Teicher: Chiefs aren’t worrying about Carr at cornerback

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs aren’t worrying about Carr at cornerback
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

ST. JOSEPH | Brandon Carr is in the midst of his third NFL training camp, so he knows the way to survival is to keep his head down and not worry about a bad play or a bad day.

Carr has had a few of both as a starting cornerback for the Chiefs. Chris Chambers and Dwayne Bowe each had their turns taking advantage of Carr, who occasionally responded with a nice play of his own. He broke up a couple of passes in Saturday’s scrimmage.

“They’ve worked me over pretty well,” Carr said. “But that’s just the adversity of training camp. Things could be done better as always.”

The Chiefs continue camp today at Missouri Western after Sunday’s day off. The first preseason game is Friday against the Falcons in Atlanta.

For now at least, Chiefs coach Todd Haley doesn’t appear concerned about Carr, one half of the starting cornerback tandem along with Brandon Flowers.

“When we evaluate these guys, there are a lot of parts that go into evaluation,” Haley said. “Obviously as a cornerback, if you’re getting beat a bunch, it’s probably not what we want. I don’t know that we have all the answers of what the situation was. Was somebody else wrong? Was the safety supposed to be going a different direction, which then put a cornerback like Brandon or anybody else in a bad position?

“Corner is one that they have to defend the pass when asked to. They have to understand how to play zone and how to play man, and more importantly they have to play it how we want them to play it.

“I’m excited about the player. He’s a big guy that can run, he has worked his backside off and I believe that good things will happen for Brandon.”

That’s a strong endorsement from Haley, who generally doesn’t shower players with public praise. His words aside, the Chiefs think Carr has the skills to be a solid cornerback.

He started all 16 games last season, and the Chiefs made no move for a viable replacement candidate. They drafted Alabama’s Javier Arenas in the second round, but the Chiefs like him as a nickel back.

Their other backup corners are either journeymen or also best suited to playing nickel.

“That’s a tough position we’re talking about,” Haley said. “The spotlight is on you every snap.

“Brandon is a young, developing player. Every time anything occurs, whether it’s good or bad, that’s part of the process for him. He’s trying to continue to make strides to improve.”

Chambers has been particularly hard for Carr to handle on fly patterns. Chambers has beaten Carr off the snap and been open to catch scoring passes.

“I don’t want to give all of his secrets out, but Chris is hard to cover because he’s a savvy veteran,” Flowers said. “Let’s just say he knows how to get open.

“Brandon’s going to have a great year. He got faster and a lot stronger. This is our third year. The chemistry is there, and I’m looking forward to doing big things with him this season.”

Chambers said some of the plays where he’s beaten Carr wouldn’t necessarily happen during a game.

“It’s almost an unfair advantage sometimes when we run post routes and there’s no safety in the middle of the field to help,” he said.

Carr is part of the 2008 draft class, the last one run by Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards. The Chiefs have much invested in that class, which also includes Flowers, defensive end Glenn Dorsey, tackle Branden Albert and running back Jamaal Charles.

For his part, if Carr can develop into a reliable player, the Chiefs won’t need to acquire another starting cornerback.

“Brandon falls into that group of second- and third-year players that has to take another step for us,” Haley said. “He had a very good offseason. He came into training camp ready to go, and I think he’s done a lot of good things. At cornerback and going against some of the guys that he’s going against on a daily basis, I don’t think it’s been perfect by any means.”