Chris Chandler is the poster boy for the NFL season.
Have you seen this man? He toils in anonymity as quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, whose home games are blacked out. Yet he represents football in the unsettled, impatient ’90s. Chandler leads the league in paying his dues.
Of the top 15 passers in the league, only two are playing for the teams that drafted them. Chandler is with his sixth team in 11 seasons.
He can identify with Peyton Manning because Chandler started as a rookie for the Indianapolis Colts too. A third-round draft choice, Chandler didn’t have the burden of high expectations because the Colts were able to hand off to Eric Dickerson and won nine games.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” Chandler said.
He can identify with Ryan Leaf because Chandler was an angry, cocky, frustrated kid who thought he knew more than he did. In Tampa, Chandler went through a coaching change during the season that confused him and got him waived.
“If a guy is going to have his confidence crushed his rookie year by going out and playing bad, it was probably going to get crushed somewhere along the road anyway,” Chandler said. “You have to make mistakes so you don’t make them again.”
He can identify with Kerry Collins because Chandler found the game no fun and wanted to quit.
“There’s no reason to stay in if it’s not fun. It’s a tough business,” Chandler said.
He can identify with Jason Garrett and Doug Flutie because nobody seemed to believe Chandler could play until he got a real chance.
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“I’m not going to say there’s a shortage of quarterbacks, because you have to get the opportunity to make mistakes and then have a team stick with you,” Chandler said. “With the salary cap and huge contracts, if teams don’t get instant results, it’s down the road. That’s going to impair a lot of development by a lot of young guys.”
He can identify with Randall Cunningham and Steve Young and Warren Moon, all of whom seem to be getting better with age. Chandler is 32, in his prime.
“The most important thing about playing quarterback is knowing where to throw,” Chandler said. “The second-most important thing is being able to throw it there. It’s not as hard as you think to throw the ball where you want to throw it; it’s knowing where to do it. The veteran quarterback has a much better idea of where he wants to throw it and makes his decision quicker and better.”
He can identify with Scott Mitchell, who lost his job to rookie Charlie Batch. Chandler lost out to Jeff George in Indianapolis and to Steve McNair in Houston.
“I know they want to go with the young kid for whatever reasons, but I’m not hip with that,” Chandler said.
He can identify with Danny Kanell and Kordell Stewart and Gus Frerotte, young quarterbacks who had early success and are now struggling.
“Being blessed with a good team and a good system is part of it,” Chandler said. “Good old-fashioned luck is another part. I’m having fun, and I’m real confident. It’s a feeling I never thought I’d have in this league again.”
He can identify with Brad Johnson, who has been hanging around for years only to be sidelined by injuries. Chandler has been labeled fragile and has only recently got a handle on the concussions that threaten his career. He has become an “air head.”
“I’ve pumped a lot more air into my helmet, which might sound kind of strange,” he said. “It took me 11 years to figure that out.”
Since joining Dan Reeves in Atlanta last year, the Falcons are 11-4 when Chandler has finished games, 0-6 when he’s hurt.
Chandler’s wife, Diane, is the daughter of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie, who told Chandler he didn’t start playing well until he reached 30.
“My wife looked at me one day and said, `You’re not going to get hurt anymore,’ ” Chandler said. “She’s been a real positive force this last year, talking to me over and over about (I’m over) the injuries. A lot of bad luck has happened, but all the good stuff is coming now.”
Erik Kramer and Vinny Testaverde and Rodney Peete and Trent Dilfer and Jeff George and Rich Gannon would love someday to identify with Chris Chandler.
“Everything I got I felt I had to earn,” Chandler said. “I really didn’t have a whole lot given to me. The success I’m having now doesn’t make me want to thumb my nose at anybody at all. I just feel proud of myself that I overcame a lot of different things.
“I think I can be as good as anybody out there.”