Let's Give Brodie A Chance

            
          We Will Find Out If He Can Succeed If He Is Never Given The Chance To Fail

Pick a QB.  Not just any QB.  Pick a really good one.  Someone that is universally aknowledged as an all time great.  Let's say we picked Joe Montana.  Now take Joe Cool and go back to his first year as a starter.  Let's give him a couple of years of playing time in the preseason but not give him any snaps that count.  That's better.  Now that Joe is coming in with no experience, let's put him behind the worst offensive line in the league.  Let's make it so Joe can't even set his feet without ducking and diving for his life on each and every play.  No, that's too easy.  Let's take the worst offensive line in the league and take away both starting tackles.  That's better.  Now, let's take Joe with no starting experience and a horrible offensive line and team him up with a first year offensive coordinator.  Not any first year playcaller.  Let's give him one that is completely inept.  Let's not give him one that coached QBs or RBs or WRs or even TEs.  Let's, instead, give him one that coached offensive linemen.  One that is completely overwhelmed by the position.  One that calls such predictable plays that you can see the opposing coaches laughing on the other sideline.  That's better.  Now that Joe has no experience, has no protection, has an idiot calling plays, let's do somethig about his weopons.  You can give him a decent running game but that would be too easy.  Let's instead replace an All-Pro RB like LJ with a rookie fifth rounder.  And to make it more challenging let's also make one of his starting WR a rookie.  That's better.  So now that Joe has no starting experience, no offensive line, a rookie offensive coordinator, a rookie starting RB, and a rookie starting WR, let's give Joe six games to prove that he is a starting caliber NFL QB.  And then after he undoubtably fails under these circumstances, let's all definitively say that Joe Montana cannot play in the league.

As absurd and unfair the above scenerio sounds, it this exactly what Brodie Croyle had to face last year as a first year starter for the Chiefs.  Now, I am not saying the Brodie is the next Montana, but I am saying that, given the situation, no one and I mean no one could have done any better with the situation that Brodie was put in last year.  I believe in making lemonade out of lemons, but you can't make filet mignon out of ground beef.  And I don't care if you are Montana, Unitas, Baugh, Namath, Marino, Farve, Young, Manning, Brady, or Jamie Foxx from "Any Given Sunday", you cannot win if you don't have anyone to help you.  (You might wonder why I left Elway out.  Alot has to do with the fact that I hate his donkey ass, but the main reason is that, as much as I hate him, he could win without any help.  Sh*t, he took those bums to four Super Bowls by himself.  The Bastard.)  But yet, there are so many people in this town that are ready to throw him away because he couldn't win under these circumstances.

There's a reason why we have never drafted and developed a QB in the last quarter century.  There's a reason why we, as Chiefs fans, have had to endure an endless string of Steve "I hate BBQ" Bonos and and Elvis "I Can't Throw It and Catch It" Grbacs and Steve "Huge Cast on My Broken Pinkie" DeBergs and Dave "the Fumbler" Kriegs and Warren "No One Calls Me the Token Black QB In the Hall of Fame Because It Wouldn't Be Politically Correct" Moons.  The reason why we have had to put up with all these retreads is because, as much as they tell you to the contrary, Chiefs fans do not want to develop a young QB.  They have not gotten over Todd Blackledge.  And it was not the fact that Blackledge was such a stiff, which he definitely was.  What seperated Blackledge from most other bust was the fact that after he flamed out, Chiefs fans had our noses stuck in the crap that was Blackledge's career by having to look at his stupid mug televising college games every Saturday and then watch not one but TWO hall of famers who we should have drafted beat us on Sunday.  But not developing a young QB because of mistake 20 soething years ago is like getting your heart broke in college and hooking up with nothing but played out hags the rest of your life because you don't want to get wounded again.  Boo freakin hoo.  Peyton Manning came after Jeff George, Carson Palmer came after Akili Smith, Philip Rivers came after Ryan Leaf.   We have to let Blackledge go.  You have to keep trying even after colossal failure. 

And that brings me back to Brodie.  I hear the criticisms, and I don't get it.  For every criticisms there is a reason/circumstance out of Brodie's control:

1.  He's injury prone.  This is a concern for every single player in the league.  In pro football, the next play may be your last.  It doesn't matter who you are.  Also, Brodie health, like every other QB, is reliant on his protection.  Give Brodie some decent blocking, and I have no doubt that he will stay healthy.

2.  He wasn't good at Alabama.  The only thing worse than the Chiefs' o-line last year was Brodie's at Alabama.  In his senior year, Brodie lost three offensive tackles.  (This is actually a concern with me.  Sometimes I think that the football gods hate Brodie cuz everywhere he goes offensive tackles seem to all go down.  Branden Albert, good luck bro.)  He played through this to lead the Tide to 10 wins which was the best season they have had in over a decade.  Anyone who dismisses Brodie's career at 'Bama is just ignorant and thinks that he can spout off against Brodie cuz he thinks you are.

3.  He's not tough.  He's got no heart.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Brodie has picked himself up after getting pounded play after play.  It has never mattered how many times he's gotten hit, or how many more times.  Brodie has never backed down before, and I don't ever anticipate him ever doing it.

4.  He's not a great leader.  Brodie has a quiet confidence about him.  Some people think that he is not a fiery leader.  Talk to anyone at Alabama, and all you hear from his teammates is how much they want to fight for him.  Even with all his o-line problems, Brodie has never complained or never called out his teammates.  All he does is keep fighting.  That is the sign of a true leader.

5.  He just doesn't have what it takes.  This may be true, but no one will ever know until he gets a chance.

Bottom line, Brodie Croyle may or may not be the franchise QB, but if he is never given the oppurtunity, how will we ever know?  I like the guy, but I am the last person to give a guy a pass just because he is a nice guy.  If you can't be with the one you love, then you better love the one you're with.  And the one we're with now is Brodie.  So if this is the first step in a rebuilding process then it starts with the most important position.  No one knows what kind of player Brodie will be untill he gets a legitimate shot with a legitimate line with a legitimate playcaller and with a healthy LJ.  Maybe he falls on his face, maybe he plays out of his mind, we will never find out unless he plays .  The organization, the team, the fans, and the city has to face the fact that in order for the Chiefs to bounce back, we need to have faith that Brodie can lead the way.  Let's see what he's got.  Let's see if he can lead.  Let's see if he can play.  (Everyone join in.)  All I am saying is, let's give Brodie a chance.