Jason Whitlock  

Some thoughts on Gonzalez, Huard and other Chiefs

Here are a few thoughts on the Chiefs as I sit here passing the time waiting on the biggest television event of my lifetime, Palin vs. Biden, The Thrilla with No Vanilla.”

•Tony Gonzalez’s immature reaction to not breaking the tight-end receiving record after Sunday’s victory over the Broncos was disappointing.

The Chiefs broke a 12-game losing streak, lifted themselves from being leaguewide laughingstocks, and Gonzalez thinks it’s appropriate to pout because he won’t break the yardage record at Arrowhead Stadium and have a brief on-field ceremony.

Wow. I’m “highly disappointed,” too.

Let’s say the Chiefs were getting plastered last week and Gonzalez broke the record late in the fourth quarter, would he have met with reporters after the game and talked about breaking the record?

Would he have said, “Yeah, the record doesn’t mean anything since we lost”? Or would he have dressed quickly and left the locker room, embarrassed by another defeat?

Not a good look, Tony. Not a good look at all.

•As long as Damon Huard is able to stand, put his hands under center and bark signals, he should remain Kansas City’s starting quarterback this season.

Even if he throws four interceptions against Carolina, he should remain KC’s starter when Brodie Croyle returns. Huard is a journeyman quarterback. He will not play lights out week to week. He will always be inconsistent.

But he clearly gives the Chiefs their best chance at winning this season. When Croyle returns, he should play from off the bench when Huard struggles or gets momentarily banged up.

Playing off the bench gives Croyle a better shot at developing confidence and handling the mental pressure of being an NFL QB. The Chiefs will learn more about Croyle with him subbing. They should already know he’s not their QB of the future (too injury prone). The question now is Croyle KC’s No. 2 quarterback of the future?

•Glenn Dorsey has not been effective through four NFL games.

I’m nowhere near ready to label him a bust. I am willing to admit concern. He seems to lack explosion in his lower and upper body. His punch seems ineffective, and his feet don’t appear to be all that quick. That’s not a good combination. Right now, he plays like a guy who needs to spend a solid year in the weight room.

That’s not all that unusual for rookie defensive tackles. Many of them come out of college with no real understanding of how to prepare physically for NFL success. You can get away with being out of shape in college. You get exposed in the NFL.

•Branden Albert dislocated his elbow moments after I commented about how well he was playing against the Broncos.

I like Albert. He has a bright future. He had good technique on his pass sets, and he tried to deliver a blow in the run game.

Herb Taylor shocked the heck out of me with his solid performance in relief of Albert. When Albert returns, Taylor might warrant a look at replacing Damion McIntosh on the right side.

•Larry Johnson did a great job last week when he interacted with Jim Brown during our town-hall discussion at the Gem Theater.

Larry offered some thoughtful commentary about current players providing support to retired NFL veterans, was very respectful in his comments toward Brown and played along and laughed when I asked him some tough questions about the then-winless Chiefs.

It was good to see the nonangry side of Larry.

After the Denver game, Kolby Smith asked me whether Jim Brown would be willing to come in every week to motivate Larry.

I’m working on it.

•No one is talking about it, but I thought Bernard Pollard played one of his better games against the Broncos.

Other than Derrick Johnson, who was marvelous, I thought Pollard was KC’s best defender on Sunday. He was a physical, sure tackler, and I thought he displayed a quickness that he didn’t have last season when he was 20 pounds heavier.

To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.