KC Star: Chiefs turn to corners (Carter)

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Chiefs turn to corners

Improving pass defense seeks to rein in Colts

By IVAN CARTER The Kansas City Star

It hasn't been a glorious season for NFL cornerbacks, who have been forced to battle everything from ticky-tack rule changes to freaky athletic wide receivers.

On Monday night, Denver's alleged “shutdown” corner, Champ Bailey, was torched repeatedly by Cincinnati's Chad Johnson.

Mike McKenzie was traded from Green Bay to New Orleans amid much fanfare and promptly got burned by Minnesota's Randy Moss on national television two weeks ago.

In Dallas, former Kansas State star Terence Newman, who was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 draft, is being blamed for everything from the Cowboys' poor start to Jerry Jones' bad hair — all because he's having a hard time stopping anyone in one-on-one situations.

So if you're wondering why Chiefs' team president/general manager Carl Peterson has been so patient, and generous, when it comes to the development of cornerbacks Eric Warfield and William Bartee, just look around the NFL.

“(Cornerback) is one of those positions where the grass is always greener so to speak,” Peterson said. “People expect instant success and instant results, but that's not always guaranteed, and corners end up getting as much blame or more blame than a quarterback. It's a tough position, but we made the decision to be patient and let some of our guys fight through the growing pains. It takes time.”

That patience is starting to pay off.

Warfield, now in his seventh season out of Nebraska, is justifying the $5 million signing bonus Peterson handed him before the 2002 season and could be headed to his first Pro Bowl. Warfield is tied with Seattle's Ken Lucas and Cincinnati's Tory James for the league lead in interceptions with four and is flourishing as both a cover man and a run stopper in Gunther Cunningham's aggressive, man-to-man schemes.

Bartee, now in his fifth season out of Oklahoma, re-signed with the Chiefs during the off-season because he wanted to play for Cunningham again. After a neck injury suffered in the season opener sidelined him for two games, Bartee bounced back and played well in his first start against Atlanta last week.

Playing both on the outside and in the slot, Bartee posted a team-high six tackles, sacked the elusive Michael Vick once on a cornerback blitz and was credited with two passes defensed.

Two plays illustrated the progress Bartee has made. The first came on a first-quarter deep slant from Vick to Peerless Price. Bartee broke on the ball, kept his hands off Price's back to avoid an illegal-contact penalty and nearly came up with his first career interception. The ball deflected into the hands of safety Greg Wesley who made the diving interception.

In the third quarter, Vick went after Bartee with a deep bomb into the end zone to Dez White, who scored on just such a play the previous week against San Diego. Bartee stayed with the speedy White, turned his head just as the ball arrived and swatted it away.

In the past, Bartee's athletic skills put him in position to make those kinds of plays, but he often failed to do so. That in turn, hurt Bartee's confidence and appeared to carry over to the next play and game.

Those days are over, Wesley said.

“William is so much more confident now,” Wesley said. “He knows that he can make those kinds of plays. I think he's to the point where he wants the QB to take a shot at him because he knows he can make the play.”

Not that Wesley is apologizing for coming away with what would have been the first interception of Bartee's career.

“No,” Wesley said with a smile. “He's going to have to get those on his own, or I'm going to be right there to get them. He will though. It's just a matter of time.”

Sunday's game against Peyton Manning and the Colts would be a perfect time for Bartee to come up big. Manning is the AFC's highest rated passer, and he has three nasty receiving threats in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley.

Manning has completed 67 percent of his passes, owns a 17-to-three touchdown-to-interception ratio and has a quarterback rating of 116.2. And if covering the Colt wide receivers and defending Manning's crisp passes don't put enough pressure on a secondary, the Indianapolis offensive line and backs have made matters more difficult by allowing Manning to be sacked only four times this season.

Excellent protection plus Manning's accurate arm plus excellent route running by the Colt receivers often adds up to a long day for opposing cornerbacks. Along with Warfield and Bartee, the other Chiefs to watch Sunday are young corners Julian Battle and Benny Sapp. Because veteran Dexter McCleon is expected to be sidelined by a hamstring injury, either Battle or Sapp will be on the field when the Colts go into their three-receiver set.

Battle, the team's third-round pick in the 2003 draft, is built exactly like Warfield and Bartee and possesses incredible athletic ability, but he has experienced his share of growing pains while adjusting to the NFL. Sapp, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Northern Iowa, is built more like McCleon but is a fierce tackler and doesn't appear to be afraid of anyone or anything.

“Benny Sapp has stepped up and played well,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “Now it's Julian Battle's turn to step up and play well. We think he has the ability to do it; we just haven't had the need or he hasn't had the opportunity. Now we have both.”

Only time will tell whether developing players like Bartee, Battle and Sapp will live up to the legacy of greatness established by past Chiefs corners such as Emmitt Thomas, Gary Green, Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross, Dale Carter and James Hasty, but according to Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, it might be worth the wait.

“Very few guys are going to come into the league and dominate at the corner position because there is a lot to learn,” said Dungy, who played corner for the Steelers and 49ers during a three-season NFL career. “You have to learn how to play in the NFL, have to learn receivers, learn what you can and can't do. I don't know that there is anybody good enough — even Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson when they came in — who can walk in and play right away. You do have to be patient, and usually it's the second or third year when you see a guy start to blossom if they have that ability.”