TOP OF THE MORNIN'
Dawson not discouraged by play of Chiefs’ QBs
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
The Kansas City Star
H all of Famer
Len Dawson, who perhaps knows a thing or two about quarterback play, likes what he sees in Chiefs backup quarterback
Tyler Thigpen.“He’s got some talent there and made a couple of real nice throws,” Dawson said. “He’s got some athletic skills running the ball. It’s just a matter of him making good decisions, and that comes with experience.”
Dawson also isn’t discouraged about the progress of starter Brodie Croyle. He doesn’t think the Chiefs are, either.
“Well, Herm (Edwards) has said from the start that it’s Brodie’s job to lose — not his job to win but his job to lose,” Dawson said. “So, Herm has committed, not just in private to Brodie, but committed publicly that Brodie is his guy. And that’s important for a young quarterback’s confidence.”
Not that Croyle has set the world on fire with this opportunity.
“Not very effective the other night,” Dawson said of Croyle. “But then again, they were trying to work on the running game.
“I think Brodie’s decision-making is good, at least better than last year. But the timing with the receivers is off.
“Sometimes you got to communicate to the receivers that hey, maybe they need to make adjustments, too. That’s something I always talked to my receivers about. But it’s hard to get good timing when the quarterback is pretty much running for his life.”
The Chiefs know that protecting Croyle will be an issue this season.
“That’s why they’re moving the pocket more this year,” Dawson said. “Get him out on bootlegs, which is something they didn’t do last year. I couldn’t understand that because it was obvious they couldn’t block for him.”
Whitlock on FSN
Star columnist Jason Whitlock will be a guest host on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period” on FSN this week.
Tonight at 10, Whitlock will be on with several guests, including Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.
Whitlock will also be a guest host on shows on Wednesday (10 p.m.) and Friday (11:30 p.m.). Jerry Rice will be a guest on Friday’s show.
Grunhard at WHB
Former Chief Tim Grunhard, an original member of WHB’s “Crunch Time” before leaving for KCSP in 2003, is making a bit of a comeback at WHB.
Grunhard told me he will be returning to WHB this fall for part-time duty as a football analyst during the week. Grunhard also was working on details to do some Chiefs postgame work at WHB.
Grunhard was let go by KCSP after his contract expired last December.
“It was kind of weird walking back into (WHB) to talk to the guys there about working again,” he said. “But after a while, it was kind of like coming home.”
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KansasCity.com to read more from Jeffrey Flanagan in his blog “Over the Top”
To reach Jeffrey Flanagan, call 816-234-4492 or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com
