Baltimore View Of New KC Chiefs NT Kelly Gregg

I think a good sign that you've picked up a good player is when the fans of his previous team are upset that he's leaving. That's the case with former Baltimore Ravens NT Kelly Gregg as some folks in Baltimore haven't been too happy with GM Ozzie Newsome releasing players like him (and WR Derrick Mason...and TE Todd Heap)

Nestor Apiricio, reporter from WNST in Baltimore, talked with Danny Parkins on 610 Sports about the Gregg signing Saturday afternoon and provided a lot of good tidbits on the new Chief.

The highlights: he's definitely the type of guy to step in and mentor younger players like NT Jerrell Powe; he understands defenses as well as anyone in the league; biggest question is how much he has left.

I pulled out a few quotes that caught my eye but the entire interview is worth listening to in order to get a better idea of who Gregg is:

-"I know a ton about Kelly and I spent a lot of time with Mike Pettine, the Jets defensive coordinator, and Rex Ryan. I'll never forget when Rex Ryan told me about Kelly Gregg. It was 9/11 week 10 years ago and I was out on the West coast and all the flights were down so the Ravens let me ride back on their charter. On the bus ride in Denver to the airport, it's like an hour ride and I sat on the bus next to Rex and I'll never forget...Rex spent 30 minutes on the bus telling me what a great player Kelly Gregg was going to be."

-"Incredible film study guy. Pettine and Ryan would always tell me that he knew every formation, where to line guys up, tendencies, what quarterbacks and running backs were going to be doing, what tight ends moving at the line of scrimmage meant...he's a wise guy in that way."

-"I think he was Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine's favorite guy, maybe of all-time."

-"I don't think he's an elite player anymore. If it's a situational thing, I'm fine with it. I don't know if he'll be a premier tackle at this point in his career. He's not Haloti Ngata, let's put it that way."

"I don't think there's any doubt that when they sit down and talked to Kelly Gregg about coming to Kansas City they said to him, 'Are you willing to help these young guys?' And I guarantee you, Kelly Gregg said, 'i'm willing to do whatever you want me to do.' That's just who he is. You're looking for a mentor in that position, yes, the guy knows the game as well as anyone could possibly know it. That was part of his leverage -- he knew which way plays were going, he knew tendencies of what centers and guards were going to do, and how to attack 365 pound centers, he knew how to attack wide guards in this league and he was never, ever the bigger guy in the matchup. "