Leach, Pollard prepared to face old team

Move to the NFL forum or Ravens/Texans thread if needed, thanks.

Leach

Spoiler

[rquoter]OWINGS MILLS - It was a quiet departure from the Houston Texans' backfield, quite unlike one of fullback Vonta Leach's thunderous trademark blocks.

The Texans barely lifted a finger to retain him despite how Leach bulldozed linebackers out of the path of NFL rushing champion Arian Foster last season.

It was mostly silence as contract talks never really got kickstarted.

So, the All-Pro lead blocker signed a three-year, $11 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens that included $6 million in guaranteed money.

Three months later as the Ravens (3-1) prepare to square off with the Texans (3-2) on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, Leach insists he harbors no ill will toward his old employer.

"I have no hard feelings toward them," Leach said. "It was just business obviously. I would say that obviously they had other needs and I wasn't important enough on the team. I wasn't high enough on the totem pole. I was the odd man out. You can't pay everybody, but I proved my worth.

"It's just another game for me, but I do want to win. I don't think I left on a bad note. I was happy, they were happy. It was just one of those situations where they had other parties they had to take care of."

...

"I liked it there, but I think here is a better fit for me," Leach said. "Here, we use the fullback and we like the fullback here. I wanted to play somewhere where they utilize the fullback and like the fullback. This offense fits a fullback like myself. I've been accepted by the players here and the coaches. I really like it."

...

Now, Leach is taking aim at his former teammates.

"Everyone should buckle up their chin straps when they play against the Ravens, not just one team," he said. "I don't have nothing to prove. I played for them for five years, they know everything I can do. I had some great times there.

"I still have a lot of friends on that team, but Sunday it's time to play and I'm trying to get a win. It's going to be fun and weird. I'm going to have mixed emotions leading up to the game and during the game. Hey, we're all professionals. When the game starts, it's on."[/rquoter]

Pollard

Spoiler

[rquoter]OWINGS MILLS - With a direct stare, an honest expression and a sincere determination to not deviate from his message, Bernard Pollard emphatically insists that this Sunday will be just another football game.

"It's not about me," said Pollard while preparing to square off with the Houston Texans, his old team. "This is a football team that's in our way, a very good football team."

The Baltimore Ravens' hard-hitting strong safety is almost completely convincing even though his teammates don't exactly buy into what he's selling.

They know this game has extra meaning for Pollard, who's listed atop the Ravens' updated depth chart with Tom Zbikowski not medically cleared to practice following a concussion.

Signed by the Ravens to a two-year, $2.4 million contract that includes a $500,000 roster bonus on the 10th day of the league year in 2012 and a $300,000 escalator clause next season, Pollard was discarded by the Texans after initially thinking he would be retained.

Pollard recorded a career-high 111 tackles and four forced fumbles a year ago for Texans coach Gary Kubiak, albeit for the NFL's last-ranked pass defense and 30th overall defense. However, he was ushered out of town after the arrival of new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the installation of a 3-4 defensive scheme.

"When they brought Wade in, he told me he had some things planned for me and he told me I was going to be there," Pollard said. "Gary Kubiak told me I was going to be there. All of a sudden, they tell me I'm not going to be there. They changed their minds. That's what happens with businesses. They made a business decision."

And Pollard is intimately familiar with the Texans' offense that features Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster, just as they know him.

"Every good offensive coordinator dresses up their offense," Pollard said. "Kubiak is a great offensive mind. He's going to move people around. They're going to run the ball with the best running back in the NFL from last year. We've got to do whatever we can to stop them."

Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that the coaching staff has discussed the Texans with Pollard and Leach.

After posting 214 tackles and four interceptions during his two seasons in Houston, Pollard said he won't be thinking about old allegiances.

He's part of a new locker room now.

"I have no friends on Sundays," Pollard said. "Once that clock starts, I really don't. That's not me being hard or malicious, but this is a ballgame for our team that we've got to have and we want to win."[/rquoter]