vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
Williams on Winfield: `Wow'
Posted by: Mark Craig under Vikings, NFC, Antoine Winfield Updated: October 18, 2012 - 2:03 PM
Upon further review, defensive coordinator Alan Williams couldn't contain himself when it came time to talk about the game Antoine Winfield played last Sunday at Washington.
"I would say, `Wow,'" Williams said today. "Captial `W.' Capital `O.' Capital `W.' Wow."
Winfield had a team-high 10 tackles, three of them for losses, and an interception in Redskins' territory during the 38-26 loss. On the pick, Winfield read quarterback Robert Griffin III's eyes, jumped the route and got his feet down quickly as he was going out of bounds. Had the Vikings turned that play into seven points instead of three, it might have been an entirely different game.
Williams was asked what kind of impact it has on a defense when the team's oldest player -- Winfield, 35 -- has himself prepared to play as well as he's been playing this year.
"It has a huge impact," Williams said. "That's as good as I've seen anyone play in a long, long time. I thnk it's good because he's an older guy who comes out to practice. The way he prepares, the way he practices, the way he goes about his business, you look at him and you say, `That's what a professional looks like. That's how a professional prepares.' And these are the results of the way a guy prepares. So I think it has an impact, not only on the young guys but the older guys as well."
Winfield is second on the team in tackles with 50. He also leads the team in tackles for loss (seven), which is unheard of for a cornerback.
Williams was asked if he'll continue searching for ways to take some snaps off of Winfield to keep him fresher throughout the season. The team already has done some of that as they've tried to use rookie Josh Robinson more.
"It really depends on Antoine," Williams said. "We want to make sure we have Antione for the long haul. The way he played last week, again, wow, in terms of how he played.
" We want to make sure we have him for the long haul. So whatever the staff, [defensive backs] coach [Joe] Woods, the head coach thinks in terms of pitch count, we just want to make sure that we have him for the long haul. It just depends on how he feels from week to week, how he's playing and how his body is holding up. That will answer those questions moreso than what Josh is doing."
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