New England Patriots v. Kansas City Chiefs: What do we know about Tyler Palko?

Posted on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 06:17 AM

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- December 2010 (14 entries)

The New England Patriots face off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night looking to build on last week's victory against the New York Jets.

The Chiefs season has been decimated by injuries to key players such as Eric Berry, Tony Moeaki, Jamaal Charles and most recently, starting quarterback Matt Cassel.

Cassel is a former Patriot who the team traded to the Chiefs for a second round pick, along with Mike Vrabel, after the 2008 season.

Without Cassel under center, the Chiefs will turn to little known Tyler Palko.

The Patriots will undoubtedly be delighted that the Chiefs are missing their starter, but there was a certain element of comfort that the team could take in playing against Cassel.

Palko is an unknown quantity entering this game, he has nine career completions during his four year career. His only extensive NFL experience has come in the pre-season where he has proven himself to be an accurate passer but poor decision maker.

His respectable completion percentage is hurt by his inconsistency with turnovers.

An impressive four year career at Pittsburgh wasn't enough to prevent him from going undrafted in 2007. His 66 touchdowns to 25 interceptions during his college days was paired with a 60 percent completion percentage.

He does not possess a big arm but has enough arm strength to compete at the professional level. His mobility will be more of an issue than Cassel's would have been but his lack of experience and understanding will pose a problem for the Chiefs.

Palko will likely rely on his stable of running backs and Dwayne Bowe's favorable matchup with Devin McCourty in order to beat the Patriots.

The truth is with a player such as Palko, you can scout every inch of his anatomy and play but you won't actually learn anything until he steps into the spotlight.

Tweeting @Cianaf

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