Chiefs' Pollard: 'This is going to be a different defense'

Over at the mothership, Jonathan Rand has a nice article on the Kansas City Chiefs secondary.  Continuity (Thanks, Herm) is the key word here as the secondary has been lining up in OTAs the same as they were when they ended 2008.  

The two Brandons, Flowers and Carr, are manning the corners while Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page are the safeties.  Here's how the rest of the roster shakes out by round drafted:

Rand uses the old line, "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it" when it comes to the secondary.  Rarely does a unit, like the Chiefs secondary, get to grow up together in the NFL.  

Bernard Pollard said he is ready to learn one defense together for consecutive years.

For three years we were always playing a cover two defense and a couple of other things and we never got really good at one thing."

Herm Edwards' cover two defense was usually described as a bend but don't break coverage.  Don't get beat deep and funnel everything to the middle so players like Pollard can make them pay.

Guys are excited. Our coach is setting us up to make plays – we’re not just sitting back and waiting. This is going to be a different defense. It’s going to be fun.

If (big if) the new 3-4 alignment can create pressure at the point of attack then it will open up even more holes for an already precocious secondary.  The Chiefs finished the season with 13 interceptions.  Page was the team leader with four.

What's amazing about the secondary last season is that they played well considering all the pressure that was on them.  Four of the five leading tacklers were from the secondary, which was expected when you have the 3rd worst rush defense in the NFL.

The way it appears now, the starting secondary will be unchanged from 2008.  But if Donald Washington turns out to live up to his perceived potential, the Chiefs could be facing a good problem - finding a way to get all the talent on the field.