Yardbarker: Brodie Croyle

Brodie Croyle Will Succeed in 08′

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:09:34 -0500

I don?t understand the logic behind all the Brodie haters out there. Brodie really has not played enough for anyone to say he will or won?t make it in the NFL. Yet in the sports media markets across the country it is generally assumed Croyle will struggle. The Chiefs may struggle in 08 but I see Croyle putting it together this season. Through out his career he has won every where he has been. Coming out of high school he was the second highest recruited quarterback in the nation despite missing his whole senior season with a knee injury. Recruited by LSU and Florida State. Croyle chose his fathers alma mater and went to Alabama. In college he led the Crimson Tide to a 10-2 finish and a top ten ranking. During his senior year he threw a school record 190 passes with out a interception. Out of the five quarterbacks chosen before Croyle in 2005 he and Jay Cutler were the only ones not to throw more interceptions than touchdowns last season. So why no love for Croyle? Granted last year he struggled to stay healthy and did look vanilla at times.. But by the time Croyle got at the helm the offensive line had completely fell apart. And he had to finish the year out with Jackie Battle in the back field and his # 2 receiver was a one legged Eddie Kennison. This year the Chiefs are reloaded and way deeper at the skilled positions. With his rocket arm he proved he could push the ball down the field last year connecting on several big plays and seems to be able to find Dwayne Bowe in traffic. Developing a relationship with Bowe will be the key to success for Croyle. Also his new cordinator was coaching college last year so he should have the patience to push the young QB while at the same time knowing his limitations and putting him in a position to excel. Either way it goes the Chiefs will know what they have in Croyle whether it be a future star a potential backup or complete garbage but with no real backup plan besides Damon Huard. As Croyle goes in 08 so go the Chiefs.

Counter Programming: Fear Factor

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:19:01 -0500

We interupt this regularly scheduled program--Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Brodie Bashers vs. Brodie Believers--to bring you Fear Factor: Boone or Jones? Does heading into another season with some combination of Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen scare the absolute bejesus out of me? Yes, everybody knows that by now. But ...

Fantasy Football Quarterbacks - Scrap Pile

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:02:55 -0500

With training camp approaching, I figured what better time to take a look at the QBs around the league. We profiled the Big Dogs, Second Tier QBs, and the Serviceable QBs, now it's time to look at the rest of the signal callers. I know scrap pile may seem a little harsh, but when you consider we already profiled 20 QBs, you catch my drift. These guys will be used on bye weeks and when injuries strike. I'm sure a few of them will turn out to be decent plays. Some will likely lose their starting job. That's the nature of the beast when you deal with the shallow end of the QB pool. Scrap Pile Jason Campbell - I actually don't mind Jason Campbell. If he weren't coming off a knee injury I would probably put him in the Serviceable QB group. He made decent strides in his second year. I would just like to see him throw more TDs. Jeff Garcia - Garcia is a decent play in leagues that penalize for INTs since he seldom throws to the wrong color jersey. He's not going to give you a huge week, but he's a decent fill-in when your starter is on bye. He's in the scrap pile because Tampa has a few decent QBs on hand in case they want to go a different direction. Tarvaris Jackson - With the acquisition of Benard Berrian, the development of Sidney Rice, the double-headed monster in the backfield, and a little experience gained, and T-Jack has some potential to break out of the scrap pile. He needs to gain confidence and consistency. Alex Smith - Smith was a pick of mine to breakout last year. He made me look foolish. My expectations are justifiably lower this year. However, he does have Mike Martz to help him along, as well as newly acquired Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce. Perhaps this is the year Vernon Davis lives up to his hype as well. JaMarcus Russell - They will probably be passing a lot since they will be behind in most games. He's got that going for him. As long as Javon Walker can get home for some beauty rest instead of curbside butt whoopings, he's got a legitimate weapon. He's still very inexperienced though, and there will be plenty of bumps along the way. I can see him leading the league in INTs. Chad Pennington/Kellen Clemens - Let's face it. Neither of these QBs excite you. For good reason. They do have a pair of quality WRs, but I can see split duty out of these two. That's a situation I'll steer clear of. Trent Edwards/J.P. Losman - Trent is penciled in as the starter, but I'm not sure Buffalo has witnessed the last of Mr. Losman. Neither is going to wow you with statistics, but they may be useful for a game or two this year. Brodie Croyle/Damon Huard - I 'd like to see Brodie Croyle take the job and run with it. He's got some weapons in Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe. Still, I know I wouldn't trust him. Rex Grossman - Yuck. Marty Booker is back. Oh boy. They lost their best deep threat. They are going to need Devin Hester to step up his game if Rexy is going to even be relevant in fantasy circles. Avoid this like the plague. Kyle Boller/Troy Smith/Joe Flacco - I actually could see all three getting starts this year. Boller get the starting nod and loses it by Week 4. Troy Smith takes over and mans the post until Week 10. The rookie Joe Flacco finishes the season off to get him experience for next season. That's how it plays out in my head. Josh McCown/John Beck/Chad Henne - I can see the same scenario go down in Miami. McCown early. Beck gets another shot and misses, Henne finishes with eyes towards the future. Chris Redman/Joey Harrington/Matt Ryan - The question is when, not if, the Matt Ryan era will begin. I don't know why, but I'd like to see Joey have a decent little go of things. I've had a soft spot for him for whatever reason. I think he got a bad shake in Detroit, and was ruined. That said, the sooner they get to Ryan the better.

Chiefs Fantasy Depth Chart

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:23:07 -0500

A healthy Larry Johnson is looking to reclaim his status among the top running backs, but he'll be one of the few Chiefs with a high fantasy value. See which draft tier some of his teammates will be slotted, in our fantasy depth chart summary.

More Dr. Favrenstein

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:48:38 -0500

And now, as you're debating a comeback, isn't that what you want? A town to idolize you? I really enjoyed this open letter to Brett Favre, from Small-Market Scribblings. I disagree with the writer about our talent level. I believe going with Brett over Brodie Croyle would net the Chiefs another ...

Chiefs String of Ineptitude Continues

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:27:13 -0500

The Kansas City Chiefs. Does any other team name scream as much ineptitude (besides maybe [and that's maybe] the Oakland Raiders)? Well those same Chiefs are at their inept ways again, this time considering bringing Brett Favre in, instead of giving mop-topped third-year man Brodie Croyle a shot. I guess because Elvis Grbac and Trent Green didn't work out, so the Chiefs can just bring in another old quarterback who can't take a helmet-to-helmet collision. Yeah, people, the Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since 1993. Ouch. That sounds almost like the Dallas Cowboys. So the Chiefs are willing to pilfer other rosters for their quarterbacks. With good reason, too. Just look at the last five quarterbacks they've drafted: 2006, R3P85: Brodie Croyle 1997, R4P110: Pat Barnes 1995, R4P114: Steve Stenstrom 1994, R7P199: Steve Matthews 1992, R2P40: Matt Blundin Yeah. No superstars there. Carl Peterson just feels the need to steal his quarterbacks because he's too inept (I'm really hitting hard on this word) to draft them. And what would even pull Favre to Kansas City? Sure, there's Larry Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, and Tony Gonzalez, but is there an offensive line? Favre isn't 32 anymore, when he could take those hits. Sorry, KC, not happening. Try to do this thing called developing young quarterbacks. I hear it pays off in the long run. Not this:

Power Rankings Pre Camp

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:37:56 -0500

# +/- Team Comment 1 – New England Patriots 18-1 last season sums it up. 2 – Dallas Cowboys I think that people forgot how good Adam Jones was as a football player. 3 – Indianapolis Colts Peyton Freaking Manning. 4 – San Diego Chargers This team is deep and has the best back in the game. 5 – Jacksonville Jaguars Jerry Porter should help Garrard continue his progression. 6 – Pittsburgh Steelers Bolstered their offense significantly with Limas Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall 7 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Deep at every position on the field other than WR. 8 – New York Giants I guess the go here because they won. I hate this team. 9 – New Orleans Saints Expect second half like numbers from Brees and Colston this season. 10 – Green Bay Packers If Rodgers can play, this team is much better than 10th. 11 – Cleveland Browns Can the Anderson show continue? I'm skeptical, but am not discounting the possibility. 12 – Philadelphia Eagles I love cheesesteaks. 13 – Washington Redskins Can Jason Campbell continue to improve? 14 – Minnesota Vikings Is Tavaris Jackson a QB? 15 – Tennessee Titans Will the Titans ever get Vince a viable receiving threat? 16 – Seattle Seahawks I like replacing with Softie Alexander with J Jones. Never sure what to think of this team. 17 – Buffalo Bills Sleeper Alert. 18 – Cincinnatti Bengals Time for the Bengals to bounce back from last years disaster. 19 – Carolina Panthers Another team that has huge sleeper potential. 20 – Arizona Cardinals Offense has the potential to be sick. 21 – Denver Broncos I actually liked this team before realizing that Brandon Marshall is a psychopath. 22 – Baltimore Ravens The D should still be there, but Flacco to Clayton? 23 – Houston Texans GET A FREAKING RB! 24 – Detroit Lions If Marinelli can improve the D, they have a chance to make noise in the North. Martz being gone should help. 25 – Chicago Bears Worst collection of skill position players in recent memory. 26 – NY Jets Wahhhhhhh, they cheated! 27 – St Louis Rams I expect a huge bounce back year from SJax. This is another team with real potential to climb up this list. 28 – San Francisco 49ers Alex Smith. Enough said. 29 – Kansas City Chiefs Brodie Croyle. Enough said. 30 – Oakland Raiders I find myself wanting to like this team other than the fact that a moron who runs it, is bound to screw something up. 31 – Miami Dolphins Ricky Williams for a big year anyone? 32 – Atlanta Falcons This team is garbage.

MANUFACTURED JOY - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:30:52 -0500

By Zac, Throwing Into Traffic

1. More draft picks are better than fewer!

Fortunately for Chiefs fans, Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards discovered one important truth this past draft: It's easier to just cast more hooks than it is to become a better fisherman. Considering they managed to turn various deals, including the blockbuster trade of their Pro Bowl DE Jared Allen, into twelve picks, the odds are good that at least one will stick. The haul this year isn't half bad. In addition to the apparent steal of the first round, who we'll get to in a bit, the Chiefs managed to pick up an offensive line project with the potential to start at either tackle or guard, a corner that many people see as a first round caliber player, an enormous pass catching tight end teach behind Tony Gonzalez, and a handful of other picks with the potential to stick around (keep an eye on WR Will Franklin, who has the size to turn the Kansas City receiving corps into Arizona-lite).

2. Dwayne Bowe was the surprise of last year's draft!

Sneaking past receivers who were drafted higher, who were bigger, who were faster, and who were generally considered to be more geared for immediate success, WR Dwayne Bowe put together a 995 yard season and led all rookie receivers in both receptions and yardage. Oh, and he was catching passes from the likes of Brody Croyle and Tyler Thigpen, once Damon Huard started to slow down a bit. For whatever reason (and for the record, I think Calvin Johnson will be much better), Bowe's used his size better than any other receiver in his class and showed a penchant for attacking the ball that earned him comparisons to Larry Fitzgerald. With Tony Gonzalez returning, Larry Johnson healthy, and stiffer competition for the number two spot across the field, this season could finally find Bowe with a little more room to create the kind of mismatches that he exploited at every opportunity last season.

3. Larry Johnson might not have to carry the ball 500 times this year!

The bad news is that Herm Edwards may very well have broken RB Larry Johnson when he allowed him to set the record for carries in a single season in 2006. That was stupid. REALLY stupid (Johnson himself complained about the offensive gameplan, which you would do too if you were told to run into a wall 416 times). The good news, however, is that when Johnson has been healthy, he's been amazing. Like, 1750 yards on 336 carries in a season amazing (5.2 per carry!!!) Built to handle between the tackles contact, yet fast enough to lose people around the edges, Johnson is one of the league's most dangerous backs. The real shame of last season, of course, was that Johnson went down just as Bowe was beginning to emerge as a deep threat. With both Bowe and TE Tony Gonzalez keeping defenses honest vertically, it will be interesting to see what Johnson does, and certainly telling as to how much gas he has left in the tank.

4. Brody Croyle can't get worse (right?)!

Is there a less exciting quarterback in the league than Brody Croyle? He put up a league worst 5.48 YPA, split his INTs and TDs exactly 6/6, he's already playing on two torn ACLs, and the vast majority of youtube footage on the kid is negative (the clip below is entitled "Brodie's Greatest Hits," and makes me sad to watch). I thought KC fans were supposed to be all rabid and crazy for this guy. I mean, ordinarily this is where I make the obligatory "at least his wife is hot" comment, but, I mean, what was ANYBODY thinking here?

5. Glenn Dorsey…GLENN DORSEY!!!

It's saying something when the "steal of the draft" went with the 5th pick. That is exactly how good I think Glenn Dorsey will be. 6'2", 303 lbs, Dorsey spent pretty much his entire college career in opponents' backfields, disrupting plays and crushing quarterbacks. The base that he shows from the DT position, pushing linemen back as though they were high schoolers, is absolutely incredible, unlike anything I've seen outside of Albert Haynesworth, who could have been MVP last year considering what he meant to the Titans. Add him to a defense that was on the positive side of the league average and was surprisingly stiff against the pass (5th in the league) and stingy with points (14th, but considering their record that's surprising), and opponents who think that losing Jared Allen made the Kansas City defensive front four significantly weaker are going to be in for a surprise when Dorsey starts repeatedly landing on top of their quarterbacks. Carnage alone should keep Chiefs fans glued to the team this year.

Could Tyler Thigpen Be The Chiefs Starter?

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:51:07 -0500

Scoff if you want, but, remember, Brodie Croyle failed to beat out Damon Huard when the job was all but handed to him by the Chiefs last preseason. This year, the Chiefs are in full-on rebuilding mode, and will give Croyle the first opportunity to be the starting quarterback. If ...

Stray Arrows: Go Vote For The Chiefs' Pick

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:51:06 -0500

Our sister site, NFL Mocks, is currently running a Fan Mock Draft where the fans vote, and the Chiefs are on the clock. We pick fourth, which fans also voted on. If that does end up being the case, and this is all hypothetical, then Brodie Croyle will likely not ...

Fantasy Football Notes - Kansas City Chiefs

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:53:58 -0500

The 2007 season was supposed to be a year of new beginnings for the Kansas City Chiefs. For the first time in almost a decade, they were going to be without quarterback Trent Green and instead turned to lifelong backup Damon Huard to lead the offense. Make sure to read more of what Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff writer Marc Caviglia has to say about the Kansas City Chiefs and their fantasy football worthy players heading into the 2008 season by clicking below..

Wild, Wobbly West

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:57:30 -0500

The San Diego Chargers were one game away from the Super Bowl and gave credence to an otherwise abysmal division. Truth be told, the Chargers beat up on the hobbled and/or inexperienced out west, and many a Bolt fan may be wondering how things will shape up in the AFC West come September. Denver Broncos: The closest competition the Chargers had last season was the Broncos and their second best divisional record with a whopping seven wins. They were 50/50 in the division and conference. Yet they were terrible on the road. I don't see anything in the off-season that makes them better. Releasing Travis Henry was a smart move in the sense that it builds credibility as a franchise. It holds players accountable to their work ethic. That being said, when you fail to draft a running back and only have Michael Pittman with enough experience to warrant an opening day gig, maybe you hang on to Henry for a little while longer. Obviously, Henry didn't have the type of season that running backs in Denver are accustomed too. But when the ship springs a leak you don't through the duct tape overboard. Last season: 7-9 This season: 5-11 Kansas City Chiefs: So last season, the Chiefs win their fourth game, going 4-3, ready to make a run for the division. Then… they didn't win another game the entire season. Seemed to me this team struggled to find its identity. Larry Johnson seemed like he was poised to finally and unequivocally emerge from the shadow of Preist Holmes, but faded back into mediocrity. There are promising faces on this team and the draft was killer. They're getting a lot of the rookies signed. The Chiefs are getting down to business. If Brodie Croyle, Dwayne Bowe and Larry Johnson can put some plays together, it can get ugly in the West. Their record last year was an aberration. I anticipate solid improvement in KC. Last season: 4-12 This season: 9-7 Oakland Raiders: If JaMarcus Russell was a team guy he wouldn't have been the longest holdout of a top pick in NFL history last year. That type of problem has been averted with the near immediate signing of running back Darren McFadden. Since Russell is basically still half a rookie himself, these two guys are going to come out eager yet inexperienced. They could turn some heads but I can't see the Raiders making a strong push, especially not right out of the gate. Midway through the season they could come into their own and pull an upset or two, but it won't be enough. I like the potential but they are at least a season away. Last season: 4-12 This season: 7-9

Strength against weakness: Raiders vs Chiefs

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:24:01 -0500

This is part one of a three part series where we analyze how the Oakland Raiders stack up with the other teams in their division. We'll start at the bottom and work our way up going by 2007 standings. This edition will have the Raiders going against the Chiefs. In 2007, these two teams tied for the worst in the AFC West division, but looked to be going different directions by season's end....

Stray Arrows: Brodie Bashing Popular Around The Web

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:41:05 -0500

Outside of Kansas City, bashing Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle seems to be en vogue. I've long stated that I don't see him working out, mostly because he won't be able to stay healthy, but there are other reasons. Daniel over at NFL Mocks has a similar opinion: Let me say this ...

Brodie Croyle is starting QB in KC...Why?

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:51:52 -0500

Brodie Croyle will be the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, and there's no doubt about it. The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that the Chiefs are having a quarterback battle, but it isn't for the the starting spot. No instead it is for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. That's because Brodie Croyle has already been rewarded the starting job by head coach Herm Edwards....