Cardinals notes: Brandon Williams shines in loss to Bears
Three weeks into the preseason, Brandon Williams is starting to look like an NFL cornerback. The second-year pro looked sharp against the Bears.
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Brandon Williams (26) breaks up a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver Tanner Gentry (19) during the second half of a preseason NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Three weeks into the preseason, Brandon Williams is starting to look like an NFL cornerback.
The second-year pro and third-year defensive back had a pair of passes defended, drew an offensive pass interference penalty, had five tackles and no significant errors in a 24-23, preseason loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Despite that performance, Williams was stuck on the one play he didn’t make: a missed interception early in the fourth quarter when he stepped in front of receiver Titus Davis but bobbled the throw from quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
“My game didn’t go that good because I dropped the pick,” he said. “I set the bar so high for myself so when I don’t make a play like that it messes up the whole game. In my eyes, the game wasn’t that good but next week, it’ll be better. I promise you that.”
Williams struggled so much early in camp that the competition for the starting cornerback spot opposite Patrick Peterson has been all but won by Justin Bethel. With Brandon Williams and Tramon Williams settling in as depth players, however, the Cardinals cornerback position — one of the biggest training camp question marks — appears to have stabilized.
“I wish he had got that pick again because that would have really boosted his confidence,” coach Bruce Arians said of Williams. “But he played really well.”
KICK-6
Saturday’s game featured a handful of rare special teams plays. On the plus side, Phil Dawson made a 52-yard field goal and the Cardinals recovered an onside kick late in the game to give themselves a chance at a win, before QB Blaine Gabbert missed a wide open Jeremy Ross on a two-point conversion attempt.
On the downside, Dawson’s 63-yard attempt was wide right and short, allowing Bears return man Deonte Thompson to field it in the end zone and return it 109 yards for a touchdown.
“After realizing I didn’t make the kick and being upset about that, believe or not, we all have coverage responsibilities,” Dawson said. “From what I could tell, our guys knew what to do. The Bears knew what to do, too. Let’s be honest when you have a kicker and a punter and a bunch of offensive linemen running down there, that’s kind of a mismatch in regards to coverage.”
Dawson can’t remember ever being in a scenario like before. Former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely can.
ROUGH NIGHT FOR INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Top draft pick Haason Reddick and Scooby Wright had rough nights tackling in Arians’ postgame evaluation. Nether is expected to start, but with Karlos Dansby nursing a leg injury and Deone Bucannon on the PUP list after offseason surgery, they were thrown into the fire against Chicago with poor results.
The Bears managed 76 rushing yards in the first half, including four runs of nine or more yards.
“You don’t want to see anybody making 10, 15-yard runs against any of our defenses, but especially our No. 1s,” said Arians, who can’t wait for his starters to return. “I hope to hell they get healthy. I would be concerned if we’re playing with the group we had tonight.”
RECEIVERS REDUX
Arians called out his receivers this week, noting that back in the spring he thought the room was stacked with talent, but after watching camp practice, that number had dwindled.
“I must have been seeing things back in the spring when I said we had 12 guys that could play in the NFL,” he said. “I think we might have two, but we’ll look around and see who’s available.”
While there were some positives on Saturday, the group didn’t exactly impress. Larry Fitzgerald and Jaron Brown barely played, and John Brown sat out again with a quadriceps injury, limiting the evaluation possibilities.
The other receivers accounted for just 16 catches, 149 yards and a TD, and Chris Hubert lost a catch that became an interception.
When asked if he liked the group’s response to his criticism, Arians said: “Yes and no. Little Smoke (Hubert) was having a hell of a game to give up that interception there.”
KNOWING THE SITUATION
Arians when asked if ever considered kicking the extra point after the Cardinals pulled within 24-23 with five seconds left, rather than going for two points and the win: “No way. That’s against all rules of preseason football.”
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Comments
5 Comments
Blaine Gabbert has showed much more upside and potential than Stanton at this point. But we know BA will never cut him. 3 mil that could be better spent on finding a wide receiver that wants to suit up and play for us.
Going back and re-watching the game again their were multiple young guys who stood out, and CB Brandon Williams was definitely one of them. A lot of fans thought the 3rd round pick was a bust, but you have to remember this is just his 3rd playing cornerback after switching his last year in College. After spending all off-season working on his game/technique/hands with Patrick Peterson/Bethel, It looks like the light has finally turned on for Williams, Keim might of hit another HR in round 3.
Williams technique out there is much better , he is staying in receivers hip pockets staying step for step them, he is not biting on double moves any longer and isn't as aggressive, he is getting his head around & tracking the ball in the Air much better, he is recognizing route patterns & starting to jump routes. Williams is extremely good versus the run as well & is a hard hitting corner n is a very good tackler, he is a very physical CB far more physical than the majority of NFL Corners.
Williams now has far better technique & has greatly improved over the last year now looking very comfortable on the field and is just scratching the surface of his potential, he will continue just getting better & better w/ a very high ceiling. Williams has everything u want in corner physically w/ a very rare H/W/S combo at a hair under 6"1/200pds, 32 3/4 inch long-arms & has elite speed running a 4.34 40 & is both very quick with the top-end to run with receivers. CB Justin Bethel looks excellent on the field and is the starting CB this season but with how good Williams is playing they will figure out a way to get him on the field somehow this season & could likely even take over next season as the starting #2CB if Bethel ask's to much money.
I totally agree with you. Their are a couple reason's why BA/Keim won't cut Stanton this year though. For starters, its not worth it to cut him because AZ wouldn't save any money, he is money is now guaranteed and AZ would have to eat 2.5$ Million in deep money against the cap. The #2 reason is Trust, Arians has full 100% trust in Stanton as Arians know's if called upon to start god forbid that Stanton has a full understanding of the entire offense and will not make any mental mistakes. Arians knows he can win games with Stanton as the back-up and that he can be a good game managing QB, Arians doesn't have that trust with Gabbert yet and Gabbert doesn't fully understand the entire offense yet.
When QB Drew Stanton has been called upon in the past to start, Stanton has been a very solid starter for AZ & plays much better in the regular season w/ all of the starters when he is protected behind the #1 O-Line, Stanton is an above-average thrower intermediate/deep as well in the regular season. In games Stanton has been called upon to start the game in AZ, Stanton has 9TDs to 5INTs w/ a passer rating of 78.9 in games he has started & has a winning record w/ 6 wins & 3 losses. Stanton seems to play a lot better when he is called upon to start they he does in pre-season or mop up duty for some reason. Drew isn't a QB you want as your #1 QB playing 16gm's , but he makes for a good back-up.
At receiver Arizona will be fine once the regular season kicks off. AZ basically sat Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Jaron Brown and David Johnson versus CHI except for all of 3 plays. Those guys are 80-85% of AZ's offense, even Britt Golden sat with a pulled hamstring. They sent Palmer with a lot of WR's I'd never heard of before which is why he had to hold the ball longer than normal, he was waiting for guys to get open. With good solid protection up front and all of the weapons Arizona has they will have an explosive offense this season.
One position that has been over looked this off season I think could really produce for the AZ Cardinals in 2017 is the Tight-End corps. 6"5 Jermaine Gresham is both a good blocker & excellent receiving TE & Arians has said they will get him involved in the offense as a pass-catcher a lot more this year. 6"7/270pd TE Troy Niklas excels as a pass catcher & is a good blocker, he just hasn't been able to stay healthy. AZ wants to get him involved in the passing game a lot more as well, esp in the red-zone, if he stays healthy I think he is going to have a break-out season.