Chiefs Covitz: In second year, Jalil Brown turns a corner for the Chiefs - Page 3

**Tribal Warfare** · 08-09-2012, 02:05 AM

In second year, Jalil Brown turns a corner for the Chiefs
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
A year ago, Chiefs cornerback Jalil Brown wouldn’t have been ready for this.

Because the lockout kept teams from holding offseason programs or minicamps, Brown, like most of last year’s rookies, was not prepared for the demands of an NFL training camp, much less seeing substantial playing time at the start of the preseason.

But one year later, Brown is playing with confidence and moxie. A foot injury to Brandon Flowers early in camp elevated Brown to the starting left cornerback position.

When Flowers lined up at left corner during the Tuesday morning walk-through, Brown slid over to right cornerback in place of Stanford Routt, a free-agent acquisition. But Flowers was back on the sidelines on Wednesday, so it appears Brown will start at left corner on Friday night in the preseason opener against Arizona.

“Jalil has some flexibility,” head coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s made some plays in practice. We’ll probably roll him in just a little bit more so we can get a better look at him. I would have to say that what he’s done deserves more look.

“He’s more confident because I think he understands the system. He understands what it takes to play the game. Last year, he didn’t really know what it took to play the game. I saw improvement toward the end of the year, particularly on special teams. That’s where his improvement showed up … his effort, his toughness, as well.”

Brown, the Chiefs’ fourth-round pick from Colorado in 2011, discovered it took more than raw athletic ability to play cornerback in the NFL.

“Last year, I didn’t realize it at the time, but without having the OTAs and minicamps, that definitely set me back a ton,” Brown said. “I didn’t realize how much I was at a disadvantage.

“I had to learn how to be a professional going through the year, and going through OTAs, I learned what it takes to go in the training room and get ready and how to spend extra time in the film room.”

Brown, who is from Phoenix, is especially looking forward to Friday night’s game against his hometown Cardinals. He matched up against Cardinals superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the teams’ joint practice on Tuesday and could be defending Fitzgerald on Friday, depending on how much the Arizona starters play.

“When you go against a receiver of that caliber, you learn what you have to do to compete with him,” Brown said of Fitzgerald. “I’ll be ready to go. I know now the coaches have me playing both sides. They throw me in left or right, whichever will help the team, I’ll do it.”

Fitzgerald took notice of Brown during Tuesday’s practice and was surprised to hear he had so little experience at the NFL level.

“He’s in his second year?” Fitzgerald said. “He’s physical, he has good ball skills … he broke up a couple balls on me. He’s an impressive athlete.”

Brown, 6-1, 204, honed his coverage skills at Colorado, facing the likes of Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin and Denario Alexander, Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant and Justin Blackmon, and Texas’ Jordan Shipley, among others.

But at Colorado, he was the other corner. Most attention was focused on the Buffaloes’ Jimmy Smith, who was taken in the first round by Baltimore. That worked to Brown’s advantage.

“We came in the same year, so we were competing since day one and working our way up to our senior year,” said Brown, who made 28 starts in his college career and intercepted six passes, including a team-high three in 2010.

“It helped me to play with a little chip on my shoulder, because when we were playing, I was trying to be the best out there, and he was doing the same, so to see him get some recognition made me want to try harder, and that, in turn, helped me perform better and get some looks.”

Brown appeared in 14 games as a rookie with the Chiefs last year and ranked second on the team with eight special-teams tackles, plus he recovered a fumble on a kickoff return against the Jets.

“Early on, there’s no telling when you’re going to get out there on offense or defense as a rookie, so your first mark is to get out there on special teams, and that’s exactly what I was trying to do,” Brown said. “Fortunately for me, at the end of the season, I started to figure out things a little bit and started to come along. Special teams helped me perform better and get some confidence.”

Brown also was a quick study behind Flowers and Brandon Carr, the Chiefs’ starter at right cornerback who signed with Dallas as an unrestricted free agent this year.

“It was great to play behind them,” Brown said. “There were little small things I watched and learned from them, talked with them … little tips they gave me, how to align, how to stay square, how to play different receivers different ways.

“You can’t go out there with the same technique against every guy because every technique has a weakness, so you have to have multiple (skills) to use against them.”

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bump

I noticed brown on special teams a lot. Hopefully he turns out to be another Carr.

In second year, Jalil Brown turns a corner for the Chiefs

Wait, DAMN!

mcaj22 · 08-09-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micjones

This is one position where the Chiefs have had luck in the Draft.
Brown should see the field quite a bit in sub-packages.

luck? under Pioli the CBs we drafted... Donald Washington, Javier Arenas, Jalil Brown.

That's not luck that's awful. We have one CB on this team if Routt or Flowers go down and that's Travis Daniels.

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcaj22

luck? under Pioli the CBs we drafted... Donald Washington, Javier Arenas, Jalil Brown.

That's not luck that's awful. We have one CB on this team if Routt or Flowers go down and that's Travis Daniels.

Javier Arenas has been successful at what he was drafted to do. He was never going to be a starting CB.

Jalil Brown is still a complete unknown. Right now his arrow is pointing up, which is an encouraging sign.

4 drafts and 3 CBs drafted. One of them is VERY solid depth. One of them is a total failure. One of them appears to at least be pretty good depth. Not bad.

Also, why the **** do you hate Travis Daniels? Did he rape your sister or something?

saphojunkie · 08-09-2012, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

Most of the best players on the current team are Peterson draftees:

Jamaal Charles
Dwayne Bowe
Branden Albert
Brandon Flowers
Tamba Hali
Derrick Johnson
Glenn Dorsey

I love this argument. 7 players. SEVEN.

The seven good players that Peterson drafted in the 2000s. Let's conveniently ignore the other 40-50 players Peterson acquired/drafted that were cut because they sucked donkey shit.

ANY TEAM that has turnover is going to keep the 7 best players from the prior team of FIFTY ****ING THREE.

What player that Peterson drafted is tearing it up on another team? Oh that's right. It's Jared Allen and Tony Gonzalez. And who got rid of them? Carl Peterson.

(And god help me, if some asshole says "Bernard Pollard...")

saphojunkie · 08-09-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

Javier Arenas has been successful at what he was drafted to do. He was never going to be a starting CB.

Jalil Brown is still a complete unknown. Right now his arrow is pointing up, which is an encouraging sign.

4 drafts and 3 CBs drafted. One of them is VERY solid depth. One of them is a total failure. One of them appears to at least be pretty good depth. Not bad.

Also, why the **** do you hate Travis Daniels? Did he rape your sister or something?

Exactly right.

And Dequan Menzie is a hybrid CB/S, too. May as well throw him in the mix.

patteeu · 08-09-2012, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

I love this argument. 7 players. SEVEN.

The seven good players that Peterson drafted in the 2000s. Let's conveniently ignore the other 40-50 players Peterson acquired/drafted that were cut because they sucked donkey shit.

ANY TEAM that has turnover is going to keep the 7 best players from the prior team of FIFTY ****ING THREE.

What player that Peterson drafted is tearing it up on another team? Oh that's right. It's Jared Allen and Tony Gonzalez. And who got rid of them? Carl Peterson.

(And god help me, if some asshole says "Bernard Pollard...")

Uh... Scott Pioli got rid of Tony Gonzalez.

And it's 7 holdover starters (8 if you count the punter) going into the 4th year of a new regime. There's a lot of turnover on any team over 4 years and there's even more when you have a GM change and 2 coaching changes during that period. I'm not going to do the legwork to compare it to other teams under comparable circumstances, but I'd be surprised to find out that the Chiefs are less represented by the draftees of their former regime than the average similarly situated NFL team 4 years out.

mcaj22 · 08-09-2012, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

Javier Arenas has been successful at what he was drafted to do. He was never going to be a starting CB.

Jalil Brown is still a complete unknown. Right now his arrow is pointing up, which is an encouraging sign.

4 drafts and 3 CBs drafted. One of them is VERY solid depth. One of them is a total failure. One of them appears to at least be pretty good depth. Not bad.

Also, why the **** do you hate Travis Daniels? Did he rape your sister or something?

I like Travis Daniels? That was complimenting him at being the only CB depth that can play outside that we know what we are getting and are not basing it off unknown or hype. Like actual on paper production. Imagine that.

And Javier Arenas is a fail because he was drafted in the second round. Second round picks on special team players/slot CBs. That is a fail.

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

I love this argument. 7 players. SEVEN.

The seven good players that Peterson drafted in the 2000s. Let's conveniently ignore the other 40-50 players Peterson acquired/drafted that were cut because they sucked donkey shit.

ANY TEAM that has turnover is going to keep the 7 best players from the prior team of FIFTY ****ING THREE.

What player that Peterson drafted is tearing it up on another team? Oh that's right. It's Jared Allen and Tony Gonzalez. And who got rid of them? Carl Peterson.

(And god help me, if some asshole says "Bernard Pollard...")

Those guys just aren't carryovers, though. They're the CORE of this team. Who are Pioli's seven best drafted players?

Eric Berry
Jon Baldwin
Tyson Jackson
Tony Moeaki
Kendrick Lewis
Jon Asamoah
Jovan Belcher

Berry's a worthy franchise cornerstone. And I'm going to go ahead and put Baldwin in that category as well- I'm convinced. Everybody else... meeehhhh

And yes, I know Belcher wasn't drafted

**Reaper16** · 08-09-2012, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

Those guys just aren't carryovers, though. They're the CORE of this team. Who are Pioli's seven best drafted players?

Eric Berry
Jon Baldwin
Tyson Jackson
Tony Moeaki
Kendrick Lewis
Jon Asamoah
Jovan Belcher

Berry's a worthy franchise cornerstone. And I'm going to go ahead and put Baldwin in that category as well- I'm convinced. Everybody else... meeehhhh

Belcher wasn't even drafted.

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcaj22

I like Travis Daniels? That was complimenting him at being the only CB depth that can play outside that we know what we are getting and are not basing it off unknown or hype. Like actual on paper production. Imagine that.

And Javier Arenas is a fail because he was drafted in the second round. Second round picks on special team players/slot CBs. That is a fail.

I've seen you bitching about how Travis Daniels is still on the team, and how we need an upgrade from him ASAP.

Arenas holds a purpose for this team beyond just special teams. He gets used all the time on defense. He's a solid contributor to the team, who I think is playing beyond his expectations when he was first drafted. That's why he was such a shitty pick, but at least he does a few jobs here and there very well. It ****ing sucks that Pioli was a ****ing reerun and burned a goddamn 2nd rounder on the guy, but what can you do? He's a good player. He's great depth. He allows us to continually draft and develop new players like Menzie and Brown without forcing them into nickel roles when they aren't ready.

It's far better that we drafted Arenas with a 2 than it is we drafted Jackson with the 3rd overall or Poe with the 11th overall.

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Belcher wasn't even drafted.

I know that. He's a part of that draft class though. He counts.

It was either Belcher or Ryan Succop. Or Ricky Stanzi. I could have done Ricky Stanzi. But if I do Stanzi I'm going to have to do Hudson before him. Meh.

Belcher it is. Dude's a 2 year starter and has continually improved from special teams shitscraper to starter.

jd1020 · 08-09-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

Uh... Scott Pioli got rid of Tony Gonzalez.

Tony Gonzalez got rid of Tony Gonzalez.

**Reaper16** · 08-09-2012, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

I know that. He's a part of that draft class though. He counts.

It was either Belcher or Ryan Succop. Or Ricky Stanzi. I could have done Ricky Stanzi. But if I do Stanzi I'm going to have to do Hudson before him. Meh.

Belcher it is. Dude's a 2 year starter and has continually improved from special teams shitscraper to starter.

I dunno. It isn't really a credit to Pioli that he drafted Jake O'Connell ahead of Jovan Belcher.

saphojunkie · 08-09-2012, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

Uh... Scott Pioli got rid of Tony Gonzalez.

And it's 7 holdover starters (8 if you count the punter) going into the 4th year of a new regime. There's a lot of turnover on any team over 4 years and there's even more when you have a GM change and 2 coaching changes during that period. I'm not going to do the legwork to compare it to other teams under comparable circumstances, but I'd be surprised to find out that the Chiefs are less represented by the draftees of their former regime than the average similarly situated NFL team 4 years out.

Damn. You're right about Tony G. I should edit that. Ce'st la vie.

In terms of the # of starter holdovers...

Let's compare to Tampa Bay. They changed over at the same time, right?

Jeremy Trueblood
Ronde Barber
Aquib Talib
Donald Penn
Davin Joseph
Jeremy Zuttah
Quincy Black

That's 7 starters, according to the Tampa Bay depth chart from their website, that were drafted by the previous regime.

Both franchises brought in a new GM, new HC, and new QB in 2009. Both teams went 10-6, then fired their head coach the next season.

Both teams return a starting CB, LT, and LB.

Tampa also cut ties with several other players from the past regime just before this year.

I'd say Chiefs are par for the course.

**RealSNR** · 08-09-2012, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

I dunno. It isn't really a credit to Pioli that he drafted Jake O'Connell ahead of Jovan Belcher.

Then it only further proves my point that whatever success Pioli has enjoyed in Kansas City can be chalked up to Carl Peterson's/Bill Kuharich's drafts

08-09-2012, 02:05 AM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2787187	Covitz: In second year, Jalil Brown turns a corner for the Chiefs In second year, Jalil Brown turns a corner for the Chiefs By RANDY COVITZ The Kansas City Star A year ago, Chiefs cornerback Jalil Brown wouldn’t have been ready for this. Because the lockout kept teams from holding offseason programs or minicamps, Brown, like most of last year’s rookies, was not prepared for the demands of an NFL training camp, much less seeing substantial playing time at the start of the preseason. But one year later, Brown is playing with confidence and moxie. A foot injury to Brandon Flowers early in camp elevated Brown to the starting left cornerback position. When Flowers lined up at left corner during the Tuesday morning walk-through, Brown slid over to right cornerback in place of Stanford Routt, a free-agent acquisition. But Flowers was back on the sidelines on Wednesday, so it appears Brown will start at left corner on Friday night in the preseason opener against Arizona. “Jalil has some flexibility,” head coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s made some plays in practice. We’ll probably roll him in just a little bit more so we can get a better look at him. I would have to say that what he’s done deserves more look. “He’s more confident because I think he understands the system. He understands what it takes to play the game. Last year, he didn’t really know what it took to play the game. I saw improvement toward the end of the year, particularly on special teams. That’s where his improvement showed up … his effort, his toughness, as well.” Brown, the Chiefs’ fourth-round pick from Colorado in 2011, discovered it took more than raw athletic ability to play cornerback in the NFL. “Last year, I didn’t realize it at the time, but without having the OTAs and minicamps, that definitely set me back a ton,” Brown said. “I didn’t realize how much I was at a disadvantage. “I had to learn how to be a professional going through the year, and going through OTAs, I learned what it takes to go in the training room and get ready and how to spend extra time in the film room.” Brown, who is from Phoenix, is especially looking forward to Friday night’s game against his hometown Cardinals. He matched up against Cardinals superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the teams’ joint practice on Tuesday and could be defending Fitzgerald on Friday, depending on how much the Arizona starters play. “When you go against a receiver of that caliber, you learn what you have to do to compete with him,” Brown said of Fitzgerald. “I’ll be ready to go. I know now the coaches have me playing both sides. They throw me in left or right, whichever will help the team, I’ll do it.” Fitzgerald took notice of Brown during Tuesday’s practice and was surprised to hear he had so little experience at the NFL level. “He’s in his second year?” Fitzgerald said. “He’s physical, he has good ball skills … he broke up a couple balls on me. He’s an impressive athlete.” Brown, 6-1, 204, honed his coverage skills at Colorado, facing the likes of Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin and Denario Alexander, Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant and Justin Blackmon, and Texas’ Jordan Shipley, among others. But at Colorado, he was the other corner. Most attention was focused on the Buffaloes’ Jimmy Smith, who was taken in the first round by Baltimore. That worked to Brown’s advantage. “We came in the same year, so we were competing since day one and working our way up to our senior year,” said Brown, who made 28 starts in his college career and intercepted six passes, including a team-high three in 2010. “It helped me to play with a little chip on my shoulder, because when we were playing, I was trying to be the best out there, and he was doing the same, so to see him get some recognition made me want to try harder, and that, in turn, helped me perform better and get some looks.” Brown appeared in 14 games as a rookie with the Chiefs last year and ranked second on the team with eight special-teams tackles, plus he recovered a fumble on a kickoff return against the Jets. “Early on, there’s no telling when you’re going to get out there on offense or defense as a rookie, so your first mark is to get out there on special teams, and that’s exactly what I was trying to do,” Brown said. “Fortunately for me, at the end of the season, I started to figure out things a little bit and started to come along. Special teams helped me perform better and get some confidence.” Brown also was a quick study behind Flowers and Brandon Carr, the Chiefs’ starter at right cornerback who signed with Dallas as an unrestricted free agent this year. “It was great to play behind them,” Brown said. “There were little small things I watched and learned from them, talked with them … little tips they gave me, how to align, how to stay square, how to play different receivers different ways. “You can’t go out there with the same technique against every guy because every technique has a weakness, so you have to have multiple (skills) to use against them.”
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