Zimmer: Safeties must be dangerous

[oldschooler]

[size="5"][b]Zimmer: Safeties must be dangerous[/b][/size]
By John Erardi • jerardi@enquirer.com • August 12, 2009



GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The sound and fury of bodies colliding – which is, let’s face it, a big reason the NFL is so popular – promises to be on display in stripes this season.


It goes without saying that the Bengals have some linebackers who can deliver a blow, but there’s just something sensory shattering about a defensive back with a full head of steam.


Those are the hits the fans “feel” even before the wide receiver does, because fans can see them coming.

With the arrival of Roy Williams from Dallas to go with Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe in the battle for the safety spots in the secondary, the Bengals might corner the market on sound effects.

Williams isn’t buying into the hype quite yet, but he does say that the schemes of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer give the DBs a good opportunity to display what they can do.

“I like it (Zimmer’s setup) because we’re closer to the line, and at the same time I can play middle of the field and be ready to deliver some great shots,” Williams says.

Williams, who turns 29 on Friday when the Bengals play their first exhibition game at New Orleans, has been a Pro Bowler – five straight times – ever since his sophomore season in the NFL, and might have made it six last season if he hadn’t fractured his forearm in the second game.

In 2007, Williams missed his first pro game because he was serving a one-game suspension for a “horse collar tackle” (that’s straight out of the Bengals media guide) on Dec. 16 vs. Philadelphia.

Not to condone violence, but some might ask: Can we get a Hallelujah for that hit, please?

After all, many would say, the Bengals need to burnish their reputation for hard-hitting, especially in the secondary. Hard hits are what put football on the map.

“Crocker did a really good job for us last year,” Zimmer says, “and Ndukwe makes some really good plays – sometimes on the wrong end of some plays, too – but I just felt like bringing Roy in, I knew what he could do. I gave him some things to do in the offseason, just to see what he would do, and he did all of them.”

Among them, Williams lost 18 pounds, Zimmer says (“lower than his combine weight”), making it clear that No. 31 was still hungry to play.

“When I had him (in Dallas), he was a big-play guy,” Zimmer remembers. “He made plays all over the field. He was playing next to (Darren) Woodson, and Woodson kind of gave him a veteran presence … I always felt like Roy could cover better than a lot of people give him credit for.”

Crocker is a very good cover man and is likely to push some things Williams’ way, which could bode well for the Bengals. Williams had 20 career interceptions in Dallas, three for touchdowns.

It’s a shame the Bengals don’t play any Sunday night or Monday night games this year, because Williams has distinguished himself when the lights are brightest.

In 2004, he had a career-high 14 tackles on Monday night at Washington, and on Monday night in 2005, he scored the game-winning touchdown at Philadelphia on a 46-yard interception return. On Sunday night in 2006, his interception set up the game-clinching TD at Carolina.

As Zimmer notes about his defensive system, “the corners know when they mess up, and the safeties know when they mess up. There is no in-between. I think some of that (the blame game) has gone on (here) previously, but I knew what Roy could do for us in that regard, and it’s why we brought him here.”

Williams said he lost weight not for himself, but because of what it would do for the defense as a whole.

“They wanted me to come in at 222, and I came in at 217,” he says. “The environment makes me feel just as good as (having) the weight (off) … Everybody in this secondary says, ‘Everybody’s equal; nobody’s better than anybody else.’ We’re all here just to reach our team goals.”

He said he’s eager for Friday night to arrive “to see what our attitude is; to see how we take the field … I’m happy that I’m here, and want to do all I can do to add to this defense. It’s not about me.”





http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090812/SPT02/308120063

[MESP]

I haven't read anything about him having the supposed "attitude problem" here that they say he had in Dallas

[bearcat7777]

[quote name='oldschooler' date='14 August 2009 - 09:13 AM' timestamp='1250252034' post='790719']
[size="5"][b]Zimmer: Safeties must be dangerous[/b][/size]
By John Erardi • jerardi@enquirer.com • August 12, 2009



GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The sound and fury of bodies colliding – which is, let’s face it, a big reason the NFL is so popular – promises to be on display in stripes this season.


It goes without saying that the Bengals have some linebackers who can deliver a blow, but there’s just something sensory shattering about a defensive back with a full head of steam.


Those are the hits the fans “feel” even before the wide receiver does, because fans can see them coming.

With the arrival of Roy Williams from Dallas to go with Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe in the battle for the safety spots in the secondary, the Bengals might corner the market on sound effects.

Williams isn’t buying into the hype quite yet, but he does say that the schemes of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer give the DBs a good opportunity to display what they can do.

“I like it (Zimmer’s setup) because we’re closer to the line, and at the same time I can play middle of the field and be ready to deliver some great shots,” Williams says.

Williams, who turns 29 on Friday when the Bengals play their first exhibition game at New Orleans, has been a Pro Bowler – five straight times – ever since his sophomore season in the NFL, and might have made it six last season if he hadn’t fractured his forearm in the second game.

In 2007, Williams missed his first pro game because he was serving a one-game suspension for a “horse collar tackle” (that’s straight out of the Bengals media guide) on Dec. 16 vs. Philadelphia.

Not to condone violence, but some might ask: Can we get a Hallelujah for that hit, please?

After all, many would say, the Bengals need to burnish their reputation for hard-hitting, especially in the secondary. Hard hits are what put football on the map.

“Crocker did a really good job for us last year,” Zimmer says, “and Ndukwe makes some really good plays – sometimes on the wrong end of some plays, too – [b]but I just felt like bringing Roy in, I knew what he could do[/b]. I gave him some things to do in the offseason, just to see what he would do, and he did all of them.”

Among them, Williams lost 18 pounds, Zimmer says (“lower than his combine weight”), making it clear that No. 31 was still hungry to play.

“When I had him (in Dallas), he was a big-play guy,” Zimmer remembers. “He made plays all over the field. He was playing next to (Darren) Woodson, and Woodson kind of gave him a veteran presence … I always felt like Roy could cover better than a lot of people give him credit for.”

Crocker is a very good cover man and is likely to push some things Williams’ way, which could bode well for the Bengals. Williams had 20 career interceptions in Dallas, three for touchdowns.

It’s a shame the Bengals don’t play any Sunday night or Monday night games this year, because Williams has distinguished himself when the lights are brightest.

In 2004, he had a career-high 14 tackles on Monday night at Washington, and on Monday night in 2005, he scored the game-winning touchdown at Philadelphia on a 46-yard interception return. On Sunday night in 2006, his interception set up the game-clinching TD at Carolina.

As Zimmer notes about his defensive system, “the corners know when they mess up, and the safeties know when they mess up. There is no in-between. I think some of that (the blame game) has gone on (here) previously, but I knew what Roy could do for us in that regard, and it’s why we brought him here.”

Williams said he lost weight not for himself, but because of what it would do for the defense as a whole.

“They wanted me to come in at 222, and I came in at 217,” he says. “The environment makes me feel just as good as (having) the weight (off) … Everybody in this secondary says, ‘Everybody’s equal; nobody’s better than anybody else.’ We’re all here just to reach our team goals.”

He said he’s eager for Friday night to arrive “to see what our attitude is; to see how we take the field … I’m happy that I’m here, and want to do all I can do to add to this defense. It’s not about me.”





http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090812/SPT02/308120063
[/quote]


I thought Mike made all these decisions!