KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It wasn’t until this weekend when I ran into an old college teammate who lives in Chicago that I considered the significance of the Chiefs signing Bears safety Mike Brown.

Frank Barnes, a lifelong Bears fan, wouldn’t quit running his mouth about Brown.
“The Chiefs got the steal of free agency,” Frank claimed. “When Mike Brown is healthy he’s a beast. When he was at the top of his game, he was the leader of the Chicago defense, not (Brian) Urlacher. Anybody who watched the Bears would tell you that.”
Interesting.
My initial reaction to the signing was negative. I thought it signified that Jarrad Page and/or Bernard Pollard had flopped. And maybe/probably it does.
Or maybe it means something much more positive. Maybe it means Scott Pioli and Todd Haley found their Rodney Harrison, the quarterback of the Patriots’ defense for the past six seasons.
Maybe there’s nothing at all negative about Brown’s signing. Maybe it’s all good.
The similarities between Brown and Harrison are obvious.
Before joining the Patriots, Harrison was the safety assassin for the San Diego Chargers for nine years. He represented the Chargers in the Pro Bowl one season and was widely regarded as one of the most physical (and dirty) players in the league.
When Harrison bounced from the Chargers to the Patriots many experts around the league thought his best years were behind him. He wasn’t considered a major acquisition. In fact, he was probably seen as a dropoff from Lawyer Milloy.
Harrison had a terrific six-year run in New England. Had the Patriots completed their undefeated run two years ago, Rodney Harrison might have an argument for inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
Will Mike Brown be anywhere near as good as Rodney Harrison?
It’s unlikely. He tore his Achilles’ tendon a few years ago and has had injury problems since. But he certainly has the tools and the heart to be a huge weapon in run defense and as a leader. And if he gets lucky and catches a second wind, Mike Brown could be every bit as good as Rodney Harrison.
I like Brown in pass defense more than I like Harrison.
Unlike everyone else on the Kansas City defense (except Mike Vrabel), Brown knows what it’s like and what it takes to play on and contribute to a great defense. That experience will be invaluable in the locker room and in the huddle.
Page and Pollard, in my opinion, have talent. They’ve never been surrounded by a veteran presence that can show them how to prepare and perform at a consistent high level.
Overall, I like the Brown move. It could be Pioli’s best move of the offseason. Brown is exactly the kind of acquisition we should’ve expected when Clark Hunt turned over control of the team to Pioli.
Matt Cassel’s acquisition garnered the biggest national headlines, but he is not the typical Pioli target. Cassel is actually way too high-risk for Pioli’s taste. There’s little risk in signing Brown.
The Chiefs have plenty of young safeties if Brown falls off a cliff.
As much as I don’t like Pioli’s secretive ways, I have to admit that his vision for the Chiefs is starting to take shape through his actions. I like so far what we can see of his vision.