Whitlock: For the Chiefs, Berry is the ideal choice

[Tribal Warfare]

For the Chiefs, Berry is the ideal choice
JASON WHITLOCK COMMENTARY

Eric Berry’s resume is the most impressive I’ve ever read.

In the moments after the Chiefs made the Tennessee safety the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s draft, I read Berry’s full resume, and upon completion I felt stupid for championing Dez Bryant as my favorite player in this draft.

Oh, I still think Bryant is going to be a great player.

But Eric Berry might be the perfect football player.

Like his dad, he started for three years at Tennessee and captained the Volunteers. Coming out of high school, Berry was ranked the No. 1 defensive back prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He graduated high school with a 3.75 grade-point average and was a member of the National Honor Society. He was an immediate starter at Tennessee and started every game he played there. In 39 career games, he was flagged for one penalty — pass interference as a freshman.

He was a two-time unanimous All-America selection.

I could go on and on, repeating his accomplishments on the field. Let me offer a simple summation:

Eric Berry is smart, mature, talented and comes from a solid family.

Actually that’s a boring summary. Eric Berry is freakishly talented and blessed with uncanny maturity and football instincts.

How about this? He’s Terrell Owens with brains and class.

When Chiefs coach Todd Haley emerged from Kansas City’s draft room, Haley shared a bit of insight into Berry’s character, relating how Berry had helped the Tennessee equipment managers shine helmets on Fridays before games.

If Tim Tebow had legitimate NFL talent, you might compare him to Eric Berry.

This was a great pick. Berry and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh were the only can’t-miss prospects in this draft. Only an injury will stop Berry from being a 10-year starter in the NFL.

When you’re drafting at No. 5 and you’re forced to dump millions of guaranteed dollars on a kid, you want a sure thing and a player you believe can handle the money.

If you watched the draft on the NFL Network or ESPN, you might have noticed how many players were wearing huge diamond bracelets, huge diamond watches and huge diamond earrings.

Before they signed an NFL contract, many of the players had already gone $100,000 in debt so they could sport the “right” look on draft night.

Berry and Suh were two players I noticed who hadn’t dropped a hunk of cash on jewelry for draft night.

For some kids, the NFL draft is a winning lottery ticket — an answer to their financial prayers. For other kids, the draft is a step along a journey to prove they’re the best football players in the world.

Every player appreciates and enjoys the money. But for some young players, the money breaks them, kills their drive. The money is the destination.

For kids like Berry, football immortality is the destination. The money will take care of itself.

That’s my read on why the Chiefs drafted Berry with the top pick. Clark Hunt can rest easy. His money won’t be wasted on a kid unwilling to give his best effort. Money broke Larry Johnson and Ryan Sims. It might prove to be the downfall of Dwayne Bowe and Glenn Dorsey.

For the most part, every kid in the first round of the draft has talent, the skill to excel at the next level. The character intangibles often separate the so-so players from the good-to-great players.

Yes, I wanted the Chiefs to take a chance on Dez Bryant, a kid with questionable character. But I’m a risk-taker, and I believe the Chiefs need an upgrade at receiver if we’re ever going to get a fair read on quarterback Matt Cassel.

But the selection of Berry makes total sense. He’s going to make an impact on the field, in the locker room and in the community.

If he’s available in the fourth or fifth round, I hope the Chiefs select Florida State Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle, another high-character safety. I’d love to see Berry and Rolle at the back of Kansas City’s defense.

[MoreLemonPledge]

Obviously he didn't see Suh's watch, since he said that Berry and Suh were the only 2 that he saw that didn't blow a bunch of money on jewelry.

[</post>]

Berry and Flowers... Carr and Rolle... too much word association!

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by

Berry and Flowers... Carr and Rolle... too much word association!

Good fit, right?

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by

Berry and Flowers... Carr and Rolle... too much word association!

The dude that writes the headlines for The Star is likely already masturbating furiously over the possibilities.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by MoreLemonPledge

Obviously he didn't see Suh's watch, since he said that Berry and Suh were the only 2 that he saw that didn't blow a bunch of money on jewelry.

He must also be talking about just the black guys. Didn't see much bling on McCoy, Clausen, Bradford, or Bulaga.

[Saccopoo]

Rolle and Berry would be nice.

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Rolle and Berry would be nice.

I thought you didn't want Berry?

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by kcrockaholic4life

I thought you didn't want Berry?

Since when?

I've always liked Berry.

I would have had a problem with them taking Clausen, and it appears that 32 teams seem to have had a problem with taking Clausen in the first round, but I had no reservations about Berry. I would have preferred Okung because of the numerous reasons I posted in a thousand other posts, but I really have no problem with them taking Berry.

I'll be pissed if they pass on Kindle at 36.

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Since when?

I've always liked Berry.

I would have had a problem with them taking Clausen, and it appears that 32 teams seem to have had a problem with taking Clausen in the first round, but I had no reservations about Berry. I would have preferred Okung because of the numerous reasons I posted in a thousand other posts, but I really have no problem with them taking Berry.

I'll be pissed if they pass on Kindle at 36.

I just thought you where on the Okung Sac bandwagon.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by kcrockaholic4life

I just thought you where on the Okung Sac bandwagon.

I was, and I'm a little disappointed that they passed on him, but getting Berry, especially when a lot of rumors were floating around about him being the Redskins pick, is not a bad thing at all.

And if they are confident enough in Albert to pass on Okung when he's sitting there, then that's okay. They really had no greater need than at the safety position (right tackle you could argue, but Williams, who I think was the best right tackle - not left tackle, another ****ed up Shanahan pick IMO, was gone, so Berry was a logical pick).

It's ballsy as hell picking a safety that high, and you hope he ends up being Paul Krause, pt.II at that pick/pay scale, but I'm not unhappy with the pick at all.

[WildTurkey]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Since when?

I've always liked Berry.

I would have had a problem with them taking Clausen, and it appears that 32 teams seem to have had a problem with taking Clausen in the first round, but I had no reservations about Berry. I would have preferred Okung because of the numerous reasons I posted in a thousand other posts, but I really have no problem with them taking Berry.

I'll be pissed if they pass on Kindle at 36.

You know what? I actually remember you being on board with Berry a while ago......

[FAX]

Let me get this straight. Whittles knew little or nothing about Berry until after the pick and now prefers him to Dez? Is that what I just read?

FAX

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by FAX

Let me get this straight. Whittles knew little or nothing about Berry until after the pick and now prefers him to Dez? Is that what I just read?

FAX

yes ... which fits Whitlocks SOP perfectly.

he saw a talented black guy getting a bad PR so he wanted to go to bat for him.

[FAX]

Is there a DB by the name of Dingle out there somewhere?

FAX