bubba9497 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Buffalo cornerback a hot commodity By Darrell Trimble NFL Insider http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=1738892 This offseason figured to be an unprecedented one in terms of the talent available at one of the game's most important positions -- cornerback. With names like Champ Bailey, Chris McAlister and Charles Woodson scheduled to become free agents, teams with cap space and needs in the secondary were salivating. But there's a good chance that by next Tuesday all three will be designated with the franchise tag. Bailey has already been tagged (though he could still be traded) and the Ravens and Raiders are expected to do the same with McAlister and Woodson. However, even though the trio's movement will be limited, this will still be a banner year for corners. Some of the other cornerbacks available will include Philadelphia's Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent, Jacksonville's Fernando Bryant, Seattle's Shawn Springs, San Francisco's Ahmed Plummer and Buffalo's Antoine Winfield. All of the aforementioned players will benefit from the franchise tags placed on other cornerbacks because they should get better contract offers. None should profit more than Winfield, considered one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the NFL. He doesn't have the size that defensive coordinators love in their cornerbacks, but he hasn't let that stop him. At 5'9", 180 pounds he may be the best tackling corner in the league. In Week 2 he tackled 270-pound tight end Kyle Brady for a seven-yard loss, and did the same with 228-pound Fred Taylor -- twice. "Pound for pound he's probably the best tackler in the NFL," said strong safety and teammate Lawyer Milloy. "You can't measure his heart. I've watched him since college at Ohio State and even back then he was doing the same thing. He has the intangibles that you can't coach and he has attitude. He's willing to go in there and throw his body around, and not only that, he can cover also. He has the total package as a cornerback." Well, maybe not the total package. He only has six career interceptions, and there is some concern about his ability to catch the ball, but there's no doubting his ability to cover and tackle. He led the Bills in tackles for loss with eight and was tied with Milloy for the lead in pass breakups with 14. Among the available lot of corners, Winfield is the most attractive for several reasons. Taylor and Springs have a history of injury and Vincent will turn 33 before the start of next season. That should set up Winfield to get a deal similar to the five-year, $24.5 million the Detroit Lions gave Dre' Bly. Two of the teams with the most cap room, New Orleans and Minnesota, are desperate to add true cover corners, and the Vikings defensive coordinator is Ted Cottrell, who held the same position in Buffalo for Winfield's first two seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Let's hope Williams can lure him here at a reasonable cost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakofthesouth Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Good point Riggo...having Williams here will be an extra incentive; throw S. Taylor in, and you've got a solid, new-look secondary- not to mention fresh draft picks, courtesy of Champ Bailey. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GURU Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I don't know why everyone thinks Winfield will come at a "reasonable" cost. Teams will overpay for corners. The $6.8 million Franchise Player cost is evidence of that. So is Dre Bly's contract, and while he had a very good year, he's not in the same class of cornerbacks that are available this year. If those top three corners are all franchised, that will drive the cost of Winfield considerably. How much are some of you counting on saving by signing Winfield? I bet it won't be nearly as much as some of you think. The only advantage of trading Bailey is the draft choices, because I don't believe you'll save that much cap space by signing someone like Winfield. Winfield is tough and underrated, but he's a downgrade from Champ Bailey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycskinsfan Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 How was his relationship with Williams? As far as him being a downgrade he is a solid CB and paired up w/ Smoot he could be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Do we want 2 smaller cb's or a cb like Woodson to go with Smoot. I think that is more the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfbovey Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I don't think Winfield's size matters all that much. He is still one of the better tacklers at the position and still does very well in coverage despite his size. If he could just work on his hands a bit he would be dangerous. The guy has dropped a few sure INTS. But he's in position to make them frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GURU Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Since when did tackling become the most desired ability for a cornerback? Winfield can cover, but not as well as Champ. That being said, I believe Williams is a fan of Winfield's, and he could be an acceptable replacement. He won't come cheap, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 This is exactly who I want ot replace Champ and he will tke Champs contract or even less..Plus we have Williams to help get him.. Heck I think we might already have this quietly locked up..thus the Champ impending deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappaluvacee Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 We need a taller corner to go with Smoot. WR's are getting taller and taller. A corner may have the best coverage skills in the game, but he won't out-jump a 6'4 WR in the endzone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidPennSkin Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 What we need to do is pick up Vincent at a good price and draft a corner for the future when Vincent slows down. Darrell played until he was 40, maybe Vincent still has a few good years left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Actually, I'm hoping that Bauman is inserted into the starting role and Ade Jimoh is penciled in as the nickel back. Ok...Ok... I'll stop and go to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyalligator Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Are you on crack Cskin???? Argh......I too think Winfield would be a good guy...he is only an inch shorter than Champ anyway.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVskinsfan Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Originally posted by Cskin Actually, I'm hoping that Bauman is inserted into the starting role and Ade Jimoh is penciled in as the nickel back. Ok...Ok... I'll stop and go to bed. Hell! I hope Jimoh is released! :doh: He killed me last year and gave up tooo many big plays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Tooth Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Winfield is an absolute animal. Frankbones and I have been agreeing on this for months now. I bet he wears burgundy and gold next year. As for being too small? You are wrong. If you say he can't hit......once again......you are wrong. Have you guys seen the kid play???? Or are people on this board just making broad assumptions again??:gus: :gus: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yomar Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Springs will probably be the best overall value (combination of talent, age and price) this off-season, plus he is a hometown guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 i don't want to see us with two small CB's. as the WR's start to become bigger so must the guys that cover them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisbob74 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I have said before it is Winfield for me (only if Champ leaves, I would prefer Champ though) but if McCallister and Woodson are franchised as well it will push his price up even more. He'll get more than Bly got last year, my guess is a deal averaging arounds $5.5-6M a year, with about $7-8M upfront. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Originally posted by kappaluvacee We need a taller corner to go with Smoot. WR's are getting taller and taller. A corner may have the best coverage skills in the game, but he won't out-jump a 6'4 WR in the endzone. exactly just look at the skins-bills game. mccants almost got a td off of winfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Originally posted by AJWatson3 i don't want to see us with two small CB's. as the WR's start to become bigger so must the guys that cover them! especially with us going against big Wrs like moss and chad johnson next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 I wasn't ever truelly sold on Winfeild, but after reading this, i guess i could understand ya'lls point on getting him. Aside from the only 6 career ints, u gotta love a guy who will work his butt off every play and loves laying a smack down on somebody. If he's reasonable in his demand for money then by all means sign this guy! ----------------------------------- 0-16, 19-0, skins fan till i die!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atloldskin Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 D. Green wasn't that big either and he could tackle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingchris626 Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 why replace champ? lets hope we keep him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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