A few weeks ago, I talked about the Texans rookie cornerback Kareem Jackson. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak had talked about the Nick Saban influence regarding Jackson's pro-readiness. From that, I said we might be able to count on Chiefs rookie (and former Alabama corner) Javier Arenas to pick things up quickly.
Working as the primary nickelback, I've noticed that Arenas seems to "get it" pretty early on. He's solid in coverage, well-spoken and just overall seems to be a veteran, not a rookie.
Prior obligations kept me from attending the Chiefs afternoon practice but Bob Gretz of BobGretz.com passes along this note about Arenas in the second practice today:
Rookie CB Arenas had a big day in coverage, knocking down several passes as he worked as both the nickel back and on the left corner. At one point, head coach Todd Haley could be heard telling his defense: "Don’t let No. 30 make all the plays."
As I've said before, the Chiefs understand that the NFL is shifting to a passing league. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers....a whole bunch of quarterbacks who are changing the way the game is played.
The Chiefs obviously thought about this and early reports indicate that they picked up the right guy.