Abare was a Buck Buchanan Award Finalist (Top Defensive Player), a Walter Camp First-team All-America and a Sporting Network Second-team All-America selection in 2008.  A First-team All-Ivy and All-New England selection, he led Yale with 86 tackles (55 solo, 31 assisted) and was tied for the team lead with four interceptions.  A team captain and Yale’s Most Valuable Player of the Year as a senior, Abare was also a First-team All-Ivy and All-New England selection as a sophomore and junior.

Yale ‘s leading tackler the past three seasons, Abare participated in a min-icamp with with the Kansas City Chiefs in May before electing to pursue a collegiate coaching career.  In addition to his coaching responsibilities at Wagner, Abare will also be pursuing a masters degree.  Head Coach Walt Hameline is excited to add someone like Abare to the Wagner program.

“His passion and knowledge of the game will be major assets and I think he is well-equipped to translate that success to our players.”

Back when the Chiefs brought him in for a look, I thought he could be a perfect guy to steal a roster spot.  Not only did he have a stellar collegiate career (even against lower competition) but he seemed to fit the “tough, smart football player” profile that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley value.  Good luck at Wagner, Bobby.

Chiefs WR Terrance Copper is hoping the fourth stop in his NFL career will be his last.

Copper, who has 46 receptions for 600 yards and six touchdowns in his career, is looking to bounce back strong following an injury-plagued, frustrating season where he split time with the Saints and Ravens.  The 6-0, 207-pound receiver suffered a neck injury last year, while an illness cost him 12 pounds, and a lot of strength.

“I’m feeling a lot better.  I’m stronger.  I went through mini-camp and OTAs with no injuries.  I took care of my body a lot, and I’m still continuing to do that.”

Copper joins a team that went just 2-14 last year, the worst record in franchise history.  However, the sixth-year receiver believes the Chiefs have a chance to do some impressive things this year.

“This team is a lot like the (20)06 Saints.  They were 3-13 and then ended up going to the NFC Championship game the next year. This team reminds me a lot of that team.  We have a new quarterback coming in and a new coaching staff.  All of the players are down to earth and everybody is willing to work.”

Copper, known mainly for his standout play on special teams (41 special-teams tackles and 26 kickoff returns for 502 yards), is hoping to make an impact at receiver.  However, he’ll play wherever he is needed.

“I’m going to be put wherever I need to be put to help win the game.  I’m not worried about that right now. Everything will take care of itself.  We have a good receiving corps.  I think we have a young receiving corps, but they’re good from top to bottom.  I’m excited about this year.”

Finding himself in four different color uniforms over the first five years of his career, Copper is hoping he’ll be wearing the red and yellow of the Chiefs for some time.

“My favorite color is red, that’s a plus for me.  I’m with a new team, it’s a fresh start and I’m excited about it.”

There has been a lot of talk about the lack of depth at wide receiver, and rightfully so, but there is also plenty of potential.  We know how good Bowe could be, but there are guys like Mark Bradley, Devard Darling and Bobby Engram all who have the ability to be the No. 2 WR on this team if they can put it all together in training camp.  Then you have veterans like Copper, Jeff Webb and rookies Taurus Johnson and Quinten Lawrence who will all be fighting for that final receiver spot.  It certainly isn’t Boldin-Fitzgerald-Breaston, but the Chiefs could end up putting out a solid receiving corps on the field.

Over at the Red Zone Blog, Kent Babb has been analyzing the Chiefs position-by-position over the past couple of weeks.  Today he tackles (pun intended) the defensive backs and hands out his final grades.

TALENT: B+ — Brandon Flowers had first-round talent last year when the Chiefs grabbed him in the second round.  Brandon Carr was a fifth-rounder, and Maurice Leggett went undrafted — but both became starters.  Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard have plenty to prove, but Mike Brown is there to either push the Herm Edwards holdovers or take one of their jobs.  Either way, Brown will be a factor.

CHEMISTRY: A — It occasionally was an uncomfortable assignment for three rookies to start and finish games for the Chiefs last season, but they proved themselves capable.  All of Kansas City’s defensive backs seem to have good rapport because, if nothing else, they have shared in some difficult times together.

EXPERIENCE: B- — The Chiefs’ top four cornerbacks have one year or less of experience, but they did play significant amounts last season.  The youngsters will be better in 2009 than a year ago, but they still might carry with them some growing paints.

OUTLOOK: A- — The Chiefs’ most reliable position should enter the 2009 season in good shape.  Pollard must show improvement from last season, and he’s the more likely candidate to relinquish his starting job to Brown, who is a natural free safety but whose talent allows him to shift to the strong safety position, too.

With the front seven going through the biggest change in scheme, it’s more important than ever for the defensive backfield to lead the way for the Chiefs defense.  No matter what his role ends up being, a healthy Mike Brown will go a long way to solidifying the defensive backfield.  And if he does earn a starting spot, maybe that means we see even more from Pollard on special teams.  For a coach that is putting so much emphasis on special teams, the more you have someone like Pollard on the field, the better your special teams are going to be.

“I don’t really need to be 275 pounds. I don’t even need to be 260. Maybe I can be 250 like (Pittsburgh’s) James Harrison or (San Diego’s) Shawne Merriman.  I’m more comfortable at that weight anyway. I was 275 only because that’s what (former defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham) wanted.  Right now, we’re looking for speed.”

So far this offseason coach Todd Haley has been moving Hali around between positions and he’s just fine with that.

“They’re trying me at different spots, but I’ve got to think (linebacker) is probably where they’ll want me.  Haley’s telling me both defensive end and linebacker, so I’m moving between both of them now.  I can rush the passer and play the run while I’m playing linebacker. That’s basically what I did at Penn State, so I’m excited about that.”

After taking on Aaron Curry as my cause-of-the-moment leading up to the draft, I think I’ll focus my energy on building up Tamba Hali as the playmaker the Chiefs defense need up until training camp.  We have seen Hali’s ability to rush the passer when he has talent around him and with the drafting of Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee to go along with (hopefully) a bounce back year from Glenn Dorsey I believe we will see that ability once again.  Obviously depending on who else the Chiefs decide to bring in, the play of Hali and Derrick Johnson will decide how much DC Clancy Pendergast can transform the defense this season.

Once you’ve subscribed to The Red & Gold Report on I-Tunes, make sure you listen to The Red Zone podcast with Soren Petro.  This week Petro talks with Chiefs GM Scott Pioli and you can hear the entire interview below.

There is a lot to take in from that interview and just a great job by Petro.  Soren, anytime you want to come on The Red & Gold Report to talk about the Chiefs just let me know.  The one thing that sticks out to me from the interview is Pioli talking about substance over sizzle with players.  That’s how you need to look at the Tyson Jackson pick if you’re still not on board.  He migt not have been the sexy pick, but it’s about winning not being sexy.

No matter which defense Todd Haley and Clancy Pendergast decide to run, Bob Gretz knows the team needs to start stopping the run.

From Marty to Herm the run defense became twice as bad on average. In seven of 10 seasons under Schottenheimer, the Chiefs were in the top half of the league in stopping the run and three times in the top 10. In the next 10 seasons, only once did they finish in the top 10 against the run, and that was the 2005 defense that was seventh against the run.

In three seasons under Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunningham, the run defense went from No. 18 to No. 28 to last year, No. 30. In the last two seasons, the Chiefs run defense has given up an average of 144.7 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. Last year’s defense gave up 25 rushing touchdowns. In 32 games over the last two seasons the Chiefs have allowed 14 rushers to gain over 100 yards.  Whether it’s the 4-3, 3-4, under 4-3, 5-2, the scheme had better be able to stop the run.

Ah, yes… Stopping the run.  I remember those days!  It seems clear that Scott Pioli is on the same page as Gretz here with all the new blood brought in to be a part of the front seven.  Between the rookie camp that starts today and the beginning of training camp that is just around the corner it will be interesting to see how far along the progression of the defensive scheme gets.  The Chiefs will be a 3-4 team, but as we’ve been talking about it’s a matter of when.

A player that is hoping to help the Chiefs defense and catch the eye of Haley and Pioli is former Yale linebacker Bobby Abare, an undrafted free agent.

Abare was Yale’s leading tackler for the past three seasons, an All-American and team captain for the Bulldogs last season.  He also holds Yale records for interceptions by a linebacker (10) and touchdowns by a defensive player (4).  A member of Yale’s 2006 Ivy League championship squad, Abare received the Bulger Lowe Award last fall as the most valuable collegiate player in New England and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player in the Division I Football Subdivision.  Like most undrafted free agents, all Abare is looking for is a chance.

I keep telling myself not to expect much when it comes to undrafted free agents, but between Pierre Walters, Taurus Johnson and now Abare I am getting excited.  These keeps all fit the profile of the type of football players Scott Pioli is looking for and would not shock me one bit if all three of them find their way onto the Chiefs’ roster.  People love to point to the level of competition or combine numbers but when it comes down to it the only thing that matters is that these kids can play the game.