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KANSAS CITY Anthony Hitchens Jersey , Mo. 鈥?Chiefs safety Eric Berry sounded confident Friday that he’ll be on the field when Kansas City plays the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.The three-time All-Pro has been a full participant in practice this week after dealing with a heel injury, but needs the OK from coach Andy Reid to take the field Sunday night.“I feel pretty good. Just talk to Coach and see what he wants to do and go from there,” Berry said. “It would mean a lot not just for me and my family and my teammates, but the organization.”Berry tore his Achilles’ tendon in last year’s opener, sidelining him the rest of the season. He returned in time for summer workouts and the start of training camp. But a mysterious heel injury popped up that kept Berry off the field until Week 15 against the Chargers.Berry played more the following week on the turf in Seattle, but the injury recurred and he missed the regular-season finale against Oakland and the divisional round matchup against Indianapolis.“It was pretty frustrating, but you just have to keep rolling,” said Berry, who nevertheless broke down the pregame huddle with an emotional pep talk. “Keep focused and keep your head down.”Berry has become a pro at overcoming adversity.He missed most of one season with a torn ACL in his knee, and he missed the end of another when he was diagnosed with cancer. In both instances, he recovered in time to play the following season.However, those situations were relatively straightforward. There was a clear diagnosis and obvious path toward recovery. But the heel has been a challenge for Berry and the organization, once viewed as a “day-to-day” situation that became a saga that lasted months.There have been various reports, always citing unnamed sources, of a heel deformity that causes intense pain http://www.chiefslockerroom.com/authentic-chad-henne-jersey , but the Chiefs and Berry have refused to confirm them.Asked several times about the injury Friday, Berry merely replied: “It’s hard to explain.”Berry said he wasn’t concerned about the field causing the heel problems. It was torn up in the divisional round after several inches of snow fell before the game. The grounds crew spent this week replacing the turf between the hashes, along the sidelines and in one of the end zones.“I’m just being prepared for every situation,” Berry said. “Our field crew, grounds crew is very good. They do a very good job. Just trusting in them that they can get the job done.”Berry’s value lies not just in his athletic ability, though the Chiefs could use some help covering Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Rather, his biggest benefit to a defense that has struggled mightily at times this season may be his leadership and on-field demeanor.“A huge impact. He’s a huge player for us,” Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford said.“The physicality he brings to this team and the leadership role is amazing,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said.When he’s at his best, Berry is one of the best safeties in the NFL, adequate in coverage and dynamic at stuffing the run. But even at a fraction of his best, Berry is still talented enough to impact a game, and that’s why his return could prove critical to the Chiefs.“I mean, Eric’s a good football player. He’s an All-Pro player,” Reid said. “That’d be an obvious statement Womens Sammy Watkins Jersey , but it’s another good player in the mix. A great player.”NOTES: Chiefs OLB Dorian O’Daniel (hamstring) was ruled out for the game. … WR Sammy Watkins (foot) and RB Spencer Ware (hamstring) participated in practice all week and are expected to play.100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta As I reminded you in these pages about a month ago, Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford has had a career full of ups and downs in Kansas City.Ford, 27, was an unexpected selection for the Chiefs in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.But with Justin Houston and Tamba Hali entrenched as starters, Ford was seen as a developmental player and got little playing time in his rookie season.In 2015 — thanks to an injury to Justin Houston — he got a chance to start five games.But outside of an explosive game against the San Diego Chargers, Ford didn’t do much to impress Chiefs fans and was still considered by most to be a player who had not justified his first-round selection.That would change in 2016, when Ford would collect 10 sacks, 17 quarterback hits and a dozen tackles for loss in 13 starts.He appeared to finally be on track to be the player Chiefs hoped he would be when they drafted him two seasons before.But that expectation would change again in 2017, when Ford made a strong start to the season but landed on injured reserve after six games.Once again, he became a question mark in the minds of Chiefs fans.Back in August at Hawaiian Shirt Day at Chiefs training camp, AP founder Joel Thorman got a laugh out of all of us when he said, “I’m predicting a career year from Dee Ford.But I always predict a career year from Dee Ford.”This time, the Blogfather was right.An article by Evan McPhillips published Monday by Pro Football Focus makes a strong case that Ford is indeed having that elusive career year.As Pete Sweeney noted after the Chiefs win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in PFF’s estimation, Ford led the NFL in quarterback pressures after Week 5 Jordan Lucas Jersey , and Monday’s PFF article says that after six weeks, Ford is indeed among the NFL’s elite edge rushers.It was not news to us that Ford is finally living up to expectations the Chiefs had for him in 2014.But on Tuesday, a tweet about the PFF article from former sports agent Joel Corry caught our attention: Corry is speaking of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Demarcus Lawrence, who is playing 2018 under the franchise tag, earning $17 million this season on the basis of his performance in his 2017 contract year. A quick analysis reveals a lot of similarities in the career trajectories of these two players.Lawrence was picked only 11 spots after Ford in the 2014 draft.Nether had much playing time in their rookie seasons.Both have lost most of a season due to an injury — although Lawrence’s was in his third season, rather than his fourth.In addition, because Ford’s occurred in his fourth season, the Chiefs were forced to pick up his fifth-year option, which moved his contract year to this season rather than last season.Dee Ford - Kansas City ChiefsDemarcus Lawrence - Dallas CowboysThese base stats from Pro-Football-Reference would suggest that Lawrence — an edge rusher listed as a defensive end instead of an outside linebacker — could be considered a better player than Ford at this point, but the season is still young.And so far, Dallas’ decision has paid off: Lawrence continues to play well.Lawrence fought for a five-year deal with the Cowboys, but the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and Lawrence ultimately accepted the Cowboys’ franchise tender.Should Ford continue to play at a high level through this season, will the Chiefs be able to sign him to a long-term contract?Or will they — like the Cowboys — be forced to use the franchise tag to keep Ford on the roster? Corry notes that Ford will cost the Chiefs around $16.325 million to franchise tag. What would you do?