2011 Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Berry Tears ACL, out for All of 2011

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a tremendous blow on Sunday, losing standout second-year safety Eric Berry to a season-ending ACL tear.  Berry is a virtually indispensable member of the Chiefs defense; after playing every defensive snap in his rookie year in 2010, head coach Todd Haley and his coaching staff were counting on Berry to continue to evolve into one of the league’s very best safeties in 2011.

Berry possesses virtually every desirable trait of a premier NFL safety; he has the athletic ability to open his hips and cover space as a free safety, and the ball-hawking skills to turn the football over.  He also is a tenacious tackler with the power to set the edge as a run support player and take on blockers.  Berry is an innate leader who set the tone for the Kansas City defensive backfield a year ago, and was counted on to do the same this season. 

Beyond his impact on defense, Berry was the Chiefs’ best coverage player on special teams.  His blend of speed, understanding of angles, and open-field tackling made him a regular on special teams coach Steve Hoffman’s coverage units. 

Berry precisely fits the mold of tough, physical, fast, smart, disciplined football players that GM Scott Pioli has sought throughout his tenure in Kansas City, and replacing him will be no easy chore. 

Kansas City will likely look to veterans Jon McGraw and Sabby Piscatelli to fill the void created by Berry’s injury.  Whoever gets the nod will tag-team with Kendrick Lewis as the Chiefs’ starting safety duo.  Piscatelli and McGraw have obvious athletic and pass coverage limitations, and the Chiefs will have to hope their veteran savvy and instincts will provide enough punch for defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. 

Berry picked off four passes in 2010 while playing a somewhat limited pass coverage role, as the Chiefs often turned to him as a run-defending safety playing in or near the box.  The onus will be on not just McGraw and Piscatelli to make up for Berry’s absence as a run supporter, but also the entire defensive front seven of the Chiefs.

That group has yet to show itself capable of dependably stuffing the run under Haley’s guidance, and the Chiefs know they’ll need to improve in this area somehow in order to have any chance to compete in the AFC West.  Sunday’s effort versus Buffalo did little to instill confidence into the Arrowhead faithful, and teams will likely continue pounding the football against the porous defensive front until it improves.

Losing Berry is simply devastating for Kansas City, as he was one of the integral members of a Chiefs nucleus that Pioli and Haley were counting on to further develop during 2011.  Sunday’s performance versus the Bills suggests the Chiefs have plenty of work to do before next week’s visit to Detroit, and the task of playing without Berry in 2011 is undoubtedly a tough reality for the Chiefs to swallow.