Paylor:Chiefs safety Eric Berry plays the way his favorite player once did

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs safety Eric Berry plays the way his favorite player once did
By TEREZ A. PAYLOR
The Kansas City Star
The safety the Chiefs ask to do a little bit of everything is playing about 10 yards deep, directly in front of the tight end. The ball is snapped and the tight end is coming his way, but Eric Berry is reading the eyes of the quarterback he once idolized all the way.

Not even 10 seconds later, Berry is striding into the end zone with the football, the beneficiary of an interception caused by a bad read by Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick and a tipped pass that deflected off the fingers of linebacker Derrick Johnson.

It was an important score, one that built momentum and gave the Chiefs' a crucial 10-point first-quarter lead in a 26-16 victory over the Eagles on Thursday night, but afterward, Berry was deferential.

“D.J., he just did a great job breaking on it,” Berry said, non-nonchalantly. “I was back deep reading. I just capitalized off what he did and just took it to the house.”

Despite Berry’s deference, the moment was special for the Atlanta native. Prior to the game, Berry had told the NFL Network that the one quarterback he would really like to intercept was Vick — and now here he was, doing just that.

“It was crazy,” said Berry, 24. “I saw what he did for the city of Atlanta. It's like he put the city on his back. It was a wonderful feeling just to see him play, and for me to be on the same field as him, let alone get the ball from him, I felt like that was truly an honor and something special.”

But interestingly enough, Berry said Vick, 33, was not necessarily his favorite player growing up.

“He was one of them,” Berry said. “But Sean Taylor, hands down, that's my favorite player of all time. That's why I tape my fingers.”

It makes sense, because finger tape and even draft position — both were taken fifth overall in their respective drafts, unusually high for safeties — aren't the only football-related traits Berry shared with Taylor.

Before his death at the age of 24, Taylor was a physical marvel, a super-sized safety who stood 6 feet 2 and 212 pounds but could still run a 4.5 40-yard dash. He was deployed in a variety of ways by Washington, which sought to take advantage of a unique combination of coverage ability and hard- hitting flash that led teammates to call him “Meast” — half man, half beast.

Taylor, a star at the University of Miami, was a two-time Pro Bowler before his life ended abruptly during his fourth professional season in 2007, when he was murdered in his South Florida home by robbers.

Berry was playing at the University of Tennessee then, in the middle of putting together a campaign that led to him being chosen the Southeastern Conference's defensive freshman of the year. That was nearly six years ago, but Berry — who is now a two-time Pro Bowler in the middle of his fourth season, just like Taylor was — still speaks as if his favorite player was still alive, which perhaps reflects the lasting imprint Taylor made on him about what a safety should and could be.

“He just plays ball,” Berry said. “I think on the roster it says safety, but when it gets down to it, he does everything. Man-to-man coverage, blitzes, zone, plays the deep middle … he does it all. So I feel like that's what it takes in this day and age as a football player.”

Berry doesn't quite have Taylor's imposing stature, though he's not a small man by any means at 6 feet and 211 pounds. However, teammates have marveled at Berry's ability to serve as the Swiss Army Knife of sorts for the defense.

In three games this season, Berry has racked up 14 tackles, a half-sack and two pass deflections, all while lining up as an inside linebacker, playing the deep zone and matching up in man-to-man coverage against a variety of receiving threats, all the while offering a dash of playmaking ability — which he proved with his interception Thursday.

“When he's out on the field, wherever he's at, we know he's going to be OK,” said veteran cornerback Dunta Robinson. “You don't have to put a guy over the top of him when he's on a tight end because he's going to go out there and get the job done.”

Robinson, a 10-year veteran, was adamant that this makes Berry a rare breed at safety in the NFL.

“This dude is one of the best football players I've ever been around in my life,” Robinson said. “I know he's a young player, four years in, but he acts like a 12-year vet, like a guy that's been playing for a long time. He plays with his heart and soul, and it's a lot of fun playing with a guy like that.”

Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton says Berry's wide swath of skills give him plenty of options on a defense that has been a significant reason the Chiefs are off to a 3-0 start.

“He gives us great flexibility,” Sutton said. “Usually people are trying to find a way to get a positive matchup on offense, but with he and D.J. (Derrick Johnson)” underneath, “we can match up pretty good.”

Berry credits his teammates — particularly free safety Kendrick Lewis, who often plays the deep middle of the field — for helping him display his versatility.

“It's a lot of fun — everybody's been helping me out, just because I've been moving around a lot,” Berry said. “And Kendrick, he's been helping me out as far as just lining up and stuff like that because there's a lot on my plate.”

Berry, however, will continue to embrace the challenge with a smile. After all, it's hard to complain when you're fresh off a game in which you lived out a childhood dream and resembled your idol on the same play, right?

“Whatever they want me to do from week to week, I'm going to do it if it's going to help the team,” Berry said. “'I'm very well capable of it, so I'm just going to try to keep working on my techniques and trying to get better.”

[Simply Red]

love this guy being on our team.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

love this guy being on our team.

I truly hope he has a HOF career the cat is all class.

[beach tribe]

My favorite player, and has a good chance to be my fav ever.
Im from TN and watched all of his games at UT.
Hes the first player, who was my, hands down, favorite college player to be selected by the Chiefs in the 1st rnd, and then he came out wearing my HS # where I played S, and QB.
It felt like fate.
Never been happier over a 1st rounder in my life.

[DaneMcCloud]

He has a long way to go in order to prove he was worth the #5 overall

[BryanBusby]

Sean Taylor was an amazing talent, but I don't think he would of made it in the current NFL. Far too physical for talkshow commissioner's liking.

[Sanka]

[Consistent1]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Sean Taylor was an amazing talent, but I don't think he would of made it in the current NFL. Far too physical for talkshow commissioner's liking.

He still rocks on Madden like crazy. I love him on kick coverage.

[Dayze]

just imagine if Pioli ****ed up that pick lol.
wasn't it a rumor that he was trying to get out of the pick? or was eyeing someone else?

[Rausch]

They should have Warpaint run by him before every home game to get his adrenalin running...

[MOhillbilly]

RIP Meast.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Dayze

just imagine if Pioli ****ed up that pick lol.
wasn't it a rumor that he was trying to get out of the pick? or was eyeing someone else?

Rumor was he wanted Okung