Bernard Pollard..... (1 Viewer)

[jgb95]

Is Bernard any closer to grabbing the starting SS job in KC?

July 21, 2006, 15:14

Chiefs :: DB

Chiefs Sign 2nd Rounder SS Pollard

The Kansas City Chiefs on Friday reached a contract agreement with second-round draft choice Bernard Pollard, a safety from Purdue. The 54th player chosen overall, Pollard will sign a four-year contract worth about $3 million. The deal includes $1.3 million-$1.4 million in guarantees and minimum base salaries. A big-hitting strong safety, Pollard impressed the Kansas City coaches in spring workouts and could push veteran Sammy Knight for the starting job in training camp.

 

[massraider]

I've just been doing some research on this guy.

From Jason Whitlock:

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/s...fs/15208307.htm

Given the importance of safety play in the Cover 2 scheme, this is a crazy statement: Rookies Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page could be KC’s starting safeties by November.

Edwards and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham are not trying to motivate incumbents Sammy Knight and Greg Wesley by hyping the Chiefs’ rookie safeties.

The coaches like Knight’s veteran savvy. They’re just concerned he doesn’t have the foot speed to stop receivers from getting behind him. All of KC’s linebackers and corners can outrun Knight.

Wesley’s problem is he’s lost the thirst to be a headhunter. Pollard and Page can run and they love to hit. That combination might get them in the lineup together way ahead of schedule.

This is a homerific report from the recent Vikings scrimmage (taken from the forums at chiefscoalition.com):

Let's just say that the future at safety for the Chiefs looks pretty impressive. In fact, it looks delicious!!! Page and Pollard... Pollard and Page... whatever you want to call them, those guys can play football. Both are faster and more athletic than Wesley and Knight. All they need is experience.

Here's the deal. Pollard loves to knock a sucka out!!! The Vikings hit their running back with a pass in the flats in front of Pollard. Pollard then came up and met the running back, not where he was, but at the point where he was going. BAM!!! The running back went one way and the ball the other way.

As for Page, this guy is sooooo athletic, he could actually play corner. I kept seeing #44 getting busy in the one-on-one drills with the Vikings wide receivers, and said who is that?

I kept forgetting the names and numbers, because I'm watching so many players, so I checked my roster and I was like "ohhh snap". Page is on!!! The Chiefs moved him around between corner and safety. He's athletic and can hit, the same as Pollard.

My gut feeling? Knight starts the season at SS. What happens after that is anyone's guess, but Knight's lack of speed, and Edwards' willingness to play youngsters bodes well. You really want to get excited? See what Kerry Rhodes did under Edwars last year.

It also seems that Page might be a decent deep sleeper. I have read that Wesley has not had a fantastic camp.

 

[cr8f]

Musings from up north

JASON WHITLOCK

The Kansas City Star

Here are my final thoughts on Chiefs training camp:

•Given the importance of safety play in the Cover 2 scheme, this is a crazy statement: Rookies Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page could be KC’s starting safeties by November.

Edwards and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham are not trying to motivate incumbents Sammy Knight and Greg Wesley by hyping the Chiefs’ rookie safeties.

The coaches like Knight’s veteran savvy. They’re just concerned he doesn’t have the foot speed to stop receivers from getting behind him. All of KC’s linebackers and corners can outrun Knight.

Wesley’s problem is he’s lost the thirst to be a headhunter. Pollard and Page can run and they love to hit. That combination might get them in the lineup together way ahead of schedule.

•Everyone’s worried about KC’s new offensive tackles. I’m concerned about KC’s old offensive guards. Brian Waters and Will Shields, the best guard combo in the league, might start the season slowly because they won’t get enough practice time working with the new OTs.

Playing offensive line is like synchronized swimming. You can’t practice by yourself and get good. You have to work together as a unit. It’s different from a receiver or corner missing practice time.

•New running back Michael Bennett scored major points with the local media by politely answering questions and saying “thank you” at the conclusion of his mini press conference the day after signing.

The dude came across like one of the nicest people on earth. When he walked away, several reporters commented on his demeanor. We’re easy to impress. Athletes should remember that. It doesn’t take a whole lot to get us to sing your praises.

•If KC’s defensive tackles do anything, Kawika Mitchell will put together a Pro Bowl-type season. He might not earn a trip to Honolulu because he lacks the necessary reputation.

Derrick Johnson should have a great season, too.

 

[jgb95]

any new info out there? I know Page is tearing things up in camp.

 

[cr8f]

any new info out there? I know Page is tearing things up in camp.

Carl Peterson said he likes to smack people.

 

[Toads]

Pollard would have really benefited $ wise by staying at Purdue for his Senior year....would have been a top 15 choice, made a lot of dough.

Sammy Knight has no problem supporting the run, he's one, if not the, best in the NFL. Knight's problem is that the DT's are so weak, and the MLB's so weak, that he's called on to make tackles in the secondary. This makes him vulnerable in the deep/medium passing game.

The smarts that Knight shows are legendary....he's usually in the right place in the running game, and the short passing game, but he does so at the expense of the deep/medium passing game.

So....back to Pollard, who "smacks people" but is basically young and real green when it comes to smarts. It's not Pollard vs. Knight in the short term, it's Pollard taking over for Knight in the long run, and when he's ready.

In either instance, if the DT's can't defeat their blocks in the running game, and the MLB can't defeat his blockers because he's not being protected by the DT's , it's a moot point. Either Knight, or Pollard, are supporting the run game at the expense of the medium/deep passing game. Both Knight and Pollard will have the same liability, it's just that Pollard will be fooled more often than Knight untill he gets the experience.

It's not Knight vs. Pollard....it's the run safety getting killed in the secondary responsibility of his position (pass support) because the DT/DL is so weak in run support.

In layman's terms, the run safety is getting sucked up into the run game at the expense of the passing DEF in KC because the guys in front of him suck.

 

[No. 16]

Pollard would have really benefited $ wise by staying at Purdue for his Senior year....would have been a top 15 choice, made a lot of dough.

Sammy Knight has no problem supporting the run, he's one, if not the, best in the NFL. Knight's problem is that the DT's are so weak, and the MLB's so weak, that he's called on to make tackles in the secondary. This makes him vulnerable in the deep/medium passing game.

The smarts that Knight shows are legendary....he's usually in the right place in the running game, and the short passing game, but he does so at the expense of the deep/medium passing game.

So....back to Pollard, who "smacks people" but is basically young and real green when it comes to smarts. It's not Pollard vs. Knight in the short term, it's Pollard taking over for Knight in the long run, and when he's ready.

In either instance, if the DT's can't defeat their blocks in the running game, and the MLB can't defeat his blockers because he's not being protected by the DT's , it's a moot point. Either Knight, or Pollard, are supporting the run game at the expense of the medium/deep passing game. Both Knight and Pollard will have the same liability, it's just that Pollard will be fooled more often than Knight untill he gets the experience.

It's not Knight vs. Pollard....it's the run safety getting killed in the secondary responsibility of his position (pass support) because the DT/DL is so weak in run support.

In layman's terms, the run safety is getting sucked up into the run game at the expense of the passing DEF in KC because the guys in front of him suck.

Isn't this a good thing for Knight's FF value...

 

[cr8f]

Pollard would have really benefited $ wise by staying at Purdue for his Senior year....would have been a top 15 choice, made a lot of dough.

Not after his run in and suspension last year for trash talking. He did it all the time even at practice. It was time to go.Pollard, a junior, was suspended from Purdue football practice for three days when he refused to tone it down during workouts this week, despite being warned by Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller.

"When they blow the whistle, you get lined up and get back in the huddle," Tiller said. "He won't let (the trash-talking) go and that was carrying it too far."

Several members of the Purdue coaching staff urged Pollard -- who couldn't be reached for comment -- to settle down during a scrimmage, telling him such actions during a game would earn a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

An incensed Tiller later told him to leave the field. Some of Pollard's teammates pleaded with him to settle down, but he kept looking over his shoulder as he left and exchanged words with Tiller, who followed him off the field.

As Pollard kept talking, Tiller kept adding days to his suspension.

"I intentionally followed him because I wanted to find out at what point he would get to the realization this was real," Tiller said.

I wish someone had video of this. I can just see Pollard storming off with Tiller in tow adding suspension days. I've seen it plenty of times at the grocery store or mall, with mothers shepherding their kids out to the car for a spanking.

It should be noted that Pollard was heard to say that he wanted a release from his Purdue scholarship. The coaches are saying that was just in frustration, and I can totally understand that, but you have to wonder what ripple effects might come from this incident.

 

[Toads]

Pollard would have really benefited $ wise by staying at Purdue for his Senior year....would have been a top 15 choice, made a lot of dough.

Not after his run in and suspension last year for trash talking. He did it all the time even at practice. It was time to go.Pollard, a junior, was suspended from Purdue football practice for three days when he refused to tone it down during workouts this week, despite being warned by Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller.

"When they blow the whistle, you get lined up and get back in the huddle," Tiller said. "He won't let (the trash-talking) go and that was carrying it too far."

Several members of the Purdue coaching staff urged Pollard -- who couldn't be reached for comment -- to settle down during a scrimmage, telling him such actions during a game would earn a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

An incensed Tiller later told him to leave the field. Some of Pollard's teammates pleaded with him to settle down, but he kept looking over his shoulder as he left and exchanged words with Tiller, who followed him off the field.

As Pollard kept talking, Tiller kept adding days to his suspension.

"I intentionally followed him because I wanted to find out at what point he would get to the realization this was real," Tiller said.

I wish someone had video of this. I can just see Pollard storming off with Tiller in tow adding suspension days. I've seen it plenty of times at the grocery store or mall, with mothers shepherding their kids out to the car for a spanking.

It should be noted that Pollard was heard to say that he wanted a release from his Purdue scholarship. The coaches are saying that was just in frustration, and I can totally understand that, but you have to wonder what ripple effects might come from this incident.

You have some details that I wasn't privy to. I just knew that he had a discipline problem at Purdue but didn't know about this incident.When you couple this with the reply above....that Knight's value increases, it still comes back to a Pollard thread and at what point Pollard takes over for Knight, which is the same idea that Knight has lost a step and that Pollard steps in soon.

Knight was an un-drafted FA in '97, so that makes him what, nine years in the league. On 9/10/06 he'll be 31 years old. He's got some tread left but he's also got a large cap number.

So, you couple Pollard's growth curve and Knights salary/mileage curve and you get, baring injury, that Knight moves on in '07 and Pollard steps into his shoes at that time.

How much value does Pollard have as a run safety? He'll be good against the run and have a more difficult time against the passing game as he'll have a tendency to be vulnerable in the deep/medium passing game for the same reasons that Knight is vulnerable. But....he'll not have the smarts that Knight gained over his ten year career and he'll, at least initially, get burned deep/medium more often than Knight gets burned....which is quite a bit.

Back to layman's terms: Knight, and potentially Pollard, have high Fantasy value cause they make a lot of tackles at the expense of the passing game. Pollard has little value this year, except in dynasty scenarios where he's a starter in year #2.

 

[brakeyawself]

Any new news on Pollard or Page in KC?

 

[cr8f]

You have some details that I wasn't privy to. I just knew that he had a discipline problem at Purdue but didn't know about this incident.

When you couple this with the reply above....that Knight's value increases, it still comes back to a Pollard thread and at what point Pollard takes over for Knight, which is the same idea that Knight has lost a step and that Pollard steps in soon.

Knight was an un-drafted FA in '97, so that makes him what, nine years in the league. On 9/10/06 he'll be 31 years old. He's got some tread left but he's also got a large cap number.

So, you couple Pollard's growth curve and Knights salary/mileage curve and you get, baring injury, that Knight moves on in '07 and Pollard steps into his shoes at that time.

How much value does Pollard have as a run safety? He'll be good against the run and have a more difficult time against the passing game as he'll have a tendency to be vulnerable in the deep/medium passing game for the same reasons that Knight is vulnerable. But....he'll not have the smarts that Knight gained over his ten year career and he'll, at least initially, get burned deep/medium more often than Knight gets burned....which is quite a bit.

Back to layman's terms: Knight, and potentially Pollard, have high Fantasy value cause they make a lot of tackles at the expense of the passing game. Pollard has little value this year, except in dynasty scenarios where he's a starter in year #2.

Enter potential FS Page. He is an intriguing prospect intercepting what 7 balls at TC.