A recent hot topic I’ve noticed among you PrideHeads on Twitter has been whether or not the Chiefs need to find a replacement for cornerback Phillip Gaines.
Shawn Barber and I discussed on Wednesday’s Arrowhead Pride Podcast. Our conversation:
Barber: “Personally, I haven’t seen anything that would make me think that there is going to be any change in what he does. His skillset is what it is, it’s kind of like a decision-making mechanism. He’s just not making the decisions you need a guy to make. We call it high-speed network. Some guys, they function on a high-speed network, they don’t need much time to make a decision.”
Pete Sweeney: “Like Marcus Peters?”
Barber: “Man, I don’t care when [Peters] sees the ball, if he sees it a half a second before it hits him, he’s going to still make the play. He doesn’t need a lot of time to get his body in position. He just makes plays.”
Sweeney: “OK, let me break this down. What you’re saying is Phillip Gaines is still on 56K while we got that high-speed internet on the other side.”
Barber: (laughs) “We have to find another guy like that, you know what I’m saying? (Terrance) Mitchell, (Kenneth) Acker and Gaines, all three guys, they’re good, quality cornerbacks, but there is something missing about being able to make the play, especially in big games and big plays, so unless they prove something here in the next few games—you have six weeks, you have the postseason—that’s still a lot of football left to show Brett Veach and the other guys in the scouting department that you’re worthy of being here next year. That’s what you need to be showing. You need to be showing not only the Chiefs, your teammates, but also the rest of the league that you’re able to be an NFL cornerback. That’s it. Simple.”
The full podcast with that conversation, a Bills preview and your Thanksgiving tweets is available here or by pressing play on the player below: