There are not very many players just coming into the league that to many are in the top 5 at their respective position.  This includes fans, media, coaches, and other players perspective.  We have a very special player on our hands in Eric Berry.  He is a very smart kid that has freakish athletic ability.  Todd Haley said that he played the most snaps by any other Chief player by far.  That tells me a lot about his character and dedication.

Eric Berry has already been compared to in my opinion one of the best safeties to every play the game--Ed Reed.  I can honestly see a playing style that is very similar.  I'm not saying that after one year we can reasonably expect or assume that Berry will ever do what Reed has done in this league.  I am saying that they both had very similar rookie years in the NFL.

Seriously, Chiefsfan85?  Yes, seriously and I done some research that you guys might like.  This is all subjective but I promise you all very fun to learn about.  I will first start with Ed Reed then move on to Eric Berry.

Ed Reed came into the league in 2002 from Miami.  He stands around 5ft 11 and was around 200lbs.  It was at a time where safeties weren't drafted very high although he was drafted in the 1st round--24th overall by the Baltimore Ravens.

Eric Berry came into the league this last year in 2010 from Tennessee.  He stands around 5ft 11 and is about 210lbs.  We all know the story of how Berry came to us high in the draft last year so no need to beat a dead horse.

Here are some base stats for comparing how similar both players were their rookie years.

I notice right of the bat the both players were expected to start right away and be thrown into the game.  I also notice that in every category every number just about matches.  Is that a reason to be excited?  Didn't Berry play against some soft offenses though?  Doesn't better have a better secondary around him?  All Good questions and please follow along.

In 2002 there were a few things different in the NFL rules wise than there are today.  However, the object still remains to stop the other players from scoring--on defense at least.  Ed Reed is a "ball hawk" and it was apparent that was his forte since his rookie year.  Who did the Ravens have around him his rookie year in the secondary?

At FS for 10 games started there was Will Demps who in 7 years had 2 more INT's than Reed had his rookie year.  So you get the point about him.  The other 6 games at FS there was Anthony MItchell who in 6 years really didn't do anything in the league.  At LCB for 12 games was Chris McAlister who in 11 years was actually a pretty good CB in the league.  Some of you actually might know who he is.  At LCB for the other 4 games was Alvin Porter who only played 3 years.  Then at starting RCB there was Gary Baxter who was ok at the position.  So outside of McAlister there wasn't much help for Reed his rookie year.  The team went 7 and 9 in 2002.  The defense was a pretty dull 19th in points allowed that same year.

Let's just see the world beaters on offense that Reed had to try and help to defend.

I have each team that the Ravens faced that year with the rank each team was on offense--total yards/game.  There could be a million ways to break an offense down but I feel as yards/game would be the best indicator of how high powered an offense was.  I averaged it out and the average offense that Ed Reed and the Ravens faced was 18th.  That is not bad by any means but far from a lights out offensive schedule.

Eric Berry on the other had actually had some help in the secondary.  I'm not going to school you guys because you already know who was in the secondary helping Berry out.  A lot of people said that we had a soft schedule this last year.  Let's take a look!

I averaged out the schedule same as I did with the Ravens in 2002.  It came to 16th in yards/game.  So It is pretty much the same offensive wise as what the Ravens had in 2002.  It helps the Chiefs out a bit to play Chargers twice which were just deadly offensively last year.  So in all honesty there wasn't a distinct advantage of playing weaker teams for both players.

There are other factors to take in such as coverage, thrown at, receptions allowed and what not.  This wasn't meant to be a full breakdown but perhaps just one way of looking at things.

Hopefully, Berry can stay in the league long enough to just come close to Reed's numbers.  If he can stay healthy then I'm not sure if that will become a problem for the young man.  Reed is a master of the film and tricking QB's if you will into throwing to an "open" man.  Berry has followed in Reed's path to studying the game.

What should we expect from Berry these next couple of years?  Reed had 16 INT's in his second and third year combined.  I'll be happy with just half that production.  Will you?