Winfield Quietly Having Best Season

[Cliff]

Link Here.

"I would say wow - capital W, capitol O, capital W ... wow," defensive coordinator Alan Williams said to describe Winfield's play this season. "It has a huge impact. That's as good as I've seen anyone play in a long, long time."

Winfield is the best tackling cornerback in football. He has 50 tackles in six games, with seven coming for a loss. It's not like his coverage skills have fallen off either. He has two interceptions and three passes defensed. ProFootballFocus says quarterbacks throwing at Winfield have a 61 quarterback rating.

[sdranger]

Plus his work ethic and off the field life is really helping out the younger corners on this team. He is a very valuable piece to the Vikings puzzle.

[Cliff]

Plus his work ethic and off the field life is really helping out the younger corners on this team. He is a very valuable piece to the Vikings puzzle.

Indeed. We'll miss him when he retires (which one can only assume will be in a year or two). He's the kind of guy it would be nice to see him remain with the team on the staff somehow after retirement. His technique and attitude are so good it would be nice for him to pass that stuff on to new generations of Vikings defenders.

[Eli]

Everyone looks better when the defense as a unit plays better. Even Brinkley looks better when there's some help in coverage from the safeties.

[NextQuestion]

I have sort of a rube question about Winfield. I know he came here in 2004 via free agency but was he just a non-factor in Buffalo to keep him around? The one highlight I've seen of Winfield in Buffalo is him absolutely destroying Terry Glenn in Lambeau Field on a pass play. He's been one of my favorites for awhile now.

[losperros]

Everyone looks better when the defense as a unit plays better. Even Brinkley looks better when there's some help in coverage from the safeties.

Winfield almost always looks good. When he's healthy, he's one of the best all-around CBs in the league.

That said, you're right about an improved D helping everyone, including Winfield and Brinkley. That works for any occupation. When the guy next to you is doing his job well, then it makes doing your job easier.

[Mothman]

I have sort of a rube question about Winfield. I know he came here in 2004 via free agency but was he just a non-factor in Buffalo to keep him around?

No, he was a very good player for Buffalo. His game was basically the same as it's been in Minnesota. I'm not sure if the Bills foolishly decided not to offer him a new contract or if he just decided he wanted to go into free agency and play for another team but fortunately for the Vikes, they were able to get him. Mike Tice went all out to make that happen or Winfield might have ended up playing for the Jets.

[Infinity]

Unbelievable. I knew Winfield was doing great but not that great. Hopefully he keeps it up!!

[Cliff]

I went looking for the reason Winfield was allowed to go into free agency and am coming up empty. Seems like a really bad move by the Bills. Something interesting that I found while looking for that though;

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/tag/antoine-winfield/

As the elder statesman of the cornerback group, Terrence McGee knows the younger corners will be asking him questions from time to time seeking knowledge about the game. McGee never did that himself as a rookie back in 2003. He just watched the veterans practice and play, and the one he watched most was Antoine Winfield.

“He’s one of the best cornerbacks I’ve ever seen so I would watch him and wanted to be like him,” said McGee, who was a rookie during Winfield’s last season in Buffalo. “If you watched him the way he tackled, even the way he did drills. He would do the drills perfect and it would make you sick because you would have to follow him in front of the coach. The way he broke on the ball, he just did everything you would want a corner to do. He was cat quick and just a real good corner.”

Nate Clements was also on the roster at the time and was a bigger playmaker than Winfield in terms of interceptions, but Winfield was rarely beaten for big plays, while Clements was more of a risk taker and would get beat deep from time to time. McGee knew who was better to pattern his game after, even though initially he was a bit conflicted.

[Mothman]

I went looking for the reason Winfield was allowed to go into free agency and am coming up empty. Seems like a really bad move by the Bills. Something interesting that I found while looking for that though;

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/tag/antoine-winfield/

Great find! Thanks for posting that.

[Cliff]

Most of the talk on this board this offseason was about how Frazier was phasing Winfield out into a pure nickel CB and Winfield saying safety wasn't an option for him. I don't know if it was all the talk or what, but Winfield has definitely stepped things up this season and glad to see it recognized and acknowledged.

I think people just expected a 35 year old coming off an injury to have a reducded roll instead of his best season ever. The guy is a beast.

[dead_poet]

Absolute stud. I believe PFF had him rated as their top CB going into this game, which is incredible given the talent out there and his age (granted guys like Revis and Webb are out and Joseph has been hobbled). Give the young guys credit around him for the defense's resurgence but Winfield's impact cannot be understated. He's a missile with a nose for the football that few ever have. Let's hope it rubs off and we see Winfield in all our DBs going forward, well after Winfield retires (if that day ever comes). Heck, I'd love for him to be DB coach. Guy is smart, rarely out of position and has flawless technique (don't even think about running a screen to his side). Yesterday was another beastly performance. Here's hoping for more of the same the rest of the season.

[Mothman]

Absolute stud. I believe PFF had him rated as their top CB going into this game, which is incredible given the talent out there and his age (granted guys like Revis and Webb are out and Joseph has been hobbled). Give the young guys credit around him for the defense's resurgence but Winfield's impact cannot be understated. He's a missile with a nose for the football that few ever have. Let's hope it rubs off and we see Winfield in all our DBs going forward, well after Winfield retires (if that day ever comes). Heck, I'd love for him to be DB coach. Guy is smart, rarely out of position and has flawless technique (don't even think about running a screen to his side). Yesterday was another beastly performance. Here's hoping for more of the same the rest of the season.

Amen!

Welcome back. I know you weren't away long but I always appreciate your posts and they were noticeably missing last week. I hope you were enjoying a vacation or something.