Stanzi Gets His Shot

In what really wasn’t much of a surprise, Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Romeo Crennel, said that back-up Quarterback Ricky Stanzi would be number two off the bench on Saturday night against the St. Louis Rams. So what does that mean long term?

When Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback, Matt Cassel, ends his stint on Saturday night in St. Louis, one of the two men fighting to be his permanent understudy will get his chance to run the offense. That man is second year Quarterback, Ricky Stanzi.

To put it blunt, there isn’t anyone in Kansas City who can possibly determine if Stanzi is a solid back up or the quarterback of the future. We can guess plenty. What we do know is that he has the size, temperament; skill set and arm strength to be someone who can lead any offense.

And if you add all that with the fact he’s mechanically as sound a quarterback as the Chiefs have had on their roster in a decade plus, there is reason for hope that he could eventually be the teams franchise quarterback.

However, for now the biggest detraction from my praise is the fact Stanzi hasn’t proven anything yet on the field. And let’s be very fair, we aren’t going to gain that knowledge based on his performance against the Rams second team defense.

But he will gain some valuable time on the field and hopefully his head coach will at least keep the starting offensive line in the game for at least a series or two when Stanzi takes over the helm of the offense.

If not, then his stint as Saturday’s back up, might prove meaningless and or worse unproductive.

Last week Stanzi struggled against the Arizona Cardinals but he also didn’t have the best talent around him. Plus it didn’t help that his receivers dropped a few passes. Still there is a lot of pressure on Stanzi and the organization to find someone who can back-up Cassel.

Brady Quinn did an admirable job last week but he probably won’t see any action until the fourth quarter. That means Stanzi’s performance on the field could be vital for his chances to take the second spot ahead of the former Browns and Broncos quarterback.

And that might be only real question that the Chiefs have heading into the regular season.

Follow @ChiefsInsider Tweet
WARPAINT ILLUSTRATED MESSAGE BOARDS:
Do you take any stock in Matt Cassel's performance Friday Night?

---

For all the news, notes and quotes on the Chiefs, visit WarpaintIllustrated.com

Chiefs Home | Latest News | Team Info | Message Board | Subscribe Now!

---