[Tiger Fan]

ULISH GROCE : OVERCOMING ADVERSITY BUT CAN HE OVERCOME INTERCEPTIONS?
Undrafted in 1942, the former Auburn signal caller spent a year playing semi-pro ball before being invited to the Chiefs training camp prior to the 1943 season. It was a mild surprise he did not get selected as Groce had some potential according to many scouts. However, it was a very raw player that entered the 1942 draft and no team seemed willing to take a chance on him mainly because of his tendancy for throwing interceptions in college.

"I'm aggressive out there," Groce said at the time. "Yes, I take chance but that's who I am. I want to be the guy who wins the game for my team. I may force it from time to time but the guys who refuse to go for victory usually seem much less turned off by the taste of defeat. I can't stand that taste."

When he was invited to the Chiefs camp in 1943 it was almost as an afterthought. Kansas City, having lost both their second and third string QB from the previous season needed a warm body to help get them through training camp. Groce was signed for the league minimum and entered camp hoping he could earn a spot on the practice squad. The Chiefs had hired their third coach in 3 years that offseason and it was clear from the beginning new boss Peyton Otto was not happy with the club's qb situation.

Veteran Bill Hill was brought in from Tampa to be the new starter despite the fact that Donnie Alley started 10 games as a rookie for the 8-8 Chiefs in 1942. A third round pick was spent on former Penn State signal caller Terrill Hennigan who in Otto's mind might surpass Alley as the backup. Groce, as mentioned above, was merely a warm body to add depth in the preseason.

As fate would have it Ulish Groce just happened to be a man in the right place at exactly the right time. He tossed a pair of touchdown passes in a mop up role in the first preseason game and looked good in the second one as well. In the third preseason game Bill Hall suffered an injury that would end his season. Alley did not look sharp through the first 3 games but he was given the starter's job with Groce moved up to the number two slot due to inconsistant play from rookie Hennigan.

In the final preseason game Alley got hurt. It was serious enough he would miss the first 3 weeks of the season so all of a sudden Ulish Groce was the opening week starter. It was hardly a fairytale debut for Groce who completed just 6 of 23 passes in a 35-22 season opening loss at home to Buffalo. He was also intercepted twice, something that would continue to haunt him throughout his career. He settled down and won his next two starts and that would be enough to give Coach Otto the confidence to let Groce take every snap of the 1943 season for the Chiefs. The highlight of his rookie season would be a 4-touchdown day in a win at Tennessee.

The job has been his ever since. Otto would last just two seasons as head coach in Kansas City but new coach Jermaine Nott kept Groce as the starter and he responded with a career best performance in 1945, lowering his interception total from 40 to 23. After three years making the league minimum Groce was rewarded with a huge contract extension prior to the 1946 season. However, he better not get too comfortable as just weeks after the extension was inked the Chiefs selected a QB with their first round pick. Some felt Tommy *Thompson, the 12th overall selection from Tulsa, would wrestle the starting gig away from Groce but once again lady luck smiled on Ulish. Thompson was injured during an exhibition game serious enough to be placed on injured reserve meaning Groce would have the starter's job without a challenger.

Groce, while occassionally showing flashes of brilliance appears to lack the decision-making skills necessary to be a front-line QB in the NFL. In 64 career starts he has been picked off 120 times. This season he threw just 12 touchdown passes and was intercepted 24 times. Yet somehow he helped the Chiefs to an 11-5 record and the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Coaches fall in love with the rocket arm and the odd outstanding performance such as the impressive wins over Seattle in week 14 this season or Arizona the following week. The problem is coaches are never sure when the poised superstar Groce will show up or if we will be forced to endure another 4 interception day like he suffered through twice this season. It may come down to what he does in the postseason as to whether or not the starting job will be his next season. Tommy Thompson will be raring to go and he has the first round pedigree. However, Groce appears to have luck - or perhaps something more - on his side and based on what he has accomplished so far in his career it would be foolish to bet against him.