AJC > Sports > Falcons > Blog > Archives > 2006 > December > 05
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Can Jimmy Williams fit in?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons had the day off today, so I thought I’d broach the subject of rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams, since coach Jim Mora said he should be healthy enough to finally return Sunday at Tampa. Williams had a high left ankle sprain that kept him from playing the past month.
Worse than not being able to play, the injury kept Williams from getting the reps he needed in practice to learn what he needs to play the position. Now, with four games left and Allen Rossum playing better than expected as the starter, Williams likely won’t see much action other than special teams, although he did get in a few snaps in Week 2 against Tampa Bay because of the two-tight end sets it uses.
Possibly pushing Williams further back in line is the return of Jason Webster from a groin injury, which probably won’t come this week, but the following week against Dallas.
At his size (6-2, 215), playing cornerback in the NFL was a question mark for Williams coming into the league, which is a reason why he slipped to the second round. Williams started slowly and looked at times like he simply didn’t have the skill set to play corner. However, he started coming along in practice and began changing some minds.
He seemed to be peaking when Webster got hurt, which opened the door for his anticipated breakthrough. Then, Williams turned his ankle and that was that.
The Falcons drafted Williams to one day replace Webster but Williams is going to have to get a lot better over the final month and in the offseason, otherwise there will be increased talk about moving him to safety, which seems like a good option, especially with free safety Chris Crocker showing more tendencies of being a strong safety and strong safety Lawyer Milloy under contract for just two more seasons.
