Mr. Versatility : Kansas City’s Mark Collins Is Able to Line Up Anywhere in Secondary

The incentive was there in black and white for Kansas City defensive back Mark Collins, courtesy of a football magazine that mockingly predicted the Chiefs would finish sixth in the five-team AFC West this season.

But was it motivation . . . or comedy?

“Craziest damn thing I ever read,” Collins said, laughing.

A crazy prediction for a crazy season.

The Chiefs, picked by many as doormats in the AFC West, are still struggling to earn respect despite a surprising 10-2 record entering Sunday’s division showdown with the Oakland Raiders.

Surely the Chiefs, 12-point losers to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, are just another AFC team preparing to ruin another Super Bowl, right?

“We don’t believe that at all,” said Collins, a former Cal State Fullerton star. “The only people who are shocked right now are the ones who picked us to finish sixth.”

This is a transition year for Collins, a 10-year pro who started at cornerback on two Super Bowl championship teams with the New York Giants.

A cornerback for nine seasons, he is listed as starting free safety on the depth chart this year. But by games’ end, he has often made cameos at three or four positions. On just about any play, he could line up anywhere in the secondary.

“Corner, nickel, safety, even some linebacker,” he said.

Collins’ position change was the second time in three years that Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer has shuffled his defensive backs. Kevin Ross moved from cornerback to safety midway through the 1993 season to get Dale Carter in at cornerback.

Collins was the team’s most consistent cornerback last season, but moved to starting safety during training camp so newcomer James Hasty and Carter could start at the corners.

“We have five starters in the secondary who are interchangeable--Hasty, Carter, Brian Washington, William White and me,” Collins said. “It’s one of those situations where they [coaches] just wanted to make a change and get me to play on the inside.”

Still, Collins admits it took two or three games to adjust to the move to safety.

As a cornerback, he lined up directly across from receivers, was responsible for pass coverage and making tackles if the receiver caught the ball. At safety, he has more freedom to roam the secondary and react to the action.

“It was a tough adjustment,” he said. “It’s a different mind-set. The safety is relaxed and takes in more of the game. At corner, you have to be hyped up on every play.”

Collins and Hasty made the position switch look like a brilliant move on more than one occasion this season.

Hasty returned an interception 64 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 23-17 overtime victory over the Raiders in Week 3.

Collins is second on the team in tackles with 73, has defensed 13 passes, and his 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown two weeks ago gave the Chiefs a 20-13 victory over the Oilers.

That victory gave the Chiefs 10 for the season and all but assured them a playoff spot, something Collins has been accustomed to since his days with the Giants.

He signed with the Chiefs as an unrestricted free agent after they lost defensive backs Albert Lewis and Ross to free agency before the 1994 season.

He had received interest from Seattle, Tampa Bay, Detroit, New England, San Diego and Denver, but when it came time to sign, he placed winning as a priority along with money. After all, who wouldn’t want to play on a defense that features Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith?

“I shopped around a little,” Collins said. “But it wasn’t a hard decision. Kansas City has an excellent chance of winning the Super Bowl, and I thought that was as important as how much money I could bet somewhere else.

“I already have two rings, but I want a third.”

Collins might not want to visit the jewelry store yet. Last week, Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin ripped the Chiefs’ secondary for 121 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Was the loss to Dallas a sign of things to come? Just another NFC team beating up on an AFC wannabe?

Collins wonders. He was on the Giants’ team in 1991 that sent Buffalo packing in the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses.

“Hey, the AFC hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1984, so what experts are saying is true,” Collins said. “I hope we get to the big show and prove them wrong.

“But I was I part of the NFC for years and won two rings with the Giants. I remember we looked down on the AFC then, too.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The File on Collins

* Born: Jan. 16, 1964, in St. Louis

* Height: 5-10

* Weight: 196

* College: Four-year letterman at Cal State Fullerton, setting school record with 20 interceptions. Named to several All-America teams and was PCAA player of the year as a senior. Jersey No. 5 was retired in 1991.

* NFL experience: 10th year. Drafted in second round of 1986 draft by the New York Giants. Played on Giants’ Super Bowl XXI and XXV championship teams. Was named All-NFC and defensive MVP of Super Bowl XXV by The Sporting News. Signed by Kansas City Chiefs as an unrestricted free agent before 1994 season.

Source: Kansas City Chiefs