Antoine Winfield isn't all that happy.
His agent, tried to put a more positive spin on Winfield's comments in the Pioneer Press, but this isn't the kind of happy talk Vikings fans are looking for heading into the 2009 season, particularly with all the Brett Favre stuff going on.
However, I don't think this is something Vikes fans should be worrying about. Winfield will be in camp and he'll play as hard as ever. I expect he'll be as effective as ever, too.
But I certainly understand the Vikings handling of this. Winfield is one of my favourite players, he's coming off a Pro Bowl season and there is a good argument to be made for re-signing him. But Winfield has always been excellent (or at least pretty good) since he joined the team and the Vikings never had a complete defence until last year when they they got Jared Allen and found a pass rush. So how valuable is even a Pro Bowl cornerback to a team? Perhaps the money is better spent elsewhere.
In professional sports, you've got to know when to let go once players hit their 30s. Don't pay for past performance. I'm sure the Vikings would pay top dollar for Winfield's services for a year or two. But if Winfield is looking for a four or five-year deal, he'll probably be playing somewhere other than Minnesota in 2010.
Monday, July 06, 2009
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3 comments:
I wonder what would happen to Minnesota's run defense if Winfield were replaced by an average CB. It would certainly still be very good, but would it remain number one?
And what would happen to the pass defense? Cedric Griffin would start to look even better as QBs begin to avoid throwing his way and we'd see a lot more Sapp penalty yards. Then what? McCauley? Paymah?
Winfield's not worth a long contract: agreed. a one or two year deal is fine, or a longer deal for a reasonable price (say he converts to safety after the 2010 season) would be OK too. But Minnesota better find a worthy replacement if they let him walk after this season.
Peter:
I think you're right that Winfield's play does contribute to the Vikings strong run defence. How many times have we seen him knife through a blocker or two and take down a ball carrier for little or no gain?
On the pass defence side I think it's more important to have a pass rush that gives a QB fits than one of those "shutdown corners." A good corner can only cover a receiver for so long. As long as the Vikings are bring the heat with the pass rush, the Vikes can get by with someone like Charles Gordon starting alongside Griffin. Or they can draft a corner next April. And some people are very high on draftee Asher Allen.
Pass rush does lessen the importance of the secondary, I agree. However, the pass rush was much better last year than several years previous, and Winfield was still quite important. However, perhaps a healthier Allen with a year in the system will do even better. Maybe Kevin can up his numbers (despite being great last year). Maybe Henderson will get a year's worth of pent up aggression out of his system. Hope so! This year is the time for the pass rush to prove they don't need marquis players in the secondary to be a good defense.
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