Chiefs Cut Bernard Pollard, I Cut My Wrists
Chiefs fans, say goodbye to No. 49.
Can Bernard Pollard be a bit too chippy at times? Sure. Does he miss a tackle going for the knockout punch every once in a while? Yes. Regardless, I think it’s downright foolish to cut the player who was our defensive MVP last season as he enters just his fourth year. Good thing I didn’t buy Bernard Pollard’s jersey like I had planned.
I knew the writing was on the wall for Zach Thomas. He’s an old, crippled man, and Corey Mays makes him expendable.
I knew the writing was on the wall for Ashley Lelie. Sure, he made a few grabs against second- and third-teamers, but nothing to warrant one of 53 roster spots.
But Bernard Pollard? This is the first big mistake of the Pioli Trinity era. Granted, we had five talented safeties, and it was the deepest position on the roster. My problem is, we just cut the most talented one. He fit so well in that young secondray. This is just madness. Madness, I tell you.
Jon McGraw was obviously kept for special teams and leadership purposes. Can’t disagree there.
Jarrad Page was kept because of his youth and potential.
But Mike Brown? The guy is old and gimpy. DaJaun Morgan? He’s had one good game as a Chief, and it was the last game. Hell, he didn’t even start. And what about Tyler Thigpen? Captain INT gets to keep his job? Derrick Johnson, the laziest, softest linebacker to wear the red and gold in recent memory gets to keep his Arrowhead, too?
The Chiefs aren’t thinking straight. The only possible explanation which makes any sense whatsoever to me is that Pollard must have really pissed Todd Haley off. Hopefully, there is something behind the scenes we don’t know about, because the skirmishes and yapping we heard about didn’t warrant a pink slip. Maybe Haley wanted to make the statement that “you will respect his authority?” I was hoping that statement would be made on Derrick “Patty Cake” Johnson. Guess not.
Remember when John Tait walked away? Joe Horn? I hope those painful memories are fresh, because I don’t want it to sting too bad when Pollard becomes a stud for some other NFL team. I just hope he doesn’t end up in the AFC West. That would be an absolute nightmare. Having a guy like the Bonecrusher extra motivated to stick it to us twice a year? Ugh, no thank you.
You’ll be missed, B.P. I hope you land on your feet, just not at our expense. In the meantime, it’s time for Scott Pioli to go sign a Courtney Taylor or Alex Smith. This offense needs targets, and it needs them bad. We better sign some hogs, too. I’m off to pour out some liquor for my fallen homey…
Addicts, sound off on the shocking news of Pollard’s dismissal…
Adam there is always something more going on behind the scenes. Wonder what it is? In the mean time this season has just been sacrificed. I sure hope Matt makes it through the season alive.
September 6th, 2009 at 12:29 amHe missed more tackles than he made big hits,
He was exciting to watch, and all too often we watched him get burned.
We tried to trade him as a last resort…no takers.
That says something and Pioli is saying something…
No One Is Safe.
PS
September 6th, 2009 at 12:59 amGood Freakin Riddance Sackintosh
Yeah, I’m with Eric Crane.
The Pollard cut is in agreement with what my eyes have been telling me. Ricardo Colclough got his hands on a lot of balls in practice. Was somewhat of a surprise to make the cut. Washington is going to push Flowers and Carr and Leggett and Brown and… for playing time.
Now I’m waitin’ to see if my man McBride survives when they’re done clearin’ roster spots for all the players they bring in this week.
September 6th, 2009 at 6:58 amDefinately the right move here.
He missed too many tackles and never lived up to his draft position or his “bonecrusher” nickname…
The guy can dance though I must admit.
I think other guys they’re looking at are Tyler, Mcbride, and DJ. Face it, no more yo yo guys..
Entertaining characters we don’t need.
Superbowl or bust!
September 6th, 2009 at 7:15 amI loved watching BP give whoever had the ball something to think about. I hope he does well elsewhere in the league. A lot has changed and I’m curious to see who they bring in next. I think DJ stays, Thigpen too. Why did they go for Javaris Williams instead of drafting an OL? I didn’t understand that then, I still don’t get it now. Not ready to write this season off just yet, but I’m not high on hope.
Mills good to see ya back, been awhile.
September 6th, 2009 at 9:38 amIS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN HAVE AN EFFECTIVE OFFENSIVE LINE THIS YEAR?
September 6th, 2009 at 10:37 amAdam:
I agree. I don’t understand the release of Pollard. I hope this isn’t because of a pissing contest.
September 6th, 2009 at 10:49 amTHE MIGHTY HALEY HAS SPOKEN AND YOU WILL OBEY! I am almost certain its because of his lack of consistensy in pass coverage. He hits hard, but that does us NO good if he whiffs on easy tackles. I personally think this is a bad idea and if I were Denver, Oakland or even San Diego, I would pick him up just to dust our QB twice a year.
As for DJ. He is here based on his flashes of talent. He can tackle, but If you noticed he is listed #3 on the depth chart. I think Haley is sending the same exact message to him that Bowe got. Put up or shut up. Either DJ makes a move to get the spot back or I could see him getting cut later for an OL to come in.
September 6th, 2009 at 11:19 amHere’s my take -
Just as Gonzalez represented the incumbent, defacto leader of the legacy offense, Pollard was that for the legacy defense. This to me is just yet another indication that Pioli and Haley are going to do whatever they feel it takes to cut any and all ties to the former regime and beheading its field generals sends an unmistakable message to the troops. Talent, star power, playmaking ability are not part of their formula unless you fit with what Pioli envision for this team. The coup continues.
That said, as much as Pollard was a play maker, he was perhaps just as much a play misser. That kind of inconsistency will inevitably hurt you. As much as I enjoyed watching Pollard block punts and make big hits, I like what we have even without him so I’m ready to move on. I just wished we could have gotten something for him. Once upon a time, he was a 2nd rounder.
September 6th, 2009 at 11:20 amI still expect to us bring in another OL or two. I imagine we’ll let go of at least one of the QBs to accomodate the move.
September 6th, 2009 at 11:24 amHOLY CRAP!!! Did you guys see that Richard Seymour got traded to the freaking raiders for a #1 in 2011?!!!! We are so screwed.
September 6th, 2009 at 11:52 amI wonder how big of a deal the Seymour trade will wind up being?
September 6th, 2009 at 12:08 pmEvery time I think the Raiders can’t get dumber, they prove me wrong.
September 6th, 2009 at 12:33 pmDid Pollard deserve to start? Heck, maybe not, he couldn’t cover an eight-year-old out there, but he’s a damn good special teamer and definitely deserved to make the team based off of that.
He may have missed too many tackles going for big hits, sure, but he was a vocal leader out there on the field and doesn’t deserve to be cut. At the very least we should have kept him and traded him. Or started shopping him two weeks ago.
This was a mistake.
P.S. We need to bring in a RT like Tony Pashos until Barry “walk right by me” Richardson can develop more.
Oh, and Yamon Figurs for punt return duties.
September 6th, 2009 at 12:47 pmthe lions got a pick for oconnell after getting him on waivers, and we cant get a pick for a guy who is 24, blocks punts and has 2-3 years of solid starting experience…also contributing to 6 of the turnovers last year…
yikes.I understand mcgraw and morgan, and hope morgan becomes a big time player, but how can we not get anything?
how can we expose him to the wire where oaktown or denver picks him up, or worst of all, SAN DIEGO
September 6th, 2009 at 1:58 pmand this wasnt just the one morgan game guys…this was in the works since pollard didnt make the trip and he wasnt injured.
September 6th, 2009 at 1:59 pmYou know, another thought just crossed my mind about the Pollard cut. Perhaps this is Pioli’s way of getting payback for taking out his star QB last season? Sometimes feelings of resentment and revenge can have a way of festering in unexpected ways. Maybe getting back at Pollard was the whole reason Pioli took the job in the first place? Coincidence? Perhaps not!
Also I am curious to hear some reaction to the Lelie cut. I liked the dimension that he brought to our offense (aka a speedy WR) and figured if anybody could get him straightened around it would be Haley. Surely he offered us more than guys like Terrence Copper and Quentin Lawrence, didn’t he? Should we be keeping 3 tight ends instead of Lelie? I thought TE was a position that did not figure very prominently in Todd Haley’s style of offense? Do we need LB Pierre Walters more than we need Ashley Lelie.
Anyone else puzzled by this move? Agree with it?
September 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pmI’m sorry… it’s really not going to matter when we have no offensive line to depend on…. I believed Pollard was good for our secondary, but he’s also not an offensive lineman… expendable.
September 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pmLarry Bird defined a great player as someone who makes the solid play each and every time. Does anyone think this describes Pollard (or ever could)?
I don’t. I just don’t think this will be a step down to D. Morgan.
September 6th, 2009 at 7:02 pmikeadcd:
By that defition, Derrick Thomas was not a great player. Are you sure you want to roll with that definition? Pollard wasn’t great, nor have I seen anyone claim that. So, what point are you trying to make? We get rid of every player that is not great?
September 6th, 2009 at 7:06 pmIt was prob’ly a combination of factors with Pollard including coverage skills and football IQ. Numerous last-minute trades took place before roster cuts, for players that other teams wanted badly enough to surrender a pick or a player, rather than expose somebody they wanted to the waiver wire (like the Chiefs did for Alleman and Ndukwe). Pollard was shopped in that environment, in case there was anybody wanting him enough to give something up. There were no takers. Not sayin’ he’s bad, although I have my issues with him, but perhaps Pollard was overvalued in the eyes of some Chiefs fans, who put more faith in tackle stats than in my opinion of what’s happening on the field.
I think moving towards more of a coverage guy at SS is in keeping with 3-4, and if I’d known more about the 3-4 before this season, maybe I’d've noticed that aspect, sooner. I wanted more coverage skills and better understanding of his assignment.
It prob’ly isn’t all his fault, after years of playing behind a d-line who might let somebody thru them like a hot knife thru butter. In that situation, the main chance is to just join the melee and flow with the defense, since the ballcarrier is PROBably where you’re running to, and the 7 guys in front of you are gonna miss the tackle, wherEVER the ballcarrier chooses to go.
In this D, it looks more like the big men are controlling the middle, and the SS needs to think like a safety and maybe just trail a few of those strong-side runs to snuff the cutback, and rely on your teammates to handle the main chance.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:18 pmOK Merl, I’ll amend my definition a bit. I’ll go with, “A great player is someone who makes the solid play each and every time, AND/OR doesn’t hurt you significantly while also consistently making game-changing plays.”
But seriously, do you want to bring DT into a comparison where you argue for keeping Pollard? Seriously?
As an organization, I think you build your teams around players from the Zach Thomas (1998 version)/Brian Waters/Dino Hackett mold–people who do their jobs consistently at a very high level. Maybe nothing fancy, just consistently good and dependable. Then, once a decade you hope to hit that special DT/Tony G kind of player, where you are willing to put up with a shortcoming here or there in return for their game-changingness (I just made up a word I think).
Pollard is most assuradely not in the second category of a HOF-type player. And I think the new regime has decided he won’t ever be in the first category either. He is a high-risk player without consistently being a game-changer. That gets you beat.
September 7th, 2009 at 8:05 amFunny how you all forget who lead the team in tackles, along with 3 forced fumbles and an interception. Maybe if we had even a half way decent front seven he wouldnt of had to make 20 tackles a game.
September 8th, 2009 at 7:07 pm