times, violently murder opposing players. The second intended result is to make Croyle “the greatest hunter alive on planet Earth and Alabama” (his words/wish). There is also a movie deal in the works to tell this story with Hugh Jackman starring.

So look forward to next year Chiefs fans, when the Brodie Croyle Experiment goes mutant and we will have a Wolverine at quarterback that didn’t go to Michigan!

Herm Edwards called a press conference this morning at Arrowhead and delivered some shocking news.

Edwards announced yet another devastating suspension for Chiefs fans, coming on the heels of yesterday’s suspension deactivation of star running back Larry Johnson.

“I got some good news and some bad news, the good news is I won’t be on the sideline this Sunday, as I am suspending myself for conduct detrimental to the team. Bad news, which you may have heard about yesterday, is that Larry won’t be with us because he pushed some chickenhead in the face like Samson did on Half-Baked during his back-e-otomy lament, in a downtown KC club 8 months ago.”

Edwards also commented about Johnson’s alleged victim having other motivations than justice, such as money, from his starting running back.

“Now I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger, But she ain’t messin’ wit no broke ni*#as,” Edwards said.

Bob Gretz asked how Johnson would handle the one game suspension, Edwards said, “He gon’ make it to a Benz out of that Datsun. He got that ambition, baby look in his eyes. This week he’s moppin’ floors, next week it’s the fries. So, stick by his side, I know this dude’s ballin, and yeah that’s nice.”

When asked about why Edwards didn’t wait for the NFL to decide who is suspended and who is not, Edwards continued, “We are trying to beat Commissioner Roger Goodell to the punch, because you all saw Pacman get lifted off the ground and choked out by Roger’s force powers this week, and as you all know from seeing Larry whiff on blocks that the force is not strong with him. We hope this pre-emptive suspension against both Larry and myself will help us get at least one first down and get someone in there to block for Brodie since its possible he could end up in the trash compactor with Chewbacca and Luke facing that Tennessee defense.”

Edwards faced some tough questions from KC media types like Jason Whitlock as well, “Being the best head coach in the league, and maybe of all-time, how can you justifiably suspend yourself?”

“You play to win the game…hello!?” Edwards replied. “My coaching has been problematic for the last six games and two years so I’m hoping that by removing myself from the situation, we will be able to get a win Sunday. It’s a fun time if you have a job. It’s not a fun time when you’re a guy who doesn’t have a job.”

Edwards also commented on the return of Brodie Croyle, the Chiefs oft-injured, winless quarterback and whether he would throw the ball more than usual with his running back out.

“You do what’s best for your team, … throw passes and get (the quarterback) killed. Are you kidding me? For what? That’s ridiculous.”

“What we’re worrying about now is trying to figure out who to blame. But there is no blame, teams go through this,” insisted Edwards. “I mean, really, really, what’s worse for the Chiefs? What’s worse for the Chiefs? If I’m not there, they can’t blame me. Can’t blame me, right? There’s no problem here.”

The Rams just had to one up Herm Edwards‘ decision to start Damon Huard for the Chiefs this Sunday, didn’t they?

“The Chiefs are going with Damon Huard. They think they can just ride him to the No. 1 pick? Not so fast, K.C. You want to start that hasbeen clipboard holder? Fine, we’ll one up you. We’ll start the guy you dumped to pave the way for that hasbeen clipboard holder. Take that!” – Scott Linehan…I swear

Trent Green? Really? This isn’t 2003, Al Saunders and Co. As far as we go, I’m actually looking forward to Damon starting. Not for his play, but for the sake of our defense and young players like Dwayne Bowe, guys who need consistency in order to develop. That being said, Damon still is a waste when it comes to the grand scheme of things and preparing for the future. It’s not that I like him for us right now, it’s that anything is better than the alternative.

Speaking of that alternative, why don’t we just cut Tyler Thigpen and give Buffalo a call about J.P. Losman, the non-Chiefs QB who seems to most interest our readers?

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The nice guys @ Arrowhead Addict asked me to do an impromptu guest blog post as soon as they heard that I lived in Etowah County, Alabama.  They were not interested in hearing about my Carnell Williams Stories ( Etowah high school ). They were interested in what I might know about Brodie Croyle.

Brodie went to Westbrook High School, which is a Christian school that I think his family puts a good deal of money into. His dad, John Croyle, played at Alabama under Bear Bryant. He had injuries and now owns Big Oak Boys ranch. It is a very cool place where he takes in underprivileged kids etc… Brodie grew up playing with all the boys that his Dad was taking care of. Some say that is where he learned to be a leader and a great football player.

That is all the good stuff I know about him. I have never met him. I have no animosity towards him. I am not jealous at all, because I am not that kind of person. This is not like a story line from Varsity Blues. I only knew he played in the same county and because it is a small county, I heard a lot about him.

When he was injured in high school, it sent shock waves around the area. Everyone was talking about it. He was about to set more state records and then he missed a whole season when he injured his ACL. I was told by a man that was at that game, that Croyle was not even touched. He was trying to miss a guy and he fell and hurt himself. That may be disputed by some, but I can only tell you what the very trustworthy man told me. That is when my eyebrow started to rise.

Over the years, I heard that his mother was athletic and she had sports injuries. ( I could not find it on Google so that is hearsay, and I am deeply sorry if it is not true ) I have seen his sister play volleyball. She was a monster, she also played basketball at Alabama. She had sports injuries as well. I believe it was her knees. ( I did not find that on Google, but I have heard that countless places)

His father also had injuries. This link shows that in the Bear Bryant book “Career in Crisis” John Croyle was described as “Oft-injured Croyle“. I actually think that might be a better nickname for Brodie.

I know that is not the best family injury report, but it just what I have come across in this small county. After I saw all of his injuries stacking up, and I heard about the family history, I came to the conclusion that he’s from a very athletic family, but his health will always be an issue.

I was very surprised that he made it to the NFL. I was happy for him, but I cringed for Chiefs fans. When Herm Edwards called him the starter, I cringed for him. It is not a question of if Croyle will get hurt, it is a question of when.

Look, I am not trying to hurt him in any way. I say all of this with few substantiated facts, a lot of hearsay, and I am an Auburn fan. I have not seen his career through Crimson colored glasses, like a lot of people from around this area. Take it for what it is worth. If I said anything untrue, I am deeply sorry. I actually thought these things were well known till I looked at Google.

Brodie Croyle’s only hope to be a star in Kansas City is if the Chiefs and Royals suck so bad simultaneously that they create a black hole at the sports complex that is only reversed by David Glass and Clark Hunt simultaneously joining their open wallets together like Voltron creating the Kansas City Chroyles a merger of the Chiefs and Royals; a shittiest of the shitty combination of KC suck with Brodie Croyle as the pitcher and quarterback that always gets hurt the first game of the season.

Just think, the Chroyles could out-build Famous Dave’s Arrowhead Stadium* so big that it could encompass the K. For SuperBowl and ad considerations, we’ll shape the roof like a weber grill, even with a vent that open up in a circle to shine light down to the pitcher’s mound/50 yard line to illuminate our star pitcher/quarterback Brokie Croyle and Garth Brooks the next time he comes to town. Hell, we can have a golf cart with a spatula on the front, The Spatula-Mobile, come scrape Brokie off the field at each opener!

Local Radio Commercial in KC soon:

“Hai y’all, I’m Brodie Croyle, when I ain’t pitchin’ or playin’ quarterback for the Chroyles I do my shoppin’ for ammo, decoys and Ben Gay at Bass Pro Shop!”

Quick Hitters:

• 3 starting QB’s in the first 3 games has only happened 3 times…ever. (Guess good things don’t happen in 3′s.)

• A Chiefs-drafted QB hasn’t won a regular season game for us since ’83. (Dang 3′s)

• “Chiefs Apathy” from fans will do more damage than “Harm“* Edwards ever will.

• Watching the Chiefs play-honestly, I haven’t missed the halfback pass this bad since Tecmo Bowl.

*Harm = Herm, henceforth.
**I know Famous Dave’s isn’t HQ’d in KC- Carl will sell out to an out-of-stater in a panic after seeing the ticket sales report.

QB Carousel:

Week One
So we begin the season vs New England with Brokie Croyle, Brokie gets broke-ed in the first game. He beat my prediction of getting injured in the Denver Game by 2 games. Huard comes in and stinks too. Throw in a case of the dropsies by D-Bo and that’s L soup. “No Win for you!”

Week Two
Superbowl Ring Owner Damon “RainMan” Huard starts game two against what looked to be a totally hapless Oakland team that Denver embarrassed the week before. “RainMan” gets a phantom “head injury” that isn’t released until much later in the game. Harm Edwards decides to play Marques Hagans fresh off the practice squad along with boner-rific Tyler Thigpen who “set all kinda records” at Coastal Carolina University (which had just started football five years prior.) All you need to know is about 39 comments on “Worst Moment”

Week 3
Atlanta, a preseason pick for the worst team in the league, has started 1-1. Thigpen starts and accidentally hands off to the rushing Atlanta defender for 6. Hagans comes in and gets booed because the Atlanta crowd mistakes him for Michael Vick because he never throws and his tats. We do something that rhymes with “news”. Hint? It starts with “L”.

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I loved this morning’s “The Fanatic Focus,” but for me the only step in the right direction is to end the Herm Edwards-Brodie Croyle era at the end of this season. I’d prefer to do it now, but keeping Herm-Brodie as the lame duck ticket for the rest of the season might make the Chiefs the favorites to pick first in the 2009 draft. Patience, old man, patience. You see–I’ve got it.

Rash decision? Not hardly. I’ve been wanting to come out and publicly denounce, reject, whatever the Herm-Brodie combo since last year, but buckled under reader pressure until I had more ammo. I now have that ammo. In relationships, we always have that “it’s over” moment. That moment that we desperately avoid when we want things to work out, but eventually can’t. While watching game film today (I had to stop because the pain was so agonizing), I realized that I’ve already had those moments with both Brodie and Herm, despite the season still being in its infancy. I’ve known all along that both were longshots, but deep down I convinced myself that there was still a shot. I can no longer do that after what I’ve seen.

George Costanza always said “it’s not you, it’s me.” Well, Herm, Brodie, it’s not me, it’s you. I’ve tried to convince myself over the past two-plus years that you guys are the duo who will take the Red and Gold back to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, I’m not a very good liar. I now know unequivocally that this project is doomed, and here’s how I know…

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Cowboys fans knew Richard Bartel’s future was over in Dallas when he threw an interception in a preseason game against Denver when the Cowboys were driving to win. That may sound petty, but that’s when a guy has to shine. He didn’t. Before that, the Tarleton State graduate only saw eight minutes of action, which was last year in another preseason game. But it is not a surprise Bartel has found himself in Kansas City for a tryout. It won’t be a surprise if he makes the team, either. It is only a matter of time before Chiefs devoted fans give up on Brodie Croyle, and it could mean the coaches turn to the kid from Tarleton State, who we all know they are banking on hopes he will be the next Tony Romo. Keep dreaming, guys. He sucks.

Two things: A.) Richard Bartel’s name reminds me of ex-pro wrestler Rick “The Model” Martel; and B.) Go give The Landry Hat some hell. Hopefully, Jinxica Simpson will cost them another “W” this week.

Brodie Croyle (separated shoulder) “hopes” to be back in 2-3 weeks, according to FOXSports’ Jay Glazer.

Damon Huard will start in Week 2 against the Raiders. Oakland’s secondary is fantastic, but his insertion is good news for Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe (assuming Bowe remembers how to catch the ball next week). Since shoulder separations can recur, don’t expect Croyle to be back too soon.

I don’t know what to say here, except…

Carl Peterson, bark an order at your executive assistant to get on the horn with Chris Simms‘ agent. Fly Simms in, get him signed and get him integrated. Damon Huard is a monumental waste of time for a rebuilding team. Regardless, it looks like Brokie will be out for some time. Either Huard, someone new or Tyler Thigpen–GULP!–will start in his absence.

Your move, Chiefs. Please wake up and finally bring in a signal caller with a future. Puh-lease! We’re begging you. Well, at least I am.

Well, we already had one insane, angry outburst by a commenter. He’s probably shooting up a Wendy’s right now. Issues. By the way, going on a Michael “Kramer” Richardsesque rant on the site and the Addicts–its staff and commenters–will get you banned. I know a lot of you are upset about our Chiefs, but you can vent and still be respectful of your fellow fans (and almost all of you do–thanks!)

Was my score prediction wrong? Absolutely. I have no problem admitting that. I mean, how was I supposed to predict that Tom Brady would finally get hurt after 128 consecutive starts? Especially when I misplaced my magic crystal ball recently? Regardless, the Chiefs damn near took the defending AFC Champs down.

Why didn’t they? The same reason I said the Chiefs would get blown out, and the same reason I still think they will go 4-12 again. That reason: quarterback play. Brodie Croyle has a good arm and he’s a good kid. But I’m not sure he could make it through a 16-minute season, let alone a 16-game season. He’s never going to be a dependable starting QB. This isn’t even about talent, it’s about durability. Like Samuel L. Jackson, the kids call Brodie Croyle “Mr. Glass.” He’s just brittle. I’m not trying to be mean, but there’s no other way to put it. Maybe it should be Brokie (KCMizzou!)?

Meanwhile, Damon Huard is a waste of time. He may give us a better chance to win right now than Croyle or Thigpen, but not by much. I have never seen a more timid, flat-footed QB in my life. He simply does not like to get hit and does not get rid of the ball. It’s “two Mississippi” and tuck with that guy. His progressions are non-existent as well. Way to totally telegraph that pass to Dwayne Bowe, who was smothered by tight double coverage.

I’m being hard on Huard, but here’s the point: we are wasting our time with these two quarterbacks. Damon Huard is a 35-year-old back-up who’s made it painfully clear that he would rather hold a clipboard and get paid than get hit. As for Brodie Croyle, like Woody Allen said, “80 percent of success is showing up.” He is never going to hold up to the physical pounding an NFL QB is subjected to. He is officially an injury-prone QB. Besides, he hasn’t been worth a damn when he’s healthy.

This is exactly why I was preaching that we should add another developmental QB this summer. Don’t even try to bring up Tyler Thigpen–you know better than to go Thiggy Smalls on me. Now we have to bring in another guy, preferably Chris Simms. If we don’t bring someone in at this point and hedge what, at best, is a risky bet on Brodie, we are ginormous morons.

Our quarterbacks cost us this game. They will continue to cost us and hold back our progress until we find a long-term solution. King Carl and the Preacher better get their asses looking for Option B, and do it like yesterday.

More on the game to come…

I’m actually going to come out and be Jason Whitlock‘s wingman on his latest column. Was it a bit harsh? Maybe, but I think he was both being sarcastic and having fun with Chiefs fans. I’m also not completely sure that the Pats could win without Brady, because he is the Patriots.

But Whitlock is also undoubtedly a Chiefs fan. He even wrote “my Chiefs” in his piece. Unlike Adam Teicher, he actually gives two shits whether or not the Chiefs ever return to the Super Bowl. Just because a Chiefs backer doesn’t agree with you on what needs to happen for us to make it back to the Promised Land, that doesn’t make them any less of a fan. You don’t have to be a homer to be a die-hard fan, especially when you are trying like hell to be an objective writer. I am starting to understand Jason more and more everyday. Sometimes he does totally play the contrarian and just gets ridiculous, but ain’t easy writing the stuff fans don’t want to read but need to anyway.

Let’s not walk on eggshells here. The real issue is faith, or lack thereof, in Brodie Croyle and the regime that has entrusted him. The Brodie Believers have anointed him as Broadway Brodie, the 2k successor to Alabama’s last great QB Joe Namath. It’s as if he’s rocking a fur coat that he killed hunting on the sideline. Same shaggy hair– very different game. Sure he has a strong arm, but what else has he shown us? No touch, poor decision-making skills, frailty and the inability to win? A hot wife? Forgive us for being skeptical.

My old man, a life-long Chiefs fan, told me yesterday that he hopes Brodie gets hurt so all this silliness will just stop. I told him that would be the worst possible outcome. The worst thing that could happen is for Brodie Croyle to become Brodie Boller, with the regime and its supporters continuously providing a laundry list of excuses for him. We do not want the Brodie Project to emulate the Kyle Boller Project, and become a half-decade disaster that drags the team down with it. This year needs to conclude his prolonged audition. Either he makes it and moves on, or we bang the gong.

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“They released me,” Simms said in a text message Saturday.

Simms played in three preseason games, completing 19-of-30 passes for 155 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. But he performed well enough to prove to other teams he is fully recovered from the effects of abdominal surgery that forced him to miss nearly all of the past two seasons.

The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers are expected to have the most interest in signing Simms, who becomes a free agent.

The Cowboys’ backup quarterback is 40-year-old Brad Johnson, Simms’ teammate with the Bucs. The Packers have no experienced quarterback behind starter Aaron Rodgers.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Simms said. “I’m just going to wait and see.”

You’d have to think that if we were interested, that we’d be a more intriguing option than either the Cowboys or Packers. This is no knock on Croyle, but at this point I think Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo are more entrenched as thier respective team’s starters. Coming to Kansas City might be Simm’s best shot at earn a starting gig by the end of the season. That is, if we are interested. Again, we should be.

Here is an A.A.D.Q. for ya…Would anyone take Brodie Croyle as a QB (either starter or backup) on their fantasy team?

FYI, if you want to submit a question for A.A.D.Q. consideration, e-mail me at arrowheadaddict@gmail.com.

So…yay or nay for your fantasy squad?

However, this does not mean all is well. Let’s put this Chiefs‘ win into some context. First of all, who are we playing? Chicago has an excellent D and a mediocre O. So, we need to read the results considering the competition.

I was mixed on the O. I liked Brodie‘s poise and arm. He showed why I like him. I question his decision making, however, he made good decisions against the Bears. Chan‘s play calling was good. I loved how the ball was spread around. People like Franklin, Charles and Cottam got into the act. Now, what I didn’t like was all the rollouts. Why? What’s wrong with that? Well, think about what that tells you. Why do you roll out a QB? You are cutting the field in half, so why do it? The answer is to cover for weak pass protection. The fact that Chan is calling a lot of rollouts makes me nervous. It’s a tacit admission that the line is not good. This was against a good D, but it bears watching.

I had generally poor feelings about the play of our D. DJ played well, but it’s what I didn’t see that bothers me. I didn’t see D-line penetration against a poor Bears line. Plus, the corners played soft. Hopefully Dorsey will make a difference. However, it bears watching and I will be watching, thanks to Matte and the stoogetv link.

- Merlin

Who were your top players for each half last night against Da Bears?

What a way to kick off the Chiefs‘ 2008 season, huh? Here are my thoughts…

The star of the first half was undoubtedly Brodie Croyle. People have it twisted about Croyle; we like him and are pulling for him, but we just didn’t possess the blind faith in him that some Chiefs fans do. Tonight, he definitely made us believe a little bit more than we did yesterday. His opening drive was the perfect way for him to start this season, not to mention put last season behind him. The drive was 16 plays, but that wasn’t what impressed me the most. What impressed me the most was that he was 5-5 on third down conversions. I also liked that broken play he turned into a scramble for a first down. A sharp performance overall.

The star of the second half was Arrowhead Addict favorite Bobby Sippio. Say what you will about his speed, but the guy could catch a bullet blindfolded with chopsticks. He’s also one helluva load to bring down in the open field, every bit as hard to drag down as Dwayne Bowe or Tony Gonzalez. He led the team in receiving with three catches for 57 yards and a TD, and simply took over the game during the game-winning drive. It was good to see Sippio given a chance, as I have always felt he’s a better player than either Jeff Webb or Sammie Parker. All the guy needs is an actual shot. Hopefully, Herm will look at what he did and get him some burn with the first and second strings next game. Regardless, he took a huge step towards making the team tonight.

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VS.

Which former Hard Knocks hotty is hotter: Kelli Croyle or October Gonzalez?

(we also found the girl behind The Show, too…)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Brett Favre has been traded to the Jets. Brett the Jett. Broadway Brett. The Gotham Gunslinger. I’m getting it all out of my system now, because ESPN, John Madden and Peter King are going to murder you with all things Favre during the season. By the way, what about the Madden curse? He’s on the cover, but in a Packers‘ uni. Will the curse have any effect on him as a Jet? Just a thought.

Does all of this impact the Chiefs? Well, it actually could. Chad Pennington and Herm Edwards certainly have a history, and it looks like he is going to be cut, maybe even traded. From NJ.com:

Chad Pennington has played his last game with the Jets, GM Mike Tannenbaun said today in an early morning conference call. Barring a last minute snag, Pennington will be traded or released today. The holdup is paperwork

From Rocky Mountain News:

In particular, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have Brodie Croyle starting at quarterback, with 12-year veteran Damon Huard as a backup. Pennington, when healthy, is a significant upgrade over either quarterback on the Chiefs roster…

Edwards said during his days with the Jets, he felt he developed that tight connection with Chad Pennington…

Watch for the Chiefs and Pennington to connect if and when a Favre trade to the Jets becomes official.

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