Kansas City Chiefs - Brodie's Future/QB Evaluation #3

Brodie's Future/QB Evaluation #3

Jul 07, 2008, 8:50:40 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

It will be a story line that threads its way through the entire 2008 Chiefs season. Every day, every practice, every game and most especially every post-game will include analysis, dissection and commentary on the performance of quarterback Brodie Croyle.

Over the next week we will analyze what other quarterbacks have gone through, what footprints they left in the quarterback sands and how that might translate into judging Croyle’s development as the Chiefs starting quarterback. We will use contemporary quarterbacks, who gained the starting job in the same time-frame and manner as Croyle, and what they did over their first 64 games.

Our third group of quarterbacks touches all the bases when it comes to their arrival in the NFL. One was a sixth-round draft choice who had to be traded to get the chance to start. Another was a second-round draft choice who was traded away when the team used a first-round pick to take another quarterback. The third was the No. 1 player in the NFL Draft when he came into the league, but he learned quickly that meant nothing when it came to victories and production.

Today, we look at Matt Hasselbeck, Drew Brees and David Carr and their very different stories from the early days of their starting careers as NFL quarterbacks.

MATT HASSELBECK
• Entered the NFL: in 1998 with Green Bay as a sixth-round (187th player) selection in the NFL Draft.

• He was traded to Seattle in 2001 along with a first-round choice for first and third round selections in the ‘01 NFL Draft.

• When did he become a full-time starter: with the season opening game in ‘01, when Seahawks won at Cleveland on September 9th.

• The quarterback he replaced as the starter: Jon Kitna, who signed that year as a free agent with Cincinnati after starting for the better part of three seasons with the Seahawks.

• Team’s record over the 64 games before he became the starter: 31-33, with one appearance in the playoffs.

• Team’s record in Hasselbeck’s first 64 starts: 35-29 with three appearances in the playoffs and one trip to the Super Bowl.

• Head coach: Mike Holmgren

• Offensive coordinator: Gil Haskell

• Offensive weapons available in first 64 starts: RB Shaun Alexander, WR Darrell Jackson and WR Koren Robinson.

• Pass protection: in his first 64 starts, Hasselbeck was sacked 156 times, losing 913 yards. That’s an average of a sack every 14.5 passing plays.

• Stats for first 64 starts: 2,107 attempts, 1,263 completions, 14,570 passing yards, 59.9 completion percentage, 84 touchdown passes, 56 interceptions with an 82.9 passer rating.

Analysis
Just as Mark Brunell had two years of learning from the master, so too did Hasselbeck, who spent two seasons going to meetings and picking up tidbits of information as a backup for Brett Favre with the Packers. That experience came in handy when Holmgren wanted a new quarterback to run the Seattle offense for the ‘01 season. There were other options for Seattle than going with an unproven sixth-round draft choice that had not started a single NFL game when he was acquired for what amounted to be a third-round draft choice.

Hasselbeck joined a Seattle team that had struggled for the previous eight seasons under head coaches Tom Flores, Dennis Erickson and two years under Holmgren. The Seahawks continued to struggle under Hasselbeck; the team was 5-7 in his first dozen starts.

At the start of his second season, Hasselbeck actually lost the starting job, as Trent Dilfer became Holmgren’s starter. But Dilfer suffered knee and Achilles injuries and Hasselbeck ended up starting 10 games. He showed obvious improvements, as his passer rating climbed by nearly 17 points. A 6-2 start to the ‘03 season pushed his starting record over the .500 mark where it has stayed and no one has challenged him for the Seahawks starting job.

Over his career, Hasselbeck has also battled the injury bug, missing games because of groin, shoulder, thigh, elbow and knee injuries.

What can we translate to Croyle’s situation? The quarterback who has shown the most improvement from last season to this one at Arrowhead is backup Tyler Thigpen. Last year’s waiver-claim from Minnesota, Thigpen has a strong arm and he showed in the off-season that he’s not afraid to use that gun. Croyle isn’t the type that needs competition to push him, but having somebody like Thigpen around doesn’t hurt. Hasselbeck stepped up when he briefly lost his starting job to Dilfer. Once he got it back, he elevated his play and took all doubt out of the equation. That took 22 starts and two seasons to make that happen.

Again, in the world of quarterbacks, especially young quarterbacks, change does not come at the snap of the fingers. Holmgren needed a lot of patience with Hasselbeck, just as he did earlier when giving Favre his starting job in Green Bay.

If a coach and organization can’t be patient, it should not even try to develop a young quarterback.

DREW BREES
• Entered the NFL: in 2001 with San Diego as a second-round (32nd player) selection in the NFL Draft.

• He signed as an unrestricted free agent with New Orleans before the 2006 season.

• When did he become a full-time starter: in the season opener of his second season in ‘02. The Chargers beat Cincinnati that day. Brees threw two touchdown passes and completed nearly 80 percent of his passes.

• The quarterback he replaced as the starter: Doug Flutie, who opened 15 games in ‘01 as the Chargers starter. Flutie replaced Ryan Leaf who replaced Jim Harbaugh.

• Team’s record over the 64 games before he became the starter: 19-45 with no appearances in the playoffs.

• Team’s record in Brees’ first 64 starts: 34-30, with two appearances in the playoffs, one each by the Chargers and Saints.

• Head coach: Marty Schottenheimer (59 starts) and Sean Payton (5).

• Offensive coordinator: Cam Cameron (59) and Doug Marrone (5).

• Offensive weapons available in first 64 starts: RB LaDainian Tomlinson, TE Antonio Gates, RB Duece McAlister and WR Marques Colston.

• Pass protection: in his first 64 starts, Brees was sacked 96 times, losing 647 yards. That’s an average of a sack every 21.3 passing plays.

• Stats for first 64 starts: 1,953 attempts, 1,221 completions, 13,361 passing yards, 62.6 completion percentage, 84 touchdown passes, 55 interceptions with an 85.4 passer rating.

Analysis
As a rookie, Brees did not get on the field until the final game of the ‘01 season. But when Schottenheimer came in and took over the team for the ‘02 season, he made Brees the starting quarterback. With those first starts, came the normal problems faced by young quarterbacks.

Brees threw way too many interceptions, especially for a coach like Schottenheimer who wants his quarterback to limit any chances with the ball. Brees chucked away 16 in ‘02 and then came back with 15 in ‘03, even though he missed five games. Through his first 27 starts, Brees had 31 interceptions.

That was either going to change or Brees was going to find a seat on the bench. He responded in the ‘04 season, throwing just three picks in his first 11 starts. He finished that season with seven interceptions, throwing another one in the playoffs against the Jets. There was another factor as well, as the Chargers ended up with quarterback Philip Rivers after a ‘04 draft day trade with the New York Giants involving Eli Manning.

When Brees returned to his form of throwing interceptions with 15 in the ‘05 season, the Chargers made the decision Rivers was their quarterback of the future and Brees was allowed to leave in free agency.

His development was helped tremendously by Tomlinson running and catching the ball. The Chargers running back was one of the NFL’s most productive offensive forces and that helped take some of the pressure off Brees. That was especially helpful given the fact San Diego did not have top notch wide receivers, although Gates developed at tight end into one of the league’s best.

What can we translate to Croyle’s situation? It sounds like a broken record, but limiting interceptions is that important in the development of a young quarterback and an offense. In those first 27 starts where Brees threw those 31 interceptions, the Chargers record was 10-17. In that ‘04 season when he threw just seven in the regular season, San Diego was 12-4.

Coincidence? Not hardly. Pass protection and ball protection are never ending elements of a successful quarterback story.

DAVID CARR
• Entered the NFL: in 2002 with the expansion Houston Texans as the first player selected in the NFL Draft.

• When did he become a full-time starter: in the season opener in ‘02, leading the Texans to a victory over Dallas 19-10. Carr through a 65-yard TD pass in the game, but completed only 10 of 22 passes.

• The quarterback he replaced as the starter: none.

• Team’s record over the 64 games before he became the starter: none/expansion team.

• Team’s record in Carr’s first 64 starts: 17-47, with no post-season appearances.

• Head coach: Dom Capers (59 starts) and Gary Kubiak (5).

• Offensive coordinator: Chris Palmer, Joe Pendry and Mike Sherman

• Offensive weapons available in first 64 starts: WR Andre Johnson and RB Domanick Williams.

• Pass protection: in his first 64 starts, Carr was sacked an overwhelming 223 times, losing 1,318 yards. That was an average of a sack every 9.3 passing plays.

• Stats for first 64 starts: 1,858 attempts, 1,037 completions, 11,617 passing yards, 55.8 completion percentage, 55 touchdown passes, 57 interceptions with a 71.7 passer rating.

Analysis
That Carr remains in one piece and is backing up Eli Manning this year with the New York Giants tells us he’s either crazy or a pretty tough guy. Carr walked into a very tough situation in Houston with an expansion team and he was literally pounded into the ground. Those 223 sacks over his first 64 starts averaged out to nearly four sacks per game. Only six times in those games was he not sacked by the opposition. There were 11 games where he was sacked six or more times. That included a three-week stretch in 2005, in the club’s fourth season of play, when he was sacked 22 times in three games. He was sacked 76 times as a rookie and then four seasons later, he was sacked 68 times. It makes it hard to evaluate Carr as a starting quarterback.

Given the pressure he was under throughout his career, it’s a wonder that Carr did not throw more interceptions than the 57 that went down in those first 64 starts. In the ‘05 season, he was sacked 68 times while completing 60 percent of his passes and throwing just 11 interceptions. That’s pretty remarkable.

Also, it hurt Carr that his first head coach was a defensive guy. Capers also changed coordinators firing Palmer and bringing in Pendry. All of this could not have been easy for Carr to deal with in those first seasons. He also needed a running game to take some of the pressure off him, but the Texans did not have one of the league’s more productive rushing attacks.

What can we translate to Croyle’s situation? If the Chiefs don’t provide their young quarterback with better protection, he will be in the same situation as Carr and will have no chance to be successful. The Texans made a big investment in Carr and then did not protect it and give it a chance to grow.

NFL history is filled with quarterbacks left on the side of the football road because of a lack of protection and/or a lack of stability in the coaching department. If the Chiefs are going to give Croyle a fair chance to succeed, they must protect him.

Coming on Wednesday, a look at the final three quarterbacks in our study: Brian Griese, Joey Harrington and Marc Bulger.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.

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