Chief crushed by QB's injury

Pollard: 'I'm not a dirty player'

It was a sight no Patriots fan wanted to see: Tom Brady heading to the locker room. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - Bernard Pollard took the life out of the Patriots yesterday, and then he said it was just a game.

"It's football, it's just football," the Kansas City safety said, after the Chiefs' pass rush reached Tom Brady just after he released a 28-yard pass to Randy Moss seven minutes into the first quarter. After Patriot Sammy Morris blocked him down, Pollard still lunged at Brady's legs, bringing the quarterback to the ground.

Brady did not get up right away, instead clutching his left knee. But Pollard heard him cry out.

Pollard, a third-year player out of Purdue - where he earned the nickname "The Bonecrusher" - knew immediately the significance of his hit.

"[Brady] went down and we knew it was something serious because of the yell that he let out," Pollard said.

Pollard was apologetic but also adamant he had not made a dirty play.

"It was not a dirty play, I'm not a dirty player," Pollard said. "It's football. I can't do anything but pray for him and hope he comes back. As soon as he went down - if I was a dirty player, I wouldn't have apologized, I'd have got up and went my way. I immediately started apologizing. I went to my coach later and let my coach know [it was not an intentional play]. For the people who said [it was a dirty play], that's their opinion.

"It's football, it's the game of football. We got in and we tried to get to him, I hit his knee I think. I just tried to get him down. I wasn't really trying to put any force on any of his lower half, I just tried to get him down. Like I said, I can't do anything. I hope he comes back and is able to play with his team."

Gillette Stadium was no country for young men yesterday, as Kansas City's starting quarterback, Brodie Croyle, also got knocked out of the game, suffering a shoulder injury in the third quarter when he was sacked by linebacker Adalius Thomas.

But it was the injury to Brady that drained the oxygen from the air. Brady was helped off the field, limping, and went to the locker room. He did not return and there were no reports from the team on the severity of the injury.

"As soon as he went down, I started saying, 'I'm sorry, my bad, I'm sorry,' " Pollard said. "That right there, that's not going to bring him back, it's not going to heal that injury any quicker than what it is - that's just the type of person I am."

Pollard said Brady did not respond to his apology.

"He was down," Pollard said. "He really didn't have a reaction."

Pollard's teammate, tackle Glenn Dorsey, was less sensitive than the contrite Pollard.

"We were trying to get at the quarterback," Dorsey said, "and we did for a little bit but there's still a lot of plays that could have been done differently, that we could have made, that was the difference in the game. When you have a close game like that, that's how it's going to be."

As Dorsey pointed out, eliminating the NFL's reigning MVP from the game should work in the Chiefs' favor.

"Any time you can take their leader out of the game, it gives your team a spark," Dorsey said. "It gives you a better opportunity to be successful. We just didn't capitalize on a lot of things, mistakes or whatever."

But backup Matt Cassel stepped in, leading the Patriots to a 17-10 victory.

Damon Huard, who replaced Croyle, used to be a Patriot and counts Brady as a good friend. It was difficult for him to watch Brady go down.

"It was a pretty tough day for me to see two of my good friends get hurt in one game," said Huard. "That doesn't happen very often, both quarterbacks go out in the same game. I wish them both a speedy recovery."

Huard was watching from the sideline when Brady got hit. "It just happens in this league, unfortunately," he said. "Guys were trying to get to him, trying to hit him, trying to sack him, and some went down low and some went up high, and he just got rolled funny. It's unfortunate it happened, I feel bad for him."

Pollard felt bad, too, perhaps, in part, because he heard Brady yelling in pain. But the game went on.

"With him, everybody knows he's a smart player, he's a really smart player," Pollard said. "He doesn't turn over the ball. He makes big plays happen with his arm. Nevertheless we've got to hope he can come back and be able to be with his team.

"They're still a good team without Tom Brady. They still won without him."

Barbara Matson can be reached at matson@globe.com.