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Join Date: Sep 2006
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Bills searching for solution at cornerback
The Buffalo News: Bills & NFL: Bills searching for solution at cornerback
Quote:
Losing Nate Clements to free agency in the offseason made the right cornerback position a potential trouble spot for the Buffalo Bills, and even after completing the first week of training camp on Wednesday, questions remain.
Eight-year veteran Jason Webster has missed the last two practices with a leg injury, but the free-agent signee is the most likely candidate to replace Clements among a deep pool of Bills corners. The others include Kiwaukee Thomas, Ashton Youboty and Jabari Greer.
“Webster is ahead of those guys right now, but we need depth at that position,” Bills defensive backs coach George Catavolos said. “Sixty percent of the time we’re going to be playing against three wide receivers and you need three quality corners to compete in our division.”
Webster’s problem is staying healthy. He is the most experienced of the candidates with 73 starts, but when he was released by the Falcons on May 12, it ended a disappointing three-year run in Atlanta. The Falcons signed him to a six-year, $18 million contract in 2004, even though he had missed most of the 2003 season due to knee and chest injuries. In 2004, he missed six games due to injuries to his groin, knee and lung. In 2006, a torn groin and sports hernia ended his season after just eight games.
“Injuries happen to players in football, that’s just the nature of the game,” Webster said. “You go in there and play football, you don’t worry about getting injured. I had some good years in Atlanta and some tough times, but that’s in the past. I’m looking forward to being a Buffalo Bill.”
Thomas has played in 101 games as a pro, but has made only 13 starts, including two last year for the Bills. He started one game in place of left corner Terrence McGee, who was injured, and another when the Bills started the game in a nickel package. Thomas, who played mostly on nickel downs last year, practiced with the first team on Wednesday in place of Webster.
With his size and strength, Youboty’s versatility enables him to play either corner position. The only thing missing is experience. Drafted in the third round in 2006 out of Ohio State, Youboty missed the bulk of training camp last year following the death of his mother, Jeannet. He was inactive for the first nine games but made his first start against the New York Jets on Dec. 10.
“He’s very fluid,” Catavolos said. “He just has to be more consistent.”
Speed is Greer’s biggest strength, but he has a slight build, which is why he went undrafted in 2004. He added seven pounds of muscle during offseason and now weighs 180. After enjoying a good training camp last summer, Greer saw limited playing time last season because Clements and McGee stayed healthy and Thomas played the nickel spot covering the slot.
“My focus this year was to become an all around better player, to become stronger and faster,” Greer said. “I wanted to be able to bring more force from the corner, and if you’re heavier you can bring more force.”
Greer, who has three career starts, is looking forward to playing in the preseason and proving what he can do.
“I haven’t got that much experience actually at corner,” he said. “I haven’t had the reps in game situations that would necessarily make me a seasoned veteran at the position. . . . I’m starting to grasp the game the way that I should and the way the coaches have been telling me — about the importance of leverage and technique when you get tired.”
But none are at the skill level of Clements, who signed a record $80 million deal with San Francisco. Clements was usually assigned an opponent’s best wide receiver, a luxury the Bills no longer have.
“Someone from that group has to step up and play,” Catavolos said. “When they’re playing man, they’re on an island out there just like every corner in the league. They have to do an outstanding job.”
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Bills searching for solution at cornerback
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