Palko vs. Stanzi

Despite quarterback Matt Cassel being a "full participant" in practice today (although there are varying reports) and telling the KC Star that he'll start Sunday in the season opener, there is still no certainty he will do so. A rib injury is a pain tolerance issue and a safety concern. Even though Cassel might be tough (we learned so from his St. Louis performance last year coming off an appendectomy), the same increased injury concerns recur. If Cassel takes another big hit, the injury can become a lot worse and we're talking about missing more games than one. So as much as I would like to see Cassel in the season opener, if the team decides not to start him, then I will trust their cautious judgement.

So, if the worst-case-scenario comes true, we'll have a backup quarterback make the start. And since Brodie Croyle is no longer that back up, I think we can have a legitimate debate about who should start the game. The options aren't that fantastic, but there are two of them: Tyler Palko or Ricky Stanzi?

For those out there who say Palko simply because of professional experience, you are correct, he has more experience, but barely. Here are his regular season and preseason stats:

Regular Season Stats
GP	Completions	Attempts	CMP%	Yards	TD	INT	FUM	Rating	Rush Yards
2	4	6	66.7	35	0	0	0	81.9	5

Preseason Stats
Year	Completions	Attempts	CMP%	Yards	TD	INT	FUM	Rush Yards
2011	37	62	59.7	384	2	2	1	2
2010	24	42	57.1	215	0	3	0	0

As you can see, Palko has only attempted six passes in the regular season, but that still is six more passes than Ricky Stanzi has attempted. Let's look at his stats now:

Preseason Stats
Year	Completions	Attempts	CMP%	Yards	TD	INT	FUM	Rush Yards
2011	18	34	52.9	213	1	1	0	10

As you can see, it was a typical rookie preseason. Nevertheless, the numbers aren't always the final word. I think Stanzi has probably looked as good if not better this preseason than Palko. The reason Palko's numbers are better, in my opinion, is because Palko had more opportunities with the starting and second string players than Stanzi. Stanzi usually had minimal pass protection and his number of sacks are indicative of that. Plus, Palko seemed to get into a bad habit of throwing off his back foot, which I kept bringing up in the game notes.

As of right now, it looks like Palko will be the back up quarterback to Cassel. He has one more year experience in the NFL, with the team, and with the playbook. If it was up to me though, I would start Ricky Stanzi. I think he's a better passer and he's coming off a successful senior season at Iowa. A season in which he played much more than Palko last season.

Would I feel comfortable with a wide eye rookie starting the season opener for the defending AFC West Champs? No, not in the slightest. But in this case, I would feel more comfortable with Stanzi and the starters than Palko and the starters.

Hopefully we won't have to see either in the opener.