Tarkus
09-10-2008, 07:17 PM
He's Seen This Picture Before
Sep 10, 2008, 8:50:08 AM by Bob Gretz
Maybe it has something to do with the No. 33.
Maybe this seemingly impossible task that Herm Edwards has of keeping
quarterbacks healthy comes down to a pox upon his football house that’s
tied to those 33 interceptions he had during his 10-year NFL playing career.
Could the quarterback gods be paying him back? Silly, you say? Then
explain why this Sunday, Edwards will make his 15th quarterback change
in his last 51 games as a head coach.
Do the math: that’s a change at quarterback every 3.5 games. We aren’t
talking about sending a guy in to mop up at the end of a bad loss or big
victory. No, it’s 15 times since the opening day of the 2005 season that
because of injury or performance, Edwards has scratched out one
quarterback’s name and written in another.
Edwards just sighs at the subject.
“Right now, I’m not sure I know anything else,” Edwards said.
Maybe this is a curse on a defensive minded head coach, although Bill
Belichick didn’t have the same problem until just few days ago. Same for
Tony Dungy.
Quarterbacks get hurt all the time and any coach in the game long enough
has to deal with the ramifications. But Edwards story is unusual and
continues this week as Damon Huard steps in for Brodie Croyle, who
suffered a shoulder injury last Sunday in New England.
As Edwards said on Tuesday, when a team puts its eggs into the basket of
a young quarterback, they hope they remain in one piece.
“When you build your offense, you’re building around that guy,” Edwards
said of the quarterback, and in this case Croyle. “You try to build a
system that he can handle and that he can be successful in. So when they
miss time, that’s bothersome … when he comes back, he’s got to stay
healthy. That’s key for him and key for us. If he can stay healthy we
feel like we can win with him and we can do some things in our offense
to make it go.”
Making it go has been a problem for Edwards and his offenses, and a big
reason has been the quarterback shuffle. Let’s start with the ‘05 New
York Jets opener, ironically in Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs.
Chad Pennington was the starter that season. In game three he suffered a
rotator cuff injury that ended his season. His replacement Jay Fielder
suffered a shoulder injury himself and was done for the season.
Brooks Bollinger, in his second NFL game, started next. He was replaced
by veteran Vinny Testaverde who at the time was about 120 years old.
Twice, Bollinger went in and replaced Testaverde in the next four games,
before replacing him as starter. In the season’s 10th game, Bollinger
and Testaverde were both hurt, bringing in emergency quarterback Kliff
Kingsbury. Bollinger started the next week and for the rest of the
season, replaced once by Testaverde.
That’s 16 games and seven QB moves.
Edwards moved to the Chiefs in ‘06 and Trent Green, an ironman until
then, went down in the season’s first game. Huard replaced him for eight
games until Green came back and finished out the season. That was a calm
year, with 17 games and two changes.
Then came last year, where Huard started the season, but went out three
different times with minor injuries in the first nine games. Eventually,
Croyle replaced him, made two starts and then had to come out with a
back injury. Huard came in for a week then Croyle returned for the final
four starts. But he had to leave the Detroit game because of a wrist injury.
That’s 16 games and five changes.
Now the ‘08 season has begun and already with just one game, there’s
another change.
Is it the types of quarterbacks Edwards has on his roster? Is it
something in the team’s training methods? Is it the water? A simple
answer to his quarterback woes evades detection by the head coach.
“If there was some way to change this, you don’t think I would?” Edwards
said. “It’s football. Players get hurt. It just happens that our
quarterback is getting hurt.”
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.
Sep 10, 2008, 8:50:08 AM by Bob Gretz
Maybe it has something to do with the No. 33.
Maybe this seemingly impossible task that Herm Edwards has of keeping
quarterbacks healthy comes down to a pox upon his football house that’s
tied to those 33 interceptions he had during his 10-year NFL playing career.
Could the quarterback gods be paying him back? Silly, you say? Then
explain why this Sunday, Edwards will make his 15th quarterback change
in his last 51 games as a head coach.
Do the math: that’s a change at quarterback every 3.5 games. We aren’t
talking about sending a guy in to mop up at the end of a bad loss or big
victory. No, it’s 15 times since the opening day of the 2005 season that
because of injury or performance, Edwards has scratched out one
quarterback’s name and written in another.
Edwards just sighs at the subject.
“Right now, I’m not sure I know anything else,” Edwards said.
Maybe this is a curse on a defensive minded head coach, although Bill
Belichick didn’t have the same problem until just few days ago. Same for
Tony Dungy.
Quarterbacks get hurt all the time and any coach in the game long enough
has to deal with the ramifications. But Edwards story is unusual and
continues this week as Damon Huard steps in for Brodie Croyle, who
suffered a shoulder injury last Sunday in New England.
As Edwards said on Tuesday, when a team puts its eggs into the basket of
a young quarterback, they hope they remain in one piece.
“When you build your offense, you’re building around that guy,” Edwards
said of the quarterback, and in this case Croyle. “You try to build a
system that he can handle and that he can be successful in. So when they
miss time, that’s bothersome … when he comes back, he’s got to stay
healthy. That’s key for him and key for us. If he can stay healthy we
feel like we can win with him and we can do some things in our offense
to make it go.”
Making it go has been a problem for Edwards and his offenses, and a big
reason has been the quarterback shuffle. Let’s start with the ‘05 New
York Jets opener, ironically in Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs.
Chad Pennington was the starter that season. In game three he suffered a
rotator cuff injury that ended his season. His replacement Jay Fielder
suffered a shoulder injury himself and was done for the season.
Brooks Bollinger, in his second NFL game, started next. He was replaced
by veteran Vinny Testaverde who at the time was about 120 years old.
Twice, Bollinger went in and replaced Testaverde in the next four games,
before replacing him as starter. In the season’s 10th game, Bollinger
and Testaverde were both hurt, bringing in emergency quarterback Kliff
Kingsbury. Bollinger started the next week and for the rest of the
season, replaced once by Testaverde.
That’s 16 games and seven QB moves.
Edwards moved to the Chiefs in ‘06 and Trent Green, an ironman until
then, went down in the season’s first game. Huard replaced him for eight
games until Green came back and finished out the season. That was a calm
year, with 17 games and two changes.
Then came last year, where Huard started the season, but went out three
different times with minor injuries in the first nine games. Eventually,
Croyle replaced him, made two starts and then had to come out with a
back injury. Huard came in for a week then Croyle returned for the final
four starts. But he had to leave the Detroit game because of a wrist injury.
That’s 16 games and five changes.
Now the ‘08 season has begun and already with just one game, there’s
another change.
Is it the types of quarterbacks Edwards has on his roster? Is it
something in the team’s training methods? Is it the water? A simple
answer to his quarterback woes evades detection by the head coach.
“If there was some way to change this, you don’t think I would?” Edwards
said. “It’s football. Players get hurt. It just happens that our
quarterback is getting hurt.”
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.