08-01-2007, 10:36 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,302
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Wilson aims to be heard: Safety is out to be old self
Wilson aims to be heard: Safety is out to be old self - N.E. Patriots - BostonHerald.com
Quote:
Eugene Wilson knows he has something to prove after spending much of the last two seasons on the sidelines hampered by injuries or riddled with inconsistent play.
But Wilson’s not about to talk a good game. The safety is going to let his play do the talking, and the best way to judge him is to watch the games and listen, because if the Wilson of old returns, there will be a lot of noise.
“As soon as I go out and hit someone real hard, everybody will remember who I am,” he said.
So is the plan crunching bodies and inflicting pain, as he did two seasons ago?
“You can say that,” the 26-year-old defensive back said yesterday with a smile.
Groin and hamstring injuries made it hard to inflict much of anything last season, as Wilson was ultimately placed on injured reserve in December. The year before, Rodney Harrison [stats]’s absence at strong safety seemed to take some of the edge off of Wilson’s play.
At least, that was the perception. He was not quite the same player he had been in his rookie and sophomore campaigns playing alongside the Pro Bowler.
Wilson claimed he doesn’t get angry or annoyed when football scribes tie in his sub-par performance with the absence of Harrison.
“It’s not bothersome to me. I know the situation we had. It wasn’t a real good situation,” Wilson said. “But that’s in the past. We’re just trying to move forward. Rodney’s back out there, and I’m out there with him. We’re just going to try and gel like we always have. Right now, it’s looking pretty good.”
During Wilson’s rookie season, as well as the year after, he and Harrison formed a dynamic duo at safety. They had the kind of chemistry some quarterbacks and receivers have, almost an unspoken and instinctual feel for where the other one was going to be at all times.
“It just instantly clicks as soon as me and him get out there,” Wilson said. “There’s a lot of things that go unsaid that we just know to do when we’re both on the field. Sometimes Rodney will do something, and I’ll just be able to read off him, and we just interact like that.”
Harrison and Wilson both arrived in 2003 and bonded right away. It was a natural fit between the veteran, hoping to get to the promised land, and the rookie, hoping to make an impression.
“I respect Geno. I like playing with Geno,” Harrison said of Wilson. “He’s a great communicator. Each year as he gets older, he opens up more. We have fun back there. I don’t have to look at him. I know exactly what he’s going to do. It’s a good feel for us. I’m glad he’s out there with me.”
Should the Pats lose more cornerbacks - Chad Scott [stats] (knee injury), Asante Samuel [stats] (yet to report) - it’s possible Wilson will be moved to corner, where he played in college. Wilson wasn’t opposed to the idea, although his preference is to remain at safety.
“I’m always open to doing whatever it takes to help the team, but that would be a question for Bill,” Wilson said, referring to Pats coach Bill Belichick. “At this stage, I’m very comfortable playing safety. I know all the calls, I know everything I’m supposed to do as a safety. I’ve been here a while. I’m real comfortable playing there.”
Heading into his free agent year, Wilson knows he can’t spend another season on the sidelines.
“(The contract is) an issue, but it doesn’t come into play when I’m out here playing,” Wilson said. “I just have to worry about doing the right thing, doing my job and helping the team get better. That’s the main issue right now, not the off-field stuff.”
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Wilson aims to be heard: Safety is out to be old self
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