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.

Will Branden Albert play? The Chiefs’ rookie left tackle will be in uniform tonight, but if he plays, it would be a handful of snaps at the most. The Chiefs are being careful with Albert and his sprained foot, but they also want to get him some game action before the opener Sept. 7 at New England. Albert is undoubtedly rusty, and coaches will need to weigh risk versus reward.

Regardless if Phat Albert plays tonight or not, this report indicates that his recovery is at least on schedule, if not ahead of schedule. Good news if you ask me. I think what’s even more important than our final win-loss record is guys like Albert and Glenn Dorsey playing the full schedule and making huge strides over the course of the season.