The legacy of Kitna

I feel he really could have been a starter somewhere but his good tail end of the year with Dallas I think was also a product of a lot of players around him going extra hard in fear they would be fired with the changes going on down there. As Seattle fans we have a long history of QB’s that didn’t work out for us so whether or not he could have been or not is so hard to tell and I think we just chalk him up as another one on the list that didn’t work out. What are you guys gonna do with OCHO let him go so he can play with us please lol.

but after doing some research and from what I remember he was the ultimate “game manager QB”. It seemed like early on he made it very apparent that his ceiling was the Sanchez (09), Collins, Bradford model. Can’t make a play down field, very cautious, but “knows how to manage a game”. Whatever the really means. Kitna’s problem was that he fumbled all the damn time. IMIN4LIFE nailed it, his year in Dallas seemed to be more from the fact that they were talented and probably the most talented team he has ever played on. Which is sad but at the same time, so it goes. Still though, I know I’m not the only one to cheer for him cause he played at CWU!

of Mediocrity.

I think Kitna’s career shows rather perfectly what he is. If you were ever going to create a prototypical back-up QB, Kitna would be a good place to start; competent QB who can help you win when all the other ingredients are present but never so good that he’d create a legit QB controversy with your real starter or heir apparent.

Like Trent Dilfer, probably could’ve won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2000, maybe the Bears in ‘06, but I don’t think he ever could’ve been an integral contributor to a top-flight offense.

The perfect back-up quarterback.

If I remember right, especially since Kitna wasn’t Holmgren’s man, but was Dennis Erickson’s. seattl is right, Kitna was a gunslinger, but he took so many crazy chances and forced things it drove Holmgren crazy. He had problems managing the ball, and Holmgren was all about ball control. If you wanted a three-and-out that only took one minute off the clock, Kitna was your guy back then. He’s really matured into a good go-to guy for other teams, but there’s no way him and Holmgren were going to co-exist in the long-term.

I do recall he was NFL comeback player of the year in 2003 but wasn’t he injured in 2004?

Also, when you drafted Carson in 2003 Kitna was already 31. That really should be all the answer you need.

But his prime was short and coincided with some pretty bad Bengal defenses. By the time the Bengals defense came around, Palmer was past his prime. So was Kitna.

I don’t see Jon Kitna making the 05-10 Bengals better than they were.

All you can really do is play a ‘what if’ game. What if the Steelers don’t take out Palmer’s knee in the 05 Wildcard game? I believe the Bengals would have won the game. Maybe they would have played the Seahawks in the Superbowl. More likely, the Colts would have defeated them in the next round and gone on to defeat Denver and Seattle…

What if instead of drafting Carson Palmer, the Bengals had taken the next player picked in 03: WR Charles Rogers. Safe to say they’d be even worse. But what if they’d taken Andre Johnston, or Troy Polomalu or Kevin Williams or Nnamdi Asmougha or one of the other perennial probowlers that came out of that draft.

What if What if…

Sack Machine.