Bernard Pollard (1 Viewer)

[purplehaze67]

This is in today's "Sporting News Today". First I've heard of any discussion/speculation that KC might like to upgrade at SS or that Pollard is not on secure ground.

Morgan is having a strong camp. He is a big hitter who could replace Bernard Pollard as the starting strong safety.

Anyone know if there is any meat on this bone, or just idle speculation designed to fill column space?

 

[Jene Bramel]

This is in today's "Sporting News Today". First I've heard of any discussion/speculation that KC might like to upgrade at SS or that Pollard is not on secure ground.

Morgan is having a strong camp. He is a big hitter who could replace Bernard Pollard as the starting strong safety.

Anyone know if there is any meat on this bone, or just idle speculation designed to fill column space?

I don't think anybody is replacing Pollard on early downs. He's had some trouble taking angles to the ball, primarily in coverage, but was improving late last season. Morgan could force a rotation similar to what Greg Wesley had with Pollard and Jarrad Page in 2006, but I don't see that as an immediate problem.OOPS, edit to add a pretty important DON'T.

 

[derek245583]

Well that isnt good...I had big plans for Pollard.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

The Sporting News also said Ray Lewis might not be a 3 down LB. As with this, I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[PewterFan]

SN tends to fluff-piece everyone in their reports during training-camp and preseason. I wouldn't expect much from Morgan this year, but he's not a bad guy to stash away, if possible.

KC's other rookie DB, Brandon Flowers, is the guy I'd look to produce in '08. You can't go wrong with a starting rookie CB who can tackle.

 

[obxlegends]

Page has more to worry about than Pollard.

 

[The Jacket]

Page has more to worry about than Pollard.

Pollard didn't do much last year but importantly he got better as the season went on, not worse, and showed glimpses of being a good SS. Page, on the other hand, is mostly invisible. Now, I'll credit him with being solid in coverage which is why I don't see a lot of him, but at the same time he's never going to be a stud. They feel that Morgan could be. I don't disagree.

 

[purplehaze67]

It's in there again today

http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnews...id=yEiWuIXNkoiX

Page 12.

Three rookies could start in the secondary before the season is finished...The third rookie, S DaJuan Morgan, could join them [Flowers and Carr] in the lineup, replacing Bernard Pollard. Pollard is a fantastic special teams player but hasn't produced on defense. The coaches say Morgan has a chance to be a special player. He has shown a taste for the big hit. The fourth starting defensive back is third-year FS Jarrad Page, and his job is not in danger.

 

[Bob Magaw]

i wonder if it matters what part of sporting news coverage this comes from...

it would be nice if any KC homers could not only chime in directly about pollard, but about the reliability of whatever beat reporter covers them...

i follow the rams closely, & i can say unequivocally jim thomas who covers them for the SN is one of my most trusted (if not THE most) sources for STL news...

 

[Jene Bramel]

i wonder if it matters what part of sporting news coverage this comes from...it would be nice if any KC homers could not only chime in directly about pollard, but about the reliability of whatever beat reporter covers them...i follow the rams closely, & i can say unequivocally jim thomas who covers them for the SN is one of my most trusted (if not THE most) sources for STL news...

Adam Teicher is as good as anyone is Kansas City. None are particularly impressive, however. The Audible boys have a close relationship with Rhonda Moss, maybe she knows something...

 

[bcr8f]

From Teicher-

Chiefs’ day in camp: Rookies seeing time in secondary

Chiefs rookie Albert may be out for rest of training camp

Rookies in the secondary

The Chiefs had better buckle up if this happens, but they might have three rookies starting in the secondary at some point during the season.

They already have one rookie starting at defensive back, cornerback Brandon Flowers. He could be joined at some point by a second rookie corner, Brandon Carr. Carr is getting some of Patrick Surtain’s first-team snaps in training camp. That’s in part to help save wear and tear on Surtain’s 32-year-old legs, but also to help get Carr ready for a starting spot.

The third rookie, DaJuan Morgan, could join them as strong safety, replacing Bernard Pollard. The Chiefs think Morgan has a chance to be a special player.

The fourth starting defensive back, third-year free safety Jarrad Page, is in no danger of losing his job.

Adding a practice

The Chiefs were scheduled for a special-teams practice this morning and a regular practice tonight, but coach Herm Edwards added a regular morning session. The Chiefs were behind schedule after having a practice rained out on the first day of camp.

“It’s not going to be a long practice,” Edwards said. “Then the guys get to come back at night. We need the work. We missed the one (on the first day of camp). You’ve got to find a way to make it up, especially with all of these young guys. I think it will be good for them.”

The Chiefs have no practice scheduled for Sunday.

What you need to know about …

THE OFFENSE

Connor Barth made all three of his field-goal attempts from 40, 43 and 45 yards, and Nick Novak was two of three from the same distances. Novak missed his 43-yarder, but the snap was high and the timing was thrown off. … Herb Taylor started at left tackle in place of the injured Branden Albert. … Brodie Croyle completed three passes to Tony Gonzalez. He threw one into a tight spot when Gonzalez was well covered by Jarrad Page, but Gonzalez made the catch. … Halfback Jackie Battle didn’t practice because of general soreness after the session against Minnesota.

THE DEFENSE

Demorrio Williams started at outside linebacker in place of the injured Donnie Edwards. … Glenn Dorsey tried a bull rush twice against Brian Waters in a one-on-one drill. Dorsey got good push on the first play but Waters held his ground on another. … Alfonso Boone had been getting the better of Damion McIntosh in the same drill, but McIntosh held him off twice.

INJURY REPORT

Running back Kolby Smith (groin), wide receiver Kevin Robinson (knee), Albert (foot), defensive linemen T.J. Jackson (ankle) and Trevor Johnson (headaches) and Edwards (hamstring) did not practice. Cornerback Brandon Flowers (hip) was limited.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

The Chiefs will practice twice, once in the morning and again at night in the annual Family Fun Night.

| Adam Teicher, ateicher@kcstar.com

 

[Anthony Borbely]

From Teicher-

The third rookie, DaJuan Morgan, could join them as strong safety, replacing Bernard Pollard. The Chiefs think Morgan has a chance to be a special player.

The fourth starting defensive back, third-year free safety Jarrad Page, is in no danger of losing his job.

 

[Bob Magaw]

morgan was i think the consensus third best safety prospect in the 2008 draft class* (most scouts seemed to have kenny phillips at the top, but some had tyrell johnson)... with so many holes to fill, picking morgan was a real headscratcher for some, when they already had pollard & page... in retrospect, they must have really seen something in morgan, & it could speak to the coaching staff maybe being far more down on pollard than anybody realized...

that secondary will be REALLY young if they start flowers (a given), carr & morgan... but than they already knew they were blowing the team up the next few seasons...

* and pehaps there is a stigma attached to being third best in a class that was generally thought to be weak overall... but even if there wasn't a lot of quality depth at the position, it doesn't reflect on the top few prospects, & doesn't mean they can't be pretty good...

** oof, & i just turned in the faceoff upside on pollard (maybe the downside will need to be re-written )... seriously, the article doesn't say pollard has been replaced YET...

one of the questions with pollard is if he would be able to cover well enough... he is big & physical enough that he might be able to convert to WLB (but KC already has DJ & demorrio, & that is pretty speculative)...

 

[bcr8f]

From Warpaint Ill.

Since the early stages of OTAs I’ve been raving about the Chiefs young cornerbacks. Once in River Falls, you weren’t sure who was going to make the adjustments in shoulder pads, but if this defense is going to improve upon its rankings this year, it’ll be led by a couple of rookies.

We’ve touched on this topic often since the NFL Draft, but the job the ‘Brandon’ Boys are doing in the secondary still can’t be ignored. Before Saturday’s Family Fun Night practice, I ran into the Voice of the Kingdom, Mitch Holthus, and we started talking about the young corners.

We both agreed that Flowers is a player, and not only will he start in 2008 but he’ll make an impact. To me, Flowers just has the one thing you want from a starting shutdown corner - he loves contact.

Whether you play bump and run or zone, sooner or later you have to hit someone. Flowers loves to make contact and he loves to attack the ball. There isn’t any doubt he has the skill level to be one of the best corners in the AFC West Division. How long it takes to climb that mountain remains to be seen.

But so far, he’s backed down from nobody despite the fact he’s giving four or five inches in height to some of the receivers he’s facing in practice.

On the other side, Brandon Carr is head and shoulders above any of the nickel backs who have been on this football team in the last three or four years. In fact, he’s already making a push to become a starter. If not for the veteran savvy of Patrick Surtain, who is having a great camp, Carr would be lining up opposite Flowers in the season opener at New England.

Holthus told me that since day one of camp, Carr has wanted to match up with second-year receiver Dwayne Bowe every chance he gets. That tells me he wants to go up against the best of the best of the NFL.

In the deep secondary, third-round draft pick DaJuan Morgan has been pushing safety Bernard Pollard. Initially, the rookie had his number, but Pollard has turned it on the last several days and has drawn the praise of his defensive coordinator, Gunther Cunningham.

 

[bcr8f]

I have heard Pollard's coverage has improved lately,

From UWRiverFalls's TC coverage.

At 9:30 –about a half hour after practice began – linebacker Donnie Edwards came to the fields, wearing no pads. Edwards has sore hamstrings, and the coaching staff has decided to rest him a little.

The offense and defense met on practice field No. 1, and the defensive line worked on getting past the offensive line to block the field goal. On the opposite end of the field, the defensive backs and linebackers worked on the punt block.

When the team began 11-on-11, Head Coach Herm Edwards said it was too slippery on the north end, so everyone moved to the south end of practice field one to run the drill. Since defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey didn’t practice due to his injured knee, the first- string defensive line consisted of: Tamba Hali, defensive end; Brian Johnston, rookie defensive end; Tank Tyler, defensive tackle; and Ron Edwards, defensive tackle. Safety Bernard Pollard displayed some excellent coverage when he broke up quarterback Brodie Croyle’s pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez. Had the situation been game-speed, Hali would have recorded a sack on Croyle. Coach Edwards complimented rookie cornerback Brandon Carr after he showed some impressive coverage. “That’s the stuff. Good eyes, 3-9. Way to do your job,” he said. Rookie safety Khayyam Burns really showed up to play, having back-to-back “sacks” on both quarterbacks Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen.

The intensity of practice was pretty high for the defense. Their hitting seemed to be more hardcore than any other recent practice. Safety Bernard Pollard laid out rookie tight end Brad Cottam at midfield after Cottam missed a pass from quarterback Brodie Croyle. Later, safety DaJuan Morgan made a huge hit on wide receiver Bobby Sippio. The hit could be described as helmet-to-helmet contact. Sippio walked off the field looking a little shaken up.

 

[massraider]

This is a major red flag to me.

A player can be a good fantasy player, and be a bad real player. If Pollard's job is in jeopardy, he needs to get bumped way, way down draft boards.

Not that I think Pollard is a bad player. Too early to tell. But his rep was that of a thumper more than a coverage guy, and if his coverage is lacking, he could lose snaps, if not his job, to someone.

Hey, may just be training camp rookie hype as well.

 

[bcr8f]

Herm wants as much competition as he can get this year. He's manipulating the hell out of these players to make them better.

 

[Rozelle]

Haven't watched much KC football since Pollard has been around, I don't know what to think about this. When he came out of Purdue in '06, I really liked him, to read his SR now ... I wouldn't have been as high. PFW's Nolan Nawrocki said he has enough range to stick at safety, but that was 3 years ago, things were changing. In respect to his SR, Pollard had what many of us looked for in a SS back in 2006. But now, when I read things like ... some teams are thinking of convering him to WLB, I take it there are serious concerns about his coverage ability as a safety. Just my

 

[bcr8f]

From today and Warpaint Illustrated.

Bernard Pollard looks like he’s ready to silence all the doubters, myself included. Today he stuck to Tony Gonzalez like glue down by the goal line, and never gave Brodie Croyle an inch to throw the ball, slapping away a pass that probably shouldn’t have been thrown. Later, he delivered the hit of training camp, absolutely destroying tight end Brad Cottam when Croyle overthrew the 6-foot-8 tight end on an intermediate route over the middle of the field. Impressive, especially when you consider Cottam has a good 50 pounds on Pollard.

 

[Bizkiteer]

Know a guy that went to Purdue that knows him, said Pollard is an ###! This guy drafts boilermakers left & right, but won't touch him with a 10 foot pole. Not only being a jerk, but says he has no work ethic and thinks he's all that. Stated that he likes to line up big hits so much that he forgets assignments and other fundamentals to the game. Take it for what it's worth...

 

[Rozelle]

I read on one of the Chief’s message boards Pollard has been taking some snaps @ LB. I imagine the poster is going to TC and reporting in. I don’t know if it’s with the base defense, nickel package or what. Another person posted it was in the nickel. With Pollard playing LB in nickel, Morgan’s probably playing SS, maybe it's nothing more than this.

 

[massraider]

For where Pollard is being drafted, you don't want to have a guy that's even a question. Drafting Pollard, and having him benched, is like your 3rd WR getting cut.

 

[bcr8f]

Know a guy that went to Purdue that knows him, said Pollard is an ###! This guy drafts boilermakers left & right, but won't touch him with a 10 foot pole. Not only being a jerk, but says he has no work ethic and thinks he's all that. Stated that he likes to line up big hits so much that he forgets assignments and other fundamentals to the game. Take it for what it's worth...

When he was at Purdue he was benched his final year because he trash talked everyone including how own teammates. Threats of being benched for not learning may get through to him. From Warpaint Illustrated By Nick AthanWarpaint Illustrated PublisherPosted Aug 3, 2008In the deep secondary, third-round draft pick DaJuan Morgan has been pushing safety Bernard Pollard. Initially, the rookie had his number, but Pollard has turned it on the last several days and has drawn the praise of his defensive coordinator, Gunther Cunningham. Pollard has everything to be a great safety in this league. His problem has always been the angle he takes to the ball. If that can be corrected and the corners are indeed more physical when the real games begin, Pollard and fellow safety Jarrad Page can thrive.

 

[Bob Magaw]

this is a team without great depth at CB (two rookies may be starting, though at least in the case of flowers, i don't expect him to play like a rookie)...

a scenario in which morgan could see time without necessarily sending pollard to the bench is the use of more big nickle with three safeties (not sure if edwards has done this much in the past either with jets or chiefs)... that is a good formation to have if offenses opt to run out a spread formation on a possible pass play... the extra safety adds a little more size in run support, & if they aren't a liability in coverage (sounds like morgan has some skills there, whereas that isn't pollards strong suit), that can bring obviously desired flexibility in defending unknown pass/run situations on 3rd down...

 

[Biabreakable]

From Teicher-Halfback Jackie Battle didn’t practice because of general soreness after the session against Minnesota.

 

[money.never.sleeps]

Any news on Pollard?

I'm on the clock in league and he's on board. I could really use him but I wanna be certain. I read he's stepped up lately so hopefully continues.

 

[Rozelle]

Any news on Pollard?

I'm on the clock in league and he's on board. I could really use him but I wanna be certain. I read he's stepped up lately so hopefully continues.

I haven't heard any more, you may want to handcuff him with Morgan if you have room, just to be safe.

 

[Warpig]

Didn't really see Pollard stand out defensively against the Bears, but as usual with him, he damn near blocked a punt. He's certainly a ST standout.

 

[massraider]

I seem to remember reading Pollard had a tenuous hold on his position. Any KC homers have any news?

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I don't know what's up with this situation. I was watching closely last week to see how Morgan looked, and instead, I saw a lot of Jon McGraw

 

[Beaumont]

I don't know what's up with this situation. I was watching closely last week to see how Morgan looked, and instead, I saw a lot of Jon McGraw

McGraw came in at FS when Page was injured IIRC. I dont think KC trusts Morgan or Pollard at FS. I think Pollard still starts at SS with Morgan rotating in to keep him fresh.At least thats what I think.