You wanna talk about a leader and staying healthy? The reality is he missed an entire week of practice last week. He wasn't healthy.  He played that game with two broken ribs on his throwing side.  But the media talks about his quote inaccuracy, but I don't think it's too inaccurate when he completes almost 55% with broken ribs.  -Joel Turner, agent for Tyler Thigpen

Agent Joel Turner talked with Nick Wright of 610 Sports yesterday regarding his client and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen.  

Thigpen, of course, has been involved in a few stories recently.  First, was the reported trade talks between the Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.  Then, the question of whether he or Brodie Croyle would be the starting quarterback should Matt Cassel's injury keep him out of week one against the Baltimore Ravens.

They covered pretty much all of those topics and more.  The interview can be heard in it's entirety at Mr. Wright's website.

Below, I've taken some notes on the exchange.

On Chan Gailey:

I gotta be honest with you, there's nothing I can say about it. I hate it for Chan and his family.  From a job standpoint it's awful difficult to find something at this point in the season.  As a former coach myself, I know what the job market can be like. I hate to hear that for him. I think a lot of Chan so I hate that for him.

In the regard for the decisions that are made at the headquarters, that's something you'd have to ask coach Haley and Scott and maybe all the way up to the ladder to Clark Hunt but that's something I can't really do anything about.

On his statement that Tyler Thigpen is the most athletic quarterback in the NFL:

He is. It's really simple. He was the leading guy in the entire NFL in yards per carry so, first of all, it's not like I have to back up my statement. I feel like if you're in the media and want to combat that, come back with me why he's not, not why he is.

Is Vince Young more athletic than Thigpen?

Vince is a top five draft pick with millions of dollars in the bank sitting on the bench so let's shoot that argument down right off the bat.

That doesn't mean he's not more athletic.

It has everything to do with what's going on because if he were more athletic than Tyler surely he'd be on the field in some regard.

What about Michael Vick?

Michael Vick was in prison for two years so at that time he wasn't in the league.

On the statement that it would be "unprofessional" for Scott Pioli to not let Thigpen compete for a starting job:

No. In all regards, that statement was made in, I believe,  February.  So from February to August we're looking at about six months or so.  Obviously, things change from February to August. I believe in February they had every intention of letting those guys competing against each other.  Obviously, things do change in the mindsets of the ball clubs.  

Again, that's something you'd have to talk to Scott and Todd about. I don't sit in the staff meetings so I'm not sure what took place or what they saw between whether it was offseason workouts, OTAs or what have you. Or even through two a days and the first couple of preseason games. That's something you'd have to address to those guys.

On being an effective quarterback:

Tyler proved he can play with anybody in the league last year. He put up tremendous numbers in what we'd all admit wasn't a very good ball club.  When you're talking about a guy that put up better numbers in many regards than Jay Cutler, Brett Favre, Matt Ryan, Roethlisberger, Delhomme, Schaub, Orton, Flacco and on and on.  And many of those first round guys like JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. Tyler proved he can play with anybody in that league and if they choose to play one player or another, that's something you'd have to talk to the coaching staff about. 

Tyler proved last year with what he was able to accomplish.  And it wasn't just him, it's with the offensive line, they've been much maligned over there and I really don't think it's been fair.  Once Tyler took the starting postion last year in that New York Jets game you can watch the tape because I have. He wasn't really touched. Those guys did a good job in that system they ran giving him an opportunity to move the ball despite the lack of a running game which I think we can all admit they didn't have much of one, and of course with Larry Johnson out those games.

They didn't have a running game for whatever reason so they were pretty simple offensively. It's not like they came out and threw the kitchen sink at you every week. It was a pretty simple game plan. They mixed it up with Jamaal Charles and they got Larry back and the ball found its way to Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez more than anyone.

It was effective to a point that it gave them a chance to win every week but again when you have the 31st ranked defense in the league it's hard to win.

On whether Thigpen may be better off getting out of Kansas City via trade:

That's someting I wouldn't even begin to delve into. Kansas City has been...with different coaching staffs and management whether it be Peterson and Edwards or Scott and Todd, we're very glad to have an opportunity to play in the NFL.  Tyler has come a long, long ways in a short amount of time.  

You're talking about a kid that was at a school that started football and they literally buiilt a championship program around him.  And this is a program that put four guys in the NFL in the first two years they had a senior class, including a second rround draft pick. 

You're talking about a kid who has busted his tail and taken advantage of the opportunity given to him. He's got a job to do and he's under contract to Kansas City for two more years.

I'm going to bring it up because I know you will bring it up at some point but the reported trade rumors. It's not like anyone in the NFL from the other teams has called me.  They, for one, can't do it from the other teams and, two, Kansas City hasn't called me and told me anything so if there's anything like that going around that's something you'll have to talk to management about.  

We're glad for him to have the opportunity he had last year and he's looking forward to this season in Kansas City.  Just like last year you saw players demanding a trade...we haven't done that from day one.  All we've done is go in there and Tyler's done the best job he can do.

On being a leader and being healthy:

You wanna talk about a leader and staying healthy? The reality is he missed an entire week of practice last week. He wasn't healthy.  He played that game with two broken ribs on his throwing side.  But the media talks about his quote inaccuracy, but I don't think it's too inaccurate when he completes almost 55% with broken ribs.

Can Tyler play in a traditional offense like the Chiefs are setting up for Cassel?

Well, I'm not going to lie to you, I've never coached quarterbacks at any level. I've coached receivers and I've coached outside linebackers at the collegiate level.  But I understand what it does take for a quarterback but from a media stnadpoint you're not there every day understanding the level of competition and the concepts.

I don't think right now anyone is going to be a highly succesful quarerback on a lot of teams taking the snap under center and dropping back five or seven steps because right now the defensive talent is so ungodly good at getting to the quarterback whether it be a five technique or a 330 pound run stopping three technique or a Terrell Suggs or a James Harrison coming back from the 3-4 linebacker postiion.

You can't drop back five steps set up and find you rreceiver for most teams and stay upright.  That's why you see New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New Englandand Baltimore and on and on.  The vast majority of successful offenses in the league are predicated on the shotgun snap because they're already at a five step drop.

They catch the ball, take a three step drop, that gives them a seven step drop, and that gives them time to evaluate what's going and find their receiver without the defensive ends caving in on them.  Now, they're getting hit when they release it regardless of who they are.

But again with this situation in Kansas City, I don't think any quarterbacks are going to be successful taking a snap under center and dropping back five steps, you don't have time to take seven, and then trying to find that receiver before you get your back broken. It's going to be hard on anybody.

I certainly believe Tyler has the ability to do it and if anyone does it's Tyler because he's much quicker and faster than the majority of quarterbacks in the league so when he takes a snap he can get back and find a receiver faster than other people can.

He had two broken ribs so he's out there competing with an injury that most people wouldn't play with.