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An overnight sensation six years in the making, Arizona Cardinals' strong safety Adrian Wilson seems finally to have escaped the obscurity that comes with laboring in one of the NFL's most barren precincts and for one of its least successful franchises.
Of course, the football world outside of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area can be excused for paying scant attention to Wilson, since it wasn't until the past few years in general that the safety spot moved out of obscurity and re-emerged as an impact position.
Now that NFL safeties have played their way out of the shadows, though, they are beginning to hog more of the spotlight.
"Look, everybody wants a playmaker (at safety) now," said Baltimore Ravens' free safety Ed Reed, the league defensive player of the year in 2004, after last Sunday's victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, five-year veteran Reed scored the fifth defensive touchdown of his career. "Not all that long ago, safeties were like the redheaded stepchild, you know? We were like, I don't know, necessary evils. The job description wasn't very exciting. But the game has evolved in such a way now that, if you don't have a safety who can do about a million things, it's hard to play winning defense."
Wilson, 27, might not be able to perform a million functions. But for Arizona defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, who has transformed the sixth-year veteran into an instigator and provocateur, Wilson is the equivalent of a human Vegamatic, slicing and dicing opponents in every way imaginable. If the long-tressed and photogenic Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers has become the guy everyone wants to put on magazine covers as an example of the New Age Safety, the plu-perfect example of the hybrid qualities of a position that has regained its profile, then Wilson is at least a pretty compelling poster boy.
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Adrian Wilson leads the Cardinals in interceptions with three.
The former North Carolina State standout, a Cardinals' third-round choice in the 2001 draft, is defined by his versatility. Through the first eight games of the season, Wilson has 39 tackles, including four tackles for losses, three interceptions, six passes defensed, and four sacks. Among all safeties leaguewide, only Sean Jones of Cleveland has more interceptions (four) and no one has had as many sacks. In 2005, a true breakout season for Wilson, he set an NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back, with eight.
That remarkable feat helped elevate Wilson's profile, but it unfairly pigeonholed him in some quarters as a safety whose primary strengths were playing down "in the box," close to the line of scrimmage, or blitzing the quarterback. Wilson has improved dramatically, though, in coverage. And while his range is still a bit limited, he is making a lot more plays now in the passing game, a step up that pretty much completed the last résumé entry he needed to be regarded as one of the NFL's premier all-around safeties.
"The more chances I get (in coverage), the more comfortable I feel," Wilson said. "There was a consensus, I think, that I was a liability in coverage. I really don't think that perception exists anymore."
Safeties no longer exist just to support against the run and to play deep, zone coverages, backed 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage as centerfielders who need to compensate for lack of range. In the revival of the position, safeties are everywhere now, as the spot has become more hybrid even than outside linebackers in a 3-4 front.
"The position has become more valued," Broncos' safety and seven-time Pro Bowl performer John Lynch told the Rocky Mountain News. "For years, it was undervalued. (But) people are starting to see that safeties can take over games. It's easy to see why. A linebacker's a linebacker. Now, you're seeing safeties up at the line of scrimmage, but also back in coverage. They're lining up everywhere."
Indeed, those challenged by the concept of multitasking need not apply for work at safety. As coordinators increasingly turn to safeties to force the action, the spot has turned into a multi-pronged position. No longer can a safety who can't run be camouflaged by zone coverages. The game as it is currently played, demands speed and flexibility, and so does the safety position now.
"The game has changed so much. The days of being a safety known just for being a big hitter, man, that's over." Adrian Wilson, Cardinals safety
Safeties still are expected to fill gaps as the eighth defender against the run -- the classic, primary task into which the position had evolved three or four years ago -- but must also now play the pass, well, passably well. The prototype safety of this millennium is not only an aggressive hitter, like human torpedo Bob Sanders of the Indianapolis Colts, but also must have ballhawking skills, and be able to cover wide receivers aligned in the slot. That's true even though the Cover 2 schemes that have become so predominant throughout the league were designed, in part, to compensate for safeties who didn't run well.
"You have to have at least one safety now who has some cornerback-type skills," acknowledged Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome, who filled that need when he chose Reed in the first round in 2002. "It's a game of matchups and gaining individual advantages, and it's a lot easier if you don't have to 'situation substitute' every time the offense has three (wide receivers) on the field. If you've got a safety who can line up across from a slot (receiver), it makes things a lot easier. I don't see how you can play the game, the way it is today, without that kind of a guy in your defense."
Which helps explain why safeties, not all that long ago a low-priority position in the draft, suddenly have become valued commodities. Since 2002, there has been at least one safety chosen in the top half of the first round every year. In the 10 drafts prior to that, just two safeties were selected among the top 20 picks.
Through the first half of this season, 13 rookie safeties have started at least one game. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that many colleges have adopted the Cover 2 scheme, and so youngsters come into the league with a degree of familiarity. But it's also because teams are turning to more athletic defenders, players with diverse and better-rounded skills-sets, to fill their safety needs.
"The game has changed so much," said Wilson of the Cardinals. "The days of being a safety known just for being a big hitter, man, that's over." Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer with ESPN.com.
An overnight sensation six years in the making, Arizona Cardinals' strong safety Adrian Wilson seems finally to have escaped the obscurity that comes with laboring in one of the NFL's most barren precincts and for one of its least successful franchises.
Of course, the football world outside of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area can be excused for paying scant attention to Wilson, since it wasn't until the past few years in general that the safety spot moved out of obscurity and re-emerged as an impact position.
Now that NFL safeties have played their way out of the shadows, though, they are beginning to hog more of the spotlight.
"Look, everybody wants a playmaker (at safety) now," said Baltimore Ravens' free safety Ed Reed, the league defensive player of the year in 2004, after last Sunday's victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, five-year veteran Reed scored the fifth defensive touchdown of his career. "Not all that long ago, safeties were like the redheaded stepchild, you know? We were like, I don't know, necessary evils. The job description wasn't very exciting. But the game has evolved in such a way now that, if you don't have a safety who can do about a million things, it's hard to play winning defense."
Wilson, 27, might not be able to perform a million functions. But for Arizona defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, who has transformed the sixth-year veteran into an instigator and provocateur, Wilson is the equivalent of a human Vegamatic, slicing and dicing opponents in every way imaginable. If the long-tressed and photogenic Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers has become the guy everyone wants to put on magazine covers as an example of the New Age Safety, the plu-perfect example of the hybrid qualities of a position that has regained its profile, then Wilson is at least a pretty compelling poster boy.
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Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Adrian Wilson leads the Cardinals in interceptions with three.
The former North Carolina State standout, a Cardinals' third-round choice in the 2001 draft, is defined by his versatility. Through the first eight games of the season, Wilson has 39 tackles, including four tackles for losses, three interceptions, six passes defensed, and four sacks. Among all safeties leaguewide, only Sean Jones of Cleveland has more interceptions (four) and no one has had as many sacks. In 2005, a true breakout season for Wilson, he set an NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back, with eight.
That remarkable feat helped elevate Wilson's profile, but it unfairly pigeonholed him in some quarters as a safety whose primary strengths were playing down "in the box," close to the line of scrimmage, or blitzing the quarterback. Wilson has improved dramatically, though, in coverage. And while his range is still a bit limited, he is making a lot more plays now in the passing game, a step up that pretty much completed the last résumé entry he needed to be regarded as one of the NFL's premier all-around safeties.
"The more chances I get (in coverage), the more comfortable I feel," Wilson said. "There was a consensus, I think, that I was a liability in coverage. I really don't think that perception exists anymore."
Safeties no longer exist just to support against the run and to play deep, zone coverages, backed 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage as centerfielders who need to compensate for lack of range. In the revival of the position, safeties are everywhere now, as the spot has become more hybrid even than outside linebackers in a 3-4 front.
"The position has become more valued," Broncos' safety and seven-time Pro Bowl performer John Lynch told the Rocky Mountain News. "For years, it was undervalued. (But) people are starting to see that safeties can take over games. It's easy to see why. A linebacker's a linebacker. Now, you're seeing safeties up at the line of scrimmage, but also back in coverage. They're lining up everywhere."
Indeed, those challenged by the concept of multitasking need not apply for work at safety. As coordinators increasingly turn to safeties to force the action, the spot has turned into a multi-pronged position. No longer can a safety who can't run be camouflaged by zone coverages. The game as it is currently played, demands speed and flexibility, and so does the safety position now.
"The game has changed so much. The days of being a safety known just for being a big hitter, man, that's over." Adrian Wilson, Cardinals safety
Safeties still are expected to fill gaps as the eighth defender against the run -- the classic, primary task into which the position had evolved three or four years ago -- but must also now play the pass, well, passably well. The prototype safety of this millennium is not only an aggressive hitter, like human torpedo Bob Sanders of the Indianapolis Colts, but also must have ballhawking skills, and be able to cover wide receivers aligned in the slot. That's true even though the Cover 2 schemes that have become so predominant throughout the league were designed, in part, to compensate for safeties who didn't run well.
"You have to have at least one safety now who has some cornerback-type skills," acknowledged Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome, who filled that need when he chose Reed in the first round in 2002. "It's a game of matchups and gaining individual advantages, and it's a lot easier if you don't have to 'situation substitute' every time the offense has three (wide receivers) on the field. If you've got a safety who can line up across from a slot (receiver), it makes things a lot easier. I don't see how you can play the game, the way it is today, without that kind of a guy in your defense."
Which helps explain why safeties, not all that long ago a low-priority position in the draft, suddenly have become valued commodities. Since 2002, there has been at least one safety chosen in the top half of the first round every year. In the 10 drafts prior to that, just two safeties were selected among the top 20 picks.
Through the first half of this season, 13 rookie safeties have started at least one game. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that many colleges have adopted the Cover 2 scheme, and so youngsters come into the league with a degree of familiarity. But it's also because teams are turning to more athletic defenders, players with diverse and better-rounded skills-sets, to fill their safety needs.
"The game has changed so much," said Wilson of the Cardinals. "The days of being a safety known just for being a big hitter, man, that's over." Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer with ESPN.com.
