Coach
08-12-2006, 10:51 AM
Chiefs to take long look at rookie safeties
Training-camp stars Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page will get lots of playing time tonight
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
HOUSTON | Herm Edwards, the young players’ champion, has many baby-faced Chiefs he wants to get a look at in tonight’s preseason opener against the Texans at Reliant Stadium.
Rookie safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page — in some ways the sensations of training camp — might be at the very top of that list.
“Page and Pollard are obviously going to play more than our starters,” Edwards said. “Those poor guys are going to have to play for four quarters. They’re never going to take their helmets off except to rest, and they’re not going to get much rest. They know that.”
In that sense, tonight’s game should be a taste of things to come. It’s not difficult to envision Page and Pollard as the Chiefs’ eventual starting safeties.
The question is when. So far, they haven’t been able to beat out the incumbents, Greg Wesley and Sammy Knight.
But if they play in the preseason the way they have in training camp, that day can’t be far off, particularly given Edwards’ affinity for young players.
Page has been the defensive playmaker of camp by scooting all over the field to intercept or break up passes. Pollard has shown a taste for physical play, something the Chiefs believed they lacked in their secondary.
“(Page) is out here making plays,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “Bernard’s out here making plays.
“But I’ve been around this game long enough that I’ve seen guys come in and light it up in practice. They look good in shorts and even in pads out here, but as soon as the lights come on and they start selling popcorn and hot dogs, it’s a different story. We’ll see how it goes in these preseason games.”
The Chiefs suspect that the rookie safeties are the real thing. Both players showed signs of it during offseason practice in Kansas City, so they aren’t completely surprised that they are pushing for playing time.
“I’ve never seen a safety have seven interceptions (in training camp) like Jarrad Page has had,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “The things he has are range and instinct. I think it’s probably his baseball background. He plays it like a center fielder. He really breaks on deep balls.”
Page was an afterthought at the draft, a seventh-round pick and the second of the two safeties drafted by the Chiefs. But he is not only pushing for a starting safety spot, but also playing in the nickel and dime defenses.
The question he hears from everyone now: Why were you a seventh-round pick?
“I think everybody on the team has asked me that,” he said. “I really don’t have an answer for them. All I can do is just go play and try to take advantage of the situation I’m in.”
Page was about 15 pounds heavier at this year’s scouting combine than the 225 pounds he’s playing at now. He was also a baseball player at UCLA and was drafted three times, mostly recently this year by the Angels.
Some teams may have believed Page preferred baseball.
“I definitely talked to the Angels (about a contract),” Page said. “It just turned out that football was the way I want to go. It’s possible to play both. I discussed that with the Chiefs. It was difficult in college and I know it would be even tougher as a professional. I’m not planning on (playing baseball).”
Pollard was the Chiefs’ second-round pick, so the immediate expectations for him were higher.
The Chiefs knew from watching him play at Purdue that he could hit, but they like the way the rest of his game is developing.
“Bernard Pollard is looking forward to this game,” Cunningham said. “He’s like a caged lion out there. You can’t really hit people on your own team like he likes to hit people. I hope he gets a couple of those opportunities.”
Pollard said his goal tonight is show that he can do more than just hit.
“If I’m going to play, I need to do a lot more than that,” he said. “I want to show my coach and my teammates I can be an all-round safety.”
Page and Pollard met at the combine and became friends there. They were inseparable at training camp. If one was heading into the dining hall at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a meal, the other was there with him.
“When the Chiefs called my name and then they called his name,” Pollard said, “I just knew it was going to be a good friendship.”
Soon to be a partnership, apparently.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battle released
The Chiefs gave up on former third-round draft pick Julian Battle when they gave the three-year cornerback his release.
His departure thins the group of players vying to be the spare cornerbacks. Benny Sapp has one spot secured behind starters Patrick Surtain and Ty Law. Veteran Chris Johnson and rookie Marcus Maxey are among the cornerbacks who could benefit from Battle’s release.
Another veteran, Lenny Walls, figured to be part of the competition but hasn’t practiced since the early days of camp because of a sore hamstring and won’t play tonight.
Battle never delivered on the potential the Chiefs thought they saw when they drafted him in 2003. He wound up starting only one game and missed last season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15256544.htm
Training-camp stars Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page will get lots of playing time tonight
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
HOUSTON | Herm Edwards, the young players’ champion, has many baby-faced Chiefs he wants to get a look at in tonight’s preseason opener against the Texans at Reliant Stadium.
Rookie safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page — in some ways the sensations of training camp — might be at the very top of that list.
“Page and Pollard are obviously going to play more than our starters,” Edwards said. “Those poor guys are going to have to play for four quarters. They’re never going to take their helmets off except to rest, and they’re not going to get much rest. They know that.”
In that sense, tonight’s game should be a taste of things to come. It’s not difficult to envision Page and Pollard as the Chiefs’ eventual starting safeties.
The question is when. So far, they haven’t been able to beat out the incumbents, Greg Wesley and Sammy Knight.
But if they play in the preseason the way they have in training camp, that day can’t be far off, particularly given Edwards’ affinity for young players.
Page has been the defensive playmaker of camp by scooting all over the field to intercept or break up passes. Pollard has shown a taste for physical play, something the Chiefs believed they lacked in their secondary.
“(Page) is out here making plays,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “Bernard’s out here making plays.
“But I’ve been around this game long enough that I’ve seen guys come in and light it up in practice. They look good in shorts and even in pads out here, but as soon as the lights come on and they start selling popcorn and hot dogs, it’s a different story. We’ll see how it goes in these preseason games.”
The Chiefs suspect that the rookie safeties are the real thing. Both players showed signs of it during offseason practice in Kansas City, so they aren’t completely surprised that they are pushing for playing time.
“I’ve never seen a safety have seven interceptions (in training camp) like Jarrad Page has had,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “The things he has are range and instinct. I think it’s probably his baseball background. He plays it like a center fielder. He really breaks on deep balls.”
Page was an afterthought at the draft, a seventh-round pick and the second of the two safeties drafted by the Chiefs. But he is not only pushing for a starting safety spot, but also playing in the nickel and dime defenses.
The question he hears from everyone now: Why were you a seventh-round pick?
“I think everybody on the team has asked me that,” he said. “I really don’t have an answer for them. All I can do is just go play and try to take advantage of the situation I’m in.”
Page was about 15 pounds heavier at this year’s scouting combine than the 225 pounds he’s playing at now. He was also a baseball player at UCLA and was drafted three times, mostly recently this year by the Angels.
Some teams may have believed Page preferred baseball.
“I definitely talked to the Angels (about a contract),” Page said. “It just turned out that football was the way I want to go. It’s possible to play both. I discussed that with the Chiefs. It was difficult in college and I know it would be even tougher as a professional. I’m not planning on (playing baseball).”
Pollard was the Chiefs’ second-round pick, so the immediate expectations for him were higher.
The Chiefs knew from watching him play at Purdue that he could hit, but they like the way the rest of his game is developing.
“Bernard Pollard is looking forward to this game,” Cunningham said. “He’s like a caged lion out there. You can’t really hit people on your own team like he likes to hit people. I hope he gets a couple of those opportunities.”
Pollard said his goal tonight is show that he can do more than just hit.
“If I’m going to play, I need to do a lot more than that,” he said. “I want to show my coach and my teammates I can be an all-round safety.”
Page and Pollard met at the combine and became friends there. They were inseparable at training camp. If one was heading into the dining hall at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a meal, the other was there with him.
“When the Chiefs called my name and then they called his name,” Pollard said, “I just knew it was going to be a good friendship.”
Soon to be a partnership, apparently.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battle released
The Chiefs gave up on former third-round draft pick Julian Battle when they gave the three-year cornerback his release.
His departure thins the group of players vying to be the spare cornerbacks. Benny Sapp has one spot secured behind starters Patrick Surtain and Ty Law. Veteran Chris Johnson and rookie Marcus Maxey are among the cornerbacks who could benefit from Battle’s release.
Another veteran, Lenny Walls, figured to be part of the competition but hasn’t practiced since the early days of camp because of a sore hamstring and won’t play tonight.
Battle never delivered on the potential the Chiefs thought they saw when they drafted him in 2003. He wound up starting only one game and missed last season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15256544.htm