How long until Ricky Stanzi starts at quarterback for Chiefs?

Matt Cassel has been on a torrid pace in 2012 -- in all the wrong categories. Brady Quinn has only one game under his belt as the Chiefs starter, but it looked about as Cassel-esque as possible. To sum up the Chiefs season is to sum up the performances of both quarterbacks: miserable.

So it's only a matter of time until fans can expect to see someone else under center. Last year, the team turned to a newly waived Kyle Orton to take over the team in the final quarter of the season and the results were solid enough to rip the 'interim' tag off of Romeo Crennel's title as head coach. However this season, the Chiefs aren't likely to find a savior among the free agent ranks.

Instead the team might turn to Ricky Stanzi sooner than later to fully realize just what they have in house. If the Chiefs are going to overturn the quarterback position on the roster as expected, then it stands to reason that they would give significant playing time to Stanzi as Quinn for the duration of the season.

The team has the bye week to figure things out and until they are mathematically eliminated from claiming a spot at the top of the AFC West, then the team will likely roll with Cassel and Quinn depending on how the coaches see things. But once the playoffs are the unreachable spot on the horizon, then Stanzi should be next in line.

Stanzi certainly did not impress in the preseason when given a chance, but young quarterbacks often struggle in their first real action. Remember that the 2011 fifth round choice did not have a proper preseason due to the NFL lockout. The team also refused to play Stanzi last year despite the tremendous struggles of Tyler Palko. In short, Stanzi is still quite green and the jury remains out for now as to how he will produce, if at all, in the NFL.

If the 2012 season officially becomes a lost cause for the Chiefs (and they're already labeled among the league's worst teams), then Stanzi should warrant the lion's share of playing time at the quarterback position. There's simply no reason the Chiefs front office and coaching staff should enter the offseason with any lingering questions of potential among anyone currently on the roster.