At the end of last season, I wrote this.
For every Brodie Croyle injury that has occured, there has been a Brodie Croyle comeback story that followed. Rehabbing through two torn ACLs, a separated shoulder and a couple of cracked ribs to end up today relatively healthy is a testament to Croyle’s toughness and his will.
Croyle’s injuries aren’t necessarily a product of his size or skills, either. Just about any player can fall victim to a torn ACL - a bad cut on a run, a lineman rolling on a knee or a blindside hit – every player fears it. And don’t forget that Croyle’s offensive line at Alabama was just as terrible as KC’s current unit.
Moreover, every NFL player gets injured to a certain degree at some point in their career. It’s the nature of the game. What's important is how a player reacts to and recovers from that injury.
After yesterday's separated shoulder, I'm beginning to think that resiliency isn't worth a damn if a player can't piece together a full sixteen, heck even fourteen game season.
0 recs | 43 comments
It's Like Bill Walsh Said About Greg Cook
A guy can have all the talent in the world, but if he can’t stay on the field that guy isn’t going to be an asset to the team.
My own take on it as well, is that the less talent that player has demonstrated when he does play, the less benefit of the doubt he should receive when he gets knocked out with an injury. Croyle hasn’t ever shown flashes of being a superstar, just flashes of maybe being a decent starter. Do you really want the Chiefs to hang their future on a quarterback who can’t stay healthy when the most he’s shown is that he might be a decent starter?
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
Yeah...
I tend to agree with that last statement.
Isn’t this the last year of his contract too? Will be interesting to see what direction the Chiefs decide to go if Croyle doesn’t win some games this year when he comes back.
KC Chiefs Football Blog
bigknoxy - September 8, 2008
Three injuries
in seven games for Croyle, right?
Chris Thorman - September 8, 2008
you're right. That was a fairly routine
NFL level contact that put him out of the game. And I could be wrong, but I believe he’s separated that shoulder before.
sm7600 - September 8, 2008
Yes
He separated his throwing shoulder his sophomore year of college.
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
Not so!
Played 10 games as a junior at UA with a separated LEFT shoulder. Played through a great deal of pain and anquish. Problem is same as he had at BAMA—an OL that couldn’t block my g’ma and a couple of prima donnas (Gonzales/Johnson) who refuse to block.
Dink - September 9, 2008
Croyle At Alabama
Every article I’ve seen on Croyle’s shoulder separation at Alabama made no mention of which shoulder it was, and since the habit among media when reporting football injuries is to distinguish when it’s a non-throwing shoulder that generally means he hurt the shoulder he uses when passing. If you’ve got an article that says different, by all means provide it and I’ll apologize for being incorrect.
As for Croyle’s offensive line, we’ve had this discussion before. They were not incapable of blocking, as evidenced by the very good performances by the team’s running backs during Croyle’s entire tenure at Alabama. This doesn’t, of course, mean that they were good pass blockers, but since I’ve yet to see any numbers or anything other than the occasional anecdotal comment from Alabam fans indicating that Croyle was sacked more than any other QB in major college football you’ll need to provide some numbers on how often he was sacked to make the case that Croyle’s line was horrible.
UCrawford - September 9, 2008
You sayin TG will not block?
That guy does whatever needs to be done for the better of the team! Yeah LJ is a pre-madonna, he now steps out of bounds to avoid a hit rather than run over a 200 pound DB, but to say the same about TG is just ignorant! How many times does he go over the middle to get the first down, just to get whacked? Yeah he sounds like a pre-madonna to me. Get your facts straight pal!
Eric Allen - September 9, 2008
Tough Break for Brodie
I think that KC fans are being a little harsh. Brodie can’t help cause he got hurt, it could happen to any quarterback. (IMO, the hit was excessive, the Pats player intentionally drove Brodie’s shoulder into the turf, perhaps as retaliation for a perceived dirty hit on Brady)
Brodie played pretty well, he made some great throws, and he has the potential to be an upper echelon quarterback. Herm and Chan are a little at fault for being way too conservative during the first quarter and a half. They could have put up more points.
devster - September 8, 2008
that's nonsense
it was a fairly routine NFL sack.
sm7600 - September 8, 2008
Routine?
How many NFL sacks have you incurred that you can make such an absurd statement?
Dink - September 9, 2008
Routine
I’ve watched enough football to recognize that QBs go down on their shoulders quite frequently on sacks, and most of them don’t miss a month of the season afterwards.
And unless you’re an NFL QB writing under a pseudonym, you’re operating from the same knowledge base that we are so you can dump the condescending tone.
UCrawford - September 9, 2008
Upper echelon quarterback?
Out of curiosity, on what are you basing that? Because I know he hasn’t shown any of that in any game he’s played for KC.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
There is speculation
That Brodie will not even be back this season due to the injury, and the rehab that goes with it. Now if that is the case, will they stay the course with Brodie next season, or will they look for one in the draft? Hopefully they look, Brodie is nowhere near durable enough.
Eric Allen - September 8, 2008
why not start Thigpen the rest of the year?
its a no lose scenario. If Thigpen stinks it up, that assures the second good draft this team needs. If he’s any good at all, you’ve found your QB
sm7600 - September 8, 2008
Shoulder Before
Yes, I believe he separated the same shoulder when at Alabama in the 2nd game of the year but was back in 2 and finished the year strong.
rnobar - September 8, 2008
I'm hoping his is injury prone label is an aberration..
But its happening too often to think otherwise. He can’t improve if he doesn’t play, and if he’s always getting hurt how do we develop our #1 QB for the future?
Brodie was getting pounded all day against the Pat’s. This inexperience of the youth movement is showing itself most in the pass protection. The only difference that I saw with Damon and Brodie when it came to the Pats rush, was that Damon couldn’t move and he knew when to duck.
aPacificChief - September 8, 2008
His Pass Protection Was The Same As Huard's
And Huard still outperformed him and got the team into the end zone. There’s only so much you can blame on the pass protection before you start asking why Croyle’s not performing better than the guy sitting behind him on the depth chart. Fact is, Croyle’s had more time working in Chan Gailey’s offense than Huard (since he was the first-stringer and the Chiefs focused on getting him the reps this offseason), he had more preseason playing time than Huard, and in the same game this year Croyle still can’t outperform Huard.
It’s time to stop treating Croyle like he’s a rookie…he’s a third year player who’s had all the opportunities to thrive on a level playing field this season so even if he wasn’t injured he’s out of excuses for why he’s not playing at least as well as Damon Huard. I’m all for giving him an opportunity to play when he gets back from injury (assuming it’s this year) but if he comes back and Huard is still beating him after three or four games (or if he still can’t stay healthy) it’s time to pull the plug on this idea that Croyle is anything more than a journeyman for us.
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
Pass protection?
Huard was given the opportunity to throw on first and second downs. Brodie was given run, run, and then stuck with obvious passing situations with 3rd and long. WATCH the game again pal. Quit depending of LJ, who’s failing miserably, and let Brodie have an opporuntiy for some vertical attemtps and not in obvious situations. And oh, yeah! Let’s get a WR who can catch the ball for Brodie like he did for Huard.
Dink - September 9, 2008
Right
Because obviously Dwayne Bowe wants Croyle to fail so Bowe intentionally dropped more passes for Croyle than Huard.
Bowe dropped passes for Huard and Huard hit more receivers downfield than Croyle. If you want to make the argument about playcalling, I’ll also point out that the Chiefs coaching staff are the ones have been pumping Croyle as the QB of the future from day one, they’re the ones who see Huard and Croyle in practice every day so if they’re not calling long plays for Croyle then that’s an excellent indication that they have no faith in Croyle’s ability to execute the same plays as Damon Huard.
When Croyle can’t outperform a 37 year old journeyman who’s had the same amount of time (and less reps) in the current Chiefs offense as Croyle, it’s an indicator that Croyle’s probably not very good.
UCrawford - September 9, 2008
Stop the Rumors
Brodie will be back. If it were too serious he wouldn’t have thrown a pass on the sidelines to see if he could go back in. And he didn’t scream in pain when he threw the ball. :-)
rnobar - September 8, 2008
I am just reporting what
I have heard, it does make sense though considering it is his throwing shoulder.
Eric Allen - September 8, 2008
He Threw The Ball Once On The Sidelines
And he was done…so his injury is plenty serious, whether he screamed or not.
And it’s not rumor when the team is saying he’s out for 2-3 weeks.
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
when the team is saying 2-3 weeks, than saying a whole season is a rumor.
hopefully that rumor doesn’t turn out to be true.
The one thing I would say is that when brodie got hurt, he always came back in a big way. He missed much of his sophomore year, and came back next season to start the year as the most efficient QB in college football, even if it was against lesser opponents.
When he got hurt his junior year, he came back the next year and pwned the Alabama record books.
And when he gets injured, it’s often due to his recklessly competitive nature. The attempt to scramble tore his ACL in college, an attempt to tackle a linebacker hurt him in KC. Clearly this wasn’t one of those instances, but maybe this is just another freak injury in a week full of freak injuries.
All that being said, if the dude cant stay healthy, for whatever the reason, than its time not only to bench him but to ship him out to somewhere else and get what we can for him.
I do really, really like this kid though for some reason.
troy145 - September 8, 2008
IF IF IF
I will concede the point that Brodie has come back strong because really all that means is that he gets hurt. A lot.
Brodie can win the comeback player of the year every other year if he wants. It just won’t be with the Chiefs.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
i agree
just trying to stick up for the one still actually wearing a chiefs uniform.
*not huard/thigpen
troy145 - September 8, 2008
I do see you agree
I must have glanced over your comment too quickly :)
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
NOTICE
your noticing has been noticed
troy145 - September 8, 2008
Rumors are fine
As long as they’re clearly stated, which Eric did.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
Re: Upper echelon quarterback?
He made some very nice throws in the game that a lot of quarterbacks in the league can’t make. He has good footwork and throws well on the run.
I don’t feel that Huard outperformed Brodie,as his INT was costly. I think the Chiefs game plan was gun shy during the 1st half. Chan needs to let it rip when Brodie’s in the game. And they obviously need some help at wide receiver.
Brodie is scheduled to be out 2-4 weeks, we’ll see when he gets back.
devster - September 8, 2008
i didnt watch the whole bears game, but what i saw in it was impressive from Croyle.
troy145 - September 8, 2008
Under What Criteria IS Croyle Not Inferior To Huard?
Croyle didn’t get a TD yesterday…in fact he hasn’t thrown for a TD at any point this year working in Gailey’s offense. Not in the preseason, not in the regular season. Hell, even Thigpen is outplaying Croyle in this offense. Croyle’s yards per attempt and yard per completion have been pathetic in every game except the first preseason game against Chicago…Huard got more yardage than him yesterday with a third fewer attempts. Huard’s INT was certainly costly, but he at least put the Chiefs in a position to win the game…Croyle didn’t come close to doing that.
Like I said before, I’m fine if they give Croyle the job again once he comes back, but if he goes three or four games performing like he has so far this season as far as I’m concerned they should quit holding the development of the rest of the team hostage and give Huard the starting job back so the young players can actually have a competent QB out there. Croyle has given us zero reasons this year to assume that he’s any good. He hasn’t stayed healthy, he hasn’t run a productive offense, he hasn’t outperformed either of the two guys behind him. So my patience with Croyle as a potential starter for the Chiefs is pretty much at an end.
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
You always say it best
He has given us zero reasons to assume he can do anything. Why are we giving this guy the benefit of the doubt? I thought that was only given to veterans and 1st round picks.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
Not To Be Repetitive
But it’s because Carl Peterson knows his ass is on the line if he whiffs on Croyle. As far as I can tell Carl Peterson keeps trying to tell us that Brodie Croyle is a star because for him to keep his job Brodie Croyle has to be a star.
And that kind of self-delusion is exactly why we should 86 Peterson just as soon as possible. Whitlock had it right, Peterson’s nothing but an anchor for this franchise now and the longer we keep him around the longer he’ll continue to sink us.
UCrawford - September 8, 2008
Not just Carl
I would imagine many, many GMs are afraid to admit a mistake.
Particularly the most hard-headed one out of them all.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
When It Gets To The Point Where A GM Keeps Making The Same Mistakes
And can’t compensate for them, then it’s time for that GM to go. Carl Peterson’s had 19 years to turn this team into a Super Bowl contender. For the last 14 years he hasn’t even won a playoff game and he’s still beating his chest…so it’s unlikely he’s suddenly going to figure out that he’s the problem.
Pardon my French, but until Clark finally steps up and fires the guy the Chiefs are fucked.
Watched the Raiders/Broncos game by the way and JaMarcus Russell looks better than Croyle while playing behind a rotten offensive line. Very frustrating when the Raiders can actually draft better QBs than the Chiefs.
UCrawford - September 9, 2008
Croyle
More frustrated with than down on him. Shakey line and what seemed like low risk plays , due to youth and inexperience doesnt help. In two weeks line may be more solid and maybe we will get to see brody play well. Damn guys we darn near took a great team to overtime even after our starter went down. This is a long season and I for onre was impressed .
dklogue1 - September 8, 2008
Shoulder separations
In regards to the severity of Brodie’s injury, some good info can be found at the following link:
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~8Xm8h.pwl70pNy
Up to Date is definitely a reputable website, one that doctors often use for answering their own questions.
I’ve heard that Brodie suffered a “simple” shoulder separation, which I would imagine is a Type I or II injury. He should be back in around a month or less, if that is the case. Either way, the rumor that he is out for longer would only be true if there is more going on than we know about.
The bad news is that every time a joint comes out of its socket, it becomes more likely that it will recur. Some people dislocate a joint so much that they can do it without much trauma at all. Brodie has separated his shoulder at least twice, it may be that this is going to become a recurrent and possibly career-ending injury for him.
smg49 - September 8, 2008
i think
that itll be handy for creating different throwing angles
troy145 - September 8, 2008
Great info, SMG
It’s been a while. Glad to know you’re still around.
Joel Thorman - September 8, 2008
Wow
Can we really say anything good about Croyle except that he has a strong arm? From a quarterback who has not won anything at the pro level , the only impressiive “clutch” throw I ever saw him make was the throw to Franklin in the 1st preseason game to keep the first drive alive. His stats are sub par along with average throwing mechanics, poor foot work, and bad decision making. I know that there is probably not a tougher job in sports than to be a NFL quarterback, and God forbid that I don’t give him a chance, but frankly we need more out of our quarterback! I was really upset that he got hurt, because I wanted him to play the whole year so we know what we have in him. Whenever someone gets hurt everybody says “wait till he gets back from injury and then you will see what he is made of”. Unfortunately, I think we are seeing what he is made of.
TheQ - September 8, 2008
you said it, TheQ
I’m arguably the harshest critique of Croyle, and I say its allready time for the Chiefs to move on! I see no hope in this kid, & even if there is some he’ll never stay healthy long enough to prove it. I predicted 6 of 19, 2 Int., 0 TD’s. As it turns out he went (if I remember right) 11-19, 0 Int, 0 TD……which got us to the same place as a 6 for 19 day….nowhere! Yes, Huard threw a pick, BUT right after taking over for Croyle, Huard went 5 for 5 passing which resulted in a TD, & Huard had us with an opportunity to tie the game, AND we would have if Bowe hadn’t dropped that fade route on 1st friggin down! Huard ain’t the future, but he’s a damn site better than Croyle, & one HELL of a back up! Draft Tim Tebow?
woodmann - September 9, 2008
Tebow
will be a massive fail
anyone who think Tebow is the future of the franchise makes the rest their opinions a little less valid
troy145 - September 9, 2008
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