Winfield again packs a lot of punch per pound

Article by: MARK CRAIG , Star Tribune
Updated: October 22, 2012 - 6:31 AM

Antoine Winfield made yet another strong case that he might be packing the hardest-hitting 180 pounds the NFL has ever seen.

hide

Minnesota Vikings Antoine Winfield (26) celebrated with Jamarca Sanford (33) after he stopped Cardinals quarterback John Skelton (19) on a fourth down in the third quarter.

Photo: Carlos Gonzalex, Star Tribune

Camera Star Tribune photo galleries

Camera view larger

6
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

Antoine Winfield made yet another strong case that he might be packing the hardest-hitting 180 pounds the NFL has ever seen.

And it couldn't have come at a better time for a Vikings team that needed all the big defensive plays it could muster in Sunday's offensively lackluster 21-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at Mall of America Field.

The 5-9, 35-year-old Winfield had a game-high 11 tackles, 10 of them solo, and none bigger than a sack for no gain when the Cardinals went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Vikings' 18-yard line midway through the third quarter.

Winfield was covering fullback Reagan Maul'a in the right flat when quarterback John Skelton started to roll to his right.

"You could tell by the look in his eyes that he had committed to running the ball," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "Even though he had shown run and flipped the ball forward before in the game, you knew he was going to run."

Skelton is 6-6, 244 pounds. He probably figured he could get 2 yards heading toward Winfield.

"We thought by the way we were running the ball, we'd be able to catch the corner," Skelton said. "But they made a good play there."

Before Skelton could react, Winfield left the fullback and dropped Skelton. Hard.

"He comes quick, he comes low and he comes hard," Greenway said of Winfield. "So I'm sure it was a surprise to Skelton to be hit like that. Especially by a cornerback."

Winfield shrugged. After all, he's been making that tackle in the NFL for 14 years now. He went into Sunday's game leading the team in tackles for loss with seven.

"I just came up and made a play," Winfield said. "I just had to take my chances [leaving the fullback]. I didn't think he was going to throw it to the fullback. It looked like he was going to take off, like it was already programmed in his mind. And I just made a play."

Safety Jamarca Sanford said it's a play that didn't surprise him. He just hasn't figured out how the little guy does it so consistently.

"When he hit [Skelton] that hard, I was like, 'Whoa,'" Sanford said. "I don't know how he does it. He got a heart of I don't know what. I'm going to give him 5-7, 5-8, but he got a heart of a 6-4 guy. He plays his heart out, like every play is his last.

"With him, you'd rather let the linebacker come free than let 26 come free. When he gets there, he's going to get there with an attitude, and it's going to be nasty."

get related content delivered to your inbox

manage my email subscriptions

6
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

explore the Vikings/NFL

Full Scoreboard

Cincinnati	3:30 PM
Houston

Minnesota	7:00 PM
Green Bay

Indianapolis	1/6/13 12:00 PM
Baltimore

Seattle	1/6/13 3:30 PM
Washington

Full Scoreboard

Cleveland	106	FINAL
Charlotte	104	FINAL

Brooklyn	115	FINAL
Washington	113	FINAL

Sacramento	105	FINAL
Toronto	96	FINAL

Atlanta	84	FINAL
Detroit	85	FINAL

Chicago	96	FINAL
Miami	89	FINAL

Indiana	75	FINAL
Boston	94	FINAL

Philadelphia	85	FINAL
Oklahoma City	109	FINAL

Portland	86	FINAL
Memphis	84	FINAL

Houston	115	FINAL
Milwaukee	101	FINAL

Utah	87	FINAL
Phoenix	80	FINAL

LA Lakers	102	FINAL
LA Clippers	107	FINAL

Full Scoreboard

TX A&M-CC	57	FINAL
Sam Houston St	61	FINAL

Yale	61	FINAL
Holy Cross	54	FINAL

Manhattan	55	FINAL
Saint Peters	53	FINAL

Iona	66	FINAL
Siena	62	FINAL

George Washington	41	FINAL
Georgia	52	FINAL

Brown	47	FINAL
Rhode Island	59	FINAL

Cleveland State	50	FINAL
Valparaiso	74	FINAL

Rider	65	FINAL
Loyola-Maryland	71	FINAL

Wofford	48	FINAL
Tulane	62	FINAL

Savannah State	59	FINAL
Saint Louis	67	FINAL

Memphis	85	FINAL
Tennessee	80	FINAL

Texas Southern	57	FINAL
Alcorn State	48	FINAL

Grambling St	56	FINAL
Alabama State	69	FINAL

Jackson State	87	FINAL
Alabama A&M	88	FINAL

Prairie View	45	FINAL
Southern U	50	FINAL

Fordham	68	FINAL
Ole Miss	95	FINAL

(5) Oregon	35	FINAL
(7) Kansas State	17	FINAL

(10) Texas A&M	41	FINAL
(12) Oklahoma	13	FINAL

Pittsburgh	12:00 PM
Ole Miss

(25) Kent State	1/6/13 8:00 PM
Arkansas State

(2) Alabama	1/7/13 7:30 PM
(1) Notre Dame

Siena	62	FINAL
Canisius	65	FINAL

Fordham	71	FINAL
American Univ	50	FINAL

TX A&M-CC	46	FINAL
Sam Houston St	65	FINAL

Jackson State	48	FINAL
Alabama A&M	66	FINAL

Grambling	60	FINAL
Alabama State	68	FINAL

Texas Southern	61	FINAL
Alcorn State	45	FINAL

Prairie View	55	FINAL
Southern U	60	FINAL

Navy	59	FINAL
Richmond	65	FINAL

Youngstown St	58	FINAL
VA Commonwealth	45	FINAL

Temple	58	FINAL
Howard	61	FINAL

Loyola-Maryland	54	FINAL
Fairfield	64	FINAL

Iona	76	FINAL
Niagara	65	FINAL

UCF	59	FINAL
Bowling Green	56	FINAL

Marist	62	FINAL
Rider	47	FINAL

Bradley	54	FINAL
Indiana State	55	FINAL

Northern Iowa	41	FINAL
Illinois State	72	FINAL

(7) California	55	FINAL
Utah	50	FINAL

SD Mines & Tech	53	FINAL
Colorado State	97	FINAL

USC	56	FINAL
Oregon State	55	FINAL

(16) UCLA	89	FINAL
Oregon	80	FINAL

Arizona	71	FINAL
Washington St	65	FINAL

Arizona State	74	FINAL
Washington	77	FINAL

(4) Stanford	57	FINAL
(20) Colorado	40	FINAL

Date/Opponent	Time	W	L	Score
2012 preseason
Aug 10 - at San Francisco	8:00 PM		X	17-6
Aug 17 - vs. Buffalo	7:00 PM	X		36-14
Aug 24 - vs. San Diego	7:00 PM		X	12-10
Aug 30 - at Houston	6:00 PM		X	28-24
2012 regular season
Sep 9 - vs. Jacksonville	12:00 PM	X		26-23
Sep 16 - at Indianapolis	12:00 PM		X	23-20
Sep 23 - vs. San Francisco	12:00 PM	X		24-13
Sep 30 - at Detroit	12:00 PM	X		20-13
Oct 7 - vs. Tennessee	3:25 PM	X		30-7
Oct 14 - at. Washington	3:25 PM		X	38-26
Oct 21 - vs. Arizona	12:00 PM	X		21-14
Oct 25 - vs. Tampa Bay	7:20 PM		X	36-17
Nov. 4 - at Seattle	3:05 PM		X	30-20
Nov 11 - vs. Detroit	12:00 PM	X		34-24
Open
Nov 25 - at Chicago	12:00 PM		X	28-10
Dec 2 - at Green Bay	12:00 PM		X	23-14
Dec 9 - vs. Chicago	12:00 PM	X		21-14
Dec 16 - at St. Louis	12:00 PM	X		36-22
Dec 23 - at Houston	12:00 PM	X		23-6
Dec 30 - vs. Green Bay	3:25 PM	X		37-34
2012-13 playoffs
Jan. 5 - at Green Bay	7:00 PM