Brodie Croyle Looking To Prove He Can Hand-Off Against NFL Defenses

KANSAS CITY--24-year old Brodie Croyle is being hailed as the Chiefs’ quarterback of the future, but the youngster hasn’t been guaranteed the starting job just yet. Croyle is locked in a competition with veteran Damon Huard and knows that in order to earn his way into the top spot, he’s going to have to convince Herm Edwards that he can hand the ball off against first string NFL defenses.

“It’s real important for me to prove myself in these preseason games,” Croyle said after Thursday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. “Coach Edwards will be watching me closely to see how I carry myself out there. The biggest challenge is going to be learning to hand the ball off on every single play. It’s easy to do against vanilla defenses, but when you’re up against, say, the Baltimore Ravens starting unit, it’s a different ball game. You really have to keep your head on a swivel. Otherwise you could end up handing it off to the wrong team.”

In his down time, Croyle practices his hand-off motion in his bedroom mirror and spends hours pouring over game tape of Hall of Famers like Joe Montana and John Elway to study their motions.

“Even when I’m not at practice I am still pushing myself,” Croyle said. “I am always tweaking my motion. What I really enjoy is studying the game’s greats and watching how they did it. Guys like John Elway and Joe Montana – the ease and confidence with which they placed the ball in the midsection of the running backs is amazing. It’s just second nature to them. Occasionally they would drop back to throw, but Coach Edwards isn’t into those gadget plays.”

Croyle, drafted in 2006, didn’t get a lot of snaps in his rookie season so he was still an unknown commodity coming into training camp this year. Many believed that Huard, a seasoned veteran who performed well last year in Trent Green’s absence, would be the starter, but Edwards surprised everyone by saying the job was up for grabs.

“I was just so excited when Herm said that I would have a shot at the job,” said Croyle. “And Damon has been awesome about the whole thing. He’s been a real mentor to me. When I first came to camp and asked him to help me read defenses, he was like ‘Why? All you have to do is hand the ball off.’ Then I asked him about screen passes and he was like ‘Screen passes? What are we, Boise State? You just hand the ball off.’ So that really helped me narrow my focus down to what I needed to do.

“Yes, Herm runs a conservative offense here, but who am I to question a guy with a career record of 48-48?”

Edwards admits to being a conservative play-caller, but also points out that a rush-only offense takes pressure off the quarterback and punishes opposing defenders with its relentless pounding. With stud tailback Larry Johnson finally ready to return to the team, Edwards sees even more reason to pound the ball.

“I don’t feel the need to continuously air the ball out all game,” said Edwards. “Constantly rushing is better because it’s painful for the opposition and it utilizes our best weapon, which is Larry Johnson. Now, this doesn’t mean we will never throw the ball. We will utilize the ‘forward pass’ here and there to keep the defense on their toes. But honestly, even if it’s fourth and long with two seconds left in the game, it’s better to run the ball because an interception could result in a much larger margin of defeat.”

While Edwards continues to maintain that the starting QB job is up for grabs, there are indications that he’s leaning towards giving it to Croyle, with Huard playing the role of backup and mentor. Surprisingly, Huard seems to be on board with this.

“I have no problem being a mentor,” Huard said. “It’s the best job in America, because you get to collect an NFL paycheck while doing nothing. I just hope Brodie keeps working hard and impressing the coaches. The backup job is mine to lose and I will NOT let some little turd step up and take it from me. So in that sense, this really is a cut throat competition.”

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