After 10 seasons as a defensive backs coach in Indianapolis, Alan Williams is getting his first chance to coordinate this season with the Vikings. After Tuesday morning's training camp walk-through, Williams met with reporters for the first time in Mankato and had plenty to say. Here are four things you should know.
1) The push to reduce Antoine Winfield's workload is on.
Winfield turned 35 in late-June and is entering his 14th NFL season. He knows he's getting up there in age. Frazier knows it too. And Williams is plenty aware of Winfield's rising odometer as well.
So what's the vision for Winfield's role in 2012? At present, he and Chris Cook are the team's top two cornerbacks. But it's been common in camp for Cook and Chris Carr to be playing outside in nickel packages with Winfield in the slot. And as the season progresses, the hope is to gradually reduce Winfield's workload.
"We realize that there are only so many reps that a body has," Williams said of Winfield. "So we want to be smart about how we use him, about how we play him. And really, some of that's going to be determined by how fast some of our younger guys and some of the guys that we brought in come up to speed. So that's yet to be determined. But we do know that he's going to be on a pitch count. What that pitch count is I don't know yet."
If the desire is to ultimately use Winfield in just a nickel role, the Vikings will need a few of their other corners to step up and stabilize the position. Maybe that means Carr or fellow veteran Zack Bowman use their skills and savvy to bolster the defense. And maybe the hope is that rookie Josh Robinson -- out right now with a hamstring pull -- or second-year guy Brandon Burton make big leaps in their development.
But the big picture hope is that Winfield can transition into a lesser role that allows him to be most effective when he is on the field.
2) Harrison Smith will be starting by Sept. 9, the day the Vikings open the regular season against Jacksonville.