Tank Ready to Destroy NFC North

By Krupka  |   Tuesday, March 28, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!
A fine tuned, nearly indestructible machine used as a dominant force against the opposition; it comes barreling in to destroy anything in its path. Standing 6'3" and weighing 223 pounds, chiseled safety Tank Williams annihilates his opponents, leaving them strewn across the field.

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings signed the hard hitting safety to an incentive-laden, one year contract that could be worth up to $900,000. It is a bargain of a deal for a great athlete who will step in and be the Vikings' starting strong safety.

A product of the Stanford Cardinal, Williams was drafted in the second-round of the 2002 draft by the Tennessee Titans, and stepped in immediately as a starter. In his rookie campaign he tallied 61 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. In his second year in the league he racked up 74 tackles, a half sack, and two interceptions. His third season was cut short when he tore his ACL. In just nine games in 2004 Williams had 52 tackles, one sack, and one interception.

Williams had surgery and returned in just eight months, a tribute to his hard work, and played the entire 2005 season. He admits that he had a sub-par season and the injury affected his play, but knew that he had to be there for his teammates. However, he still posted 78 tackles, a career-high, last season.

"It was one of those things where I was healthy enough to be back on the field, but I wasn't all the way back yet. I knew I had to be out there just because we were a young team and the guys depended on me. I felt it was in the team's best interests and my best interests to go out there and try to play through it and do whatever I could to help the team. Being able to focus on a whole off-season not of rehabbing but focusing on football stuff and being another year removed from the injury, I feel the sky is the limit," said Williams.

Tank Williams will be an integral part of defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin's version of the "Tampa 2" defense. In Tomlin's defense, the strong safety will often come up to the line of scrimmage to stop the run or blitz the quarterback. Tomlin has hinted at the possibility of even lining Williams up as a linebacker on certain plays to utilize his coverage skills. In the cover two defense, the linebackers are asked to cover a lot of space and drop back into coverage.

Vikings head coach Brad Childress is pleased with the signing of Williams, who will replace the departed Corey Chavous (Rams). Childress said, "Tank Williams can hit you. He can fill up a hole; he can play by the line of scrimmage. Not that he can't play in a deep half, but somewhere you need strikers coming out of the back end."

Williams should be a tremendous improvement over Chavous for a fraction of the cost. In the past couple of seasons, Chavous has visibly shown signs of aging and diminishing skills. Although nobody can deny that Chavous has the superior cover skills, Williams provides an immense improvement tackling, and will bring a "tougher" attitude to the defense. Williams is also five years younger.

When asked how he was physically, Williams responded with, "I'm definitely 100 percent and my focus now is just to work hard."

This is great news for the Minnesota Vikings and bad news for all opponents, especially the NFC North. The tank begins destruction this September in the Vikings' opener against the Redskins.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report