[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/21/06

NFL NOTEBOOK

Destroyers’ Brown gets chance to play cornerback for Chiefs

Wednesday, June 21, 2006


FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

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If Jerald Brown is on the Kansas City Chiefs’ roster when the NFL season opens, that’s when he’ll celebrate. Not now.
The Columbus Destroyers defensive specialist, recently named the Arena Football League’s defensive player of the year, has signed with the Chiefs.
For some arena league players, signing on the dotted line with an NFL team is victory enough.
"You’re always excited to get a shot with an NFL team, but it’s making the team that really matters," Brown said. "I’m trying to stick. I can’t get caught up in the emotional part of this. When I actually make the team, that’s when I’ll get emotional."
He said he did not receive a signing bonus, but he didn’t care. Kansas City offers something more valuable than a check — a real opportunity. The Chiefs’ secondary is unsettled, and Brown believes he has a realistic chance to make the team.
Patrick Surtain is the Chiefs’ only proven cornerback. Lenny Walls is the other nominal starter.
"I knew they needed DBs," Brown said. "I just have to make plays when I have the opportunity."
He did that with the Destroyers this year. In his first season as a defensive specialist, he set a franchise record with 11 interceptions, second most in the AFL. He also broke up 25 passes, fifth most in the league.
"I think it has prepared me a great deal," Brown said of his AFL experience. "I’ve always been quick, but my reaction time is a lot quicker than a lot of guys because you’ve got to cover high motion."
League rules permit receivers to run forward toward the line of scrimmage before the snap, which is prohibited in conventional football. "I played on the big field before I played on the little field," said Brown, who graduated from Glenville State in West Virginia. "It’s still football."