Where does Damon Huard Fit in?

by Chris on Jul 8, 2008 7:31 AM CDT in 2008 Off Season

We're going to have a ton of visitors to the site today because of this Tony Gonzalez story so I just wanted to throw a short bit out there about Damon Huard so we don't bump the TG story too far down the middle column.

Now, Damon Huard appears to be a player that doesn't fit the mold of what Herm Edwards is trying to do. He's a veteran backup quarterback (and a nicely paid one at that) who will conceivably be out of the NFL in a couple of years. There are three young, green QBs surrounding him, all with more talent than the old man.

Is Huard still on the team because of his veteran presence on the QB depth chart?

Is he still around because of personal promises made by the Kansas City Chiefs that his job would be safe for X period of time?

Are the Chiefs waiting to deal Damon Huard later in the summer, when the inevitable injury occurs to one of another team's quarterbacks?

I think these are all solid questions to ponder when thinking about Huard. He just doesn't make sense on this team.

Personally, I think Herm Edwards believes that quarterback is probably the one position on a football team where a mentor is extremely helpful. Other specific players at other positions could use a mentor I'm sure but QB seems to have that combination of physical ability, mental ability and that unknown "it" factor to justify pouring as much information into a player as possible. The more defenses a QB has seen or is aware of, the more effective their going to be in their career. A veteran QB helps deliver this info.

Thoughts on Damon Huard? Why does a player who in no way fits into Herm Edwards self described youth movement remain on the team?

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It is hard to tell

The team has done everything possible to gift wrap the job for Brodie and Huard still finds away to be here. He isn’t going to start anywhere because everywhere you look there is a younger guy being groomed. I believe that he is here because he took us to the playoffs and earned a new contract. He got a little more than maybe he should have do to the fact that he could have went elsewhere. Carl knowing this and the team unsure what Brodie was going to bring decided to pay him to make sure they kept him. Kind of funny how this year hasn’t really changed. Huard has experience playing behind some pretty notable quarterbacks. Two hall of famers and Trent Green due to injuries may have been. I guess that is up for debate. The fact that Huard is a good guy and doesn’t mind sharing knowledge may be the main reason he is still here. I don’t believe that David Greene will make the team, which will leave a spot for Huard. Who people need to watch is Tyler Thigpen. The team likes him and if Brodie can’t outright win the starting job, He will definitely get some playing time.

by cmpotter on Jul 8, 2008 10:45 AM CDT 0 recs

I've heard for a while that

Thigpen is a Chiefs coaching staff favorite. But I’ve also seen little of him on the field.

Also, wasn’t there a WPI article a few weeks saying Thigpen looked very shaky?

by Chris on Jul 8, 2008 10:54 AM CDT up 0 recs

I Think You're Probably Right

We’ve got some really green guys, none of whom have really demonstrated they’re capable of running an offense on a regular basis (which Huard can still do) so it’s usually a good idea to have a veteran around who knows what he’s doing and who can calm things down if the game absolutely goes to hell for the starter. If, for example, Croyle’s in a game where he’s chucked six INTs and can’t complete a pass to save his life you probably want to pull him for at least a little while and the last thing you really want to do to the team is stick another QB who’ll struggle just as much. You always want to pull some positives out of a game, and if putting Huard in there for a few drives so Bowe, Darling, Webb or whoever can still get time running their routes or so the team can stay somewhat competitive until the young QBs can get straightened out and put back in the game, then it’s worth what they’re paying Huard (which isn’t really all that much). Giving young QBs playing time is important so they can develop, but you also don’t want to hurt the development of the rest of the team, or their competitiveness, if your young QB finds he’s in over his head.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Jul 8, 2008 11:11 AM CDT 0 recs

Huard...

I would guess Huard is probably kept around for a few reasons:

To fill that veteran leadership position on the QB depth chart.

He is also a capable guy that could start if we needed him to (and we still don’t know that for sure about Thigpen… and to some Croyle is still debatable).

Also, who out there could we get that would replace him if he wasn’t here?

http://www.kcchiefsfootball.com/

http://www.kcchiefsfootball.com/
Go Chiefs!

by bigknoxy on Jul 8, 2008 12:41 PM CDT 0 recs

We have to keep Huard! At least I want to.

He has proven his skills as a quarterback. If we get rid of him, we are stuck with three young guys. If Brodie goes down, I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather have Huard in there to take over than either of the other two guys. Even though I’m pretty curious about Thigpen…

by Vince D on Jul 8, 2008 2:07 PM CDT 0 recs

I am one who thinks if we should have parted ways with Huard

What are the purposes of keeping a vet QB that isn’t good enough to be a starter?

1) As a reliable backup who can maintain the status quo for a short period of time so the team doesn’t get knocked out of playoff contention while the starter is temporarily injured.

2) As a mentor to younger QBs.

So where does Huard fit in there?

The Chiefs obviously are in full rebuild mode and don’t likely expect to be in playoff contention. Even Herm, ever the optimist, predicted the Chiefs would be picking in the early to mid 20s in next years draft (Red zone with Soren Petro show) which amounts to a 7-9 or 8-8 record. So if you don’t have much hope of going to the playoffs, there really is no need for that experienced backup to keep you in contention.

Secondly, the mentor role. What experience can Huard really share with a young QB? Yes he’s been in the league for 12 or so years, but always as a backup to QBs that never got injured. Huard was the 3rd string QB in 2005 and when he relieved Trent Green in 2006, he hadn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game in over 3 years.

How good is the advice Huard will give to young QBs about how to read a defense or how to spot the mike LB or how to take command of the huddle when the opposing teams fans are going nuts while you lead a last minute drive down the field in an attempt to win? Huard has very little personal experience with ANY of these things.

If we were talking about Trent Green as a mentor to a developing QB, it would be a totally different situation. Green has real game experience and has been there and done that. Not so with Huard.

I know why Huard is still with the team. He’s Herms kind of guy, just like John McGraw. The good soldier. The professional. The team player. Not a lot of talent, but a good character guy to have around to teach young players how they need to act. And maybe in the back of Herms mind he wants the security of having that vet just in case the Chiefs sneak into the playoffs somehow.

If it were me with this situation, I’d grab the three best young QBs I could find and line them up in order of experience. Start Croyle, Thigpen the 2nd stringer, youngest and least experienced QB is the 3rd string. Get all your young QBs in the system getting familiar with the players and learning the scheme. If the starter gets hurt, your 2nd stringer is well prepared to come in and show what he’s got. If it turns out the starter can’t stay healthy or isn’t cut out to start, get rid of him and slide your 2nd stringer into starting and give him a shot, 3rd stringer gets moved up to 2nd and you get another young guy to come in as the 3rd stringer and learn the system.

You keep doing this until we find our franchise guy. You make sure the young guys are prepared so that when they have a shot at it, they can make a good showing of what they’ve got to offer. Maybe we find the next Tom Brady that way. But at the least, we are hoping to find our franchise guy, the leader of our team for the next 10 years.

One thing we know for sure. Damon Huard is not that guy. He is a good backup for when you want to maintain the status quo to get in the playoffs, but thats not us right now. And by the time it is, he’ll be out of the league.

by ChiefDJ on Jul 8, 2008 6:06 PM CDT 0 recs

Good points, but to be nitpicky

“Even Herm, ever the optimist, predicted the Chiefs would be picking in the early to mid 20s in next years draft (Red zone with Soren Petro show) which amounts to a 7-9 or 8-8 record.”

We went 9-7 and made the playoffs in 2006 and picked Dwayne Bowe in the early to mid 20’s…just saying. I agree that we kept Huard because he is a “good soldier”

by PVChiefsfan on Jul 9, 2008 7:05 AM CDT up 0 recs