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Counting down the Kansas City Chiefs who fell the furthest from our preseason expectations.
#5 Brodie Croyle
I can already here you typing away at your keyboard about how Brodie Croyle doesn't deserve to be on this list because of his offensive line, the play calling, etc. As big of a Croyle fan as I am, I have to say that at the end of the season I was a bit disappointed with him (That's why he's no. 5 and not higher). Didn't you expect Croyle to do at least marginally better than six touchdowns and six interceptions?
Admittedly, putting Croyle on this list is being picky. I knew there were going to be mistakes with the second-year kid. But I didn't want to gloss over the fact that the Chiefs did lose every single game he started this season. You'd have hoped that, even in this terrible season, Croyle would have been more of a bright spot considering our expectations.
#4 Eddie Drummond
Dante Hall was traded right before the '07 draft and it was an amicable break up. Hall's days as an electric returner in KC had seemingly faded and Chiefs fans were content to send him on his way. Before we even heard the name Eddie Drummond mentioned in connection with KC, don't forget about Ean Randolph. He was an undrafted free agent out of South Florida who, at least back in June of 2006, looked to be our punt returner. In response to a question if Randolph was first in line for the punt returner position, Edwards said, "Absolutely, absolutely."
You know how the off-season is though. Players come and go for various reasons and don't pan out for various reasons. Eddie Drummond was signed in late August and from the first game, he was disappointing. Drummond fumbled his second punt return ever for the Chiefs and never played much better than that.
Not much was expected of Drummond beyond being an average returner. But his season was so atrocious that his fall puts him on this list. If Drummond wants another job, he needs to start wearing t-shirts that say, "Eddie Drummond: Pro Bowler"
#3 Tank Tyler/Turk McBride
When you invest a second and a third round pick in your defensive line, you'd hope that your team would do better than ending the season with the 28th ranked rush defense. I'm not calling out Tank and Turk as busts because that's simply not fair at this point in their careers. Inconsistency was the biggest problem with both of these guys.
I remember both of them more from Hard Knocks than the regular season. 2007 set them both up to be two of the most improved players in 2008.
#2 Damion McIntosh
Proabably much more serviceable as a right tackle than a left tackle, Damion McIntosh was the Chiefs biggest off-season acquisition and unfortunately did not play up to the money we paid him. McIntosh is a classic case of a player being overvalued in a year where few other free agents were available at his position.
The Chiefs tied the 49ers for the league worst in sacks with fifty-five. When your season ends and the team is talking about moving you to a different position without a replacement already lined up, your season was a major disappointment. The Chiefs are basically saying, "We know whoever we get is going to be better than you at left tackle."
#1 Damon Huard
2006 Damon Huard: 10 games, 11 TDs, 1 INT, 98.0 QB rating
2007 Damon Huard: 11 games, 11 TDs, 13 INTs, 76.8 QB rating
Isn't Damon Huard's 2007 performance the pefect definition of a disappointment? His 2006 numbers led many to believe he could repeat the same feat in 2007 and those numbers were the primary reason he was chosen over Brodie Croyle. But there was a drop off -- a huge drop off.
Regardless of whether or not you thought Brodie Croyle should have started the season, you probably had much higher expectations for Damon Huard than he delivered this season. I didn't think Huard was going to the Pro Bowl this year but I never foresaw such a significant increase in INTs.
Because he dropped off so much from '06; because he wasn't able to play with minimal mistakes; and because he eventually lost his job, Damon Huard is 2007's most disappointing Kansas City Chief.