Sometimes I feel like I side with the weirdest characters in sports. Ask my friend, Kevin, about my unhealthy love for Kyle Orton. (Actually, don’t ask. I’m sure he’s tired of trying to explain it to people.)
One of my newest alignments is with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. The attitude, the intensity, and his unquestionable talent at the cornerback position made him an immediate follow on Twitter. What happened between him and Erin Andrews at the end of the NFC Championship Game last year just sealed it.
Another cornerback that I (not so blindly) support and enjoy on a regular basis is Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cary Williams. I know. I know. Williams is NOT on Richard Sherman’s level in terms of talent (although I’m predicting a jump in 2014), but the attitude and intensity are there. That’s reason enough for me to give him a follow on Twitter — @CaryWilliams26, by the way.
Last year, the Eagles inked Williams to a three-year, $17 million deal after spending the beginning of his career with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. When he arrived, Williams was joining a defensive unit that was a year removed from the “Dream Team” craziness. Chip Kelly was new. Defensive coordinator Billy Davis was new. A new era was being born, and this era began with something missing:
An attitude.
What do the kids call it these days? Swagger? Swag? Sometimes, I feel I’m too old for such nonsensical terms, but in a way, that’s what this new crop of Eagles lacked in the beginning. That attitude that defined Eagles defenses of the past under defensive coordinators like Jim Johnson. After a year of Sean McDermott and the year after with Juan Castillo, this defense was just lost.
Cary Williams provided the spark in training camp early last year when he started getting into it with several wide receivers including Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper. Williams continued with his antics when the Eagles played the Patriots in joint practices last year. (This seems to be a tradition because Williams was jawing at the Patriots again last week before their 42-35 loss on Friday night.)
Williams has since apologized for those remarks, but why should he have to? That’s who Cary Williams is. GM Howie Roseman brought Williams here for a reason. Roseman had to have known about his fire and antics. In a city like Philadelphia where passion, attitude, and love for your teams comes before not much else, Williams (to me) seems like the perfect embodiment of that concept.
Williams is now in year two with Billy Davis’ defense, and there will be certain expectations. The strict, new rules for illegal contact are going to make life a living hell for cornerbacks across the board. Eagles fans would probably be more worried if Williams was penalized a lot last year, but he wasn’t.
Amazingly enough, Williams was only penalized five times for illegal contact or defensive pass interference. That’s not bad considering Richard Sherman’s number is seven. That tells me that Williams could still be able to maintain his level of physicality at the cornerback position — which is basically why Roseman brought him here in the first place.
With the addition of safety Malcolm Jenkins in the back end and Nate Allen looking like a competent safety, the back four shouldn’t be nearly as suspect as it was last season. In fact, Williams could easily be a Pro Bowler this season. The only thing holding Williams back, in my opinion, would be interceptions. He doesn’t get many. (Ok, he got one against Tom Brady on Friday, so there’s hope.)
Williams isn’t a ball hawking cornerback in the mold of Asante’ Samuel — which is completely fine. In this league, it is perfectly acceptable to not get 10+ interceptions if you essentially shut off half of the field. It’s easy to forget that Williams basically did that most weeks. Quarterbacks just refused to throw to his side. Instead, they threw to Bradley Fletcher’s side — which proved to be much easier. (Seriously, how often did Fletcher get torched last season. Zoinks!)
Williams has the potential to be something special for the Eagles in 2014. He has said this himself in an interview with Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“I want to get a Pro Bowl. I want to be known as one of the guys who’s at the top of the league at what he does.”
Guys with the heart and passion that Cary Williams have aren’t to be taken lightly. A lot of times, these are the guys you don’t want to overlook. They’ll do spectacular things, and you wonder how you never predicted it would happen.
If he reaches his potential, Cary Williams will probably be the first person to tell you that he told you so. Off to the side on the interwebs, I’ll be right next to him.
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