CB Antoine Winfield (All B1G, All-American, Thorpe Award, Pro Bowl, All Pro)

[Buckskin86]

Scoggins: Age, injuries won't alter Winfield's style
Article by: CHIP SCOGGINS , Star Tribune
Updated: July 30, 2012

MANKATO - Percy Harvin exploded off the line and tried to get Antoine Winfield to bite on a fake during a 1-on-1 drill in the opening practice of Vikings training camp.

Winfield quickly recognized a "tell" in Harvin's route, something that gave away the receiver's intentions, and he turned the tables. Winfield jumped the route and intercepted the pass, leaving Harvin shaking his head. Harvin jogged over to a smiling Winfield on the sideline and asked the veteran cornerback what he did to tip his hand.

"He's a smart, savvy defender," Harvin said. "I'm always going to him trying to get advice to ask what he sees."

Said Winfield, "I've pretty much seen it all."

Winfield is the Vikings' resident graybeard, but he's not ready to hang up his cleats just yet. At 35, he's the team's oldest player and, entering his 14th season, he joins Denver cornerback Champ Bailey as the only remaining first-round picks from the 1999 draft still in the league.

Injuries cut short two of Winfield's past three seasons, and the Vikings are hoping to curtail his workload and possibly his role this season in order to preserve his health and legs. Winfield, however, makes two things clear: He still loves the game as much as ever, and he's not changing the way he plays.

"I'm going to stick my head in there," he said. "I've always played that way. My game will never change. It's still crazy to me, to think about the way I play and to last this long, still able to be effective. I'm just blessed."

cont...

http://www.startribune.com/sports/164218066.html?refer=y

 

[Buckskin86]

Minnesota Vikings will monitor Antoine Winfield's number of plays
By Brian Murphy
[email protected]
Posted: 07/31/2012

MANKATO, Minn. -- Determining cornerback Antoine Winfield's role is an intriguing storyline as the Vikings prepare to deploy a raw and mostly unproven secondary to defend against NFC North passing stars Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford and Jay Cutler.

Winfield, a 14-year veteran, is the only cornerback with more than 27 pro starts. The 34-year-old also is the only one playing in his third decade. New defensive coordinator Alan Williams sees no evidence Winfield is slowing down but acknowledges the Vikings will have Winfield on a "pitch count."

"Antoine is a technician and the body is not going to stay young forever, so he can rely on his years of experience to play and play well," Williams said Tuesday, July 31. "We realize that there are only so many reps that a body has so we want to be smart about how we use him, about how we play him. Some of that is going to be how fast some of our younger guys or some of the guys that we brought in come up to speed."

Winfield, who was limited to five games in 2011 because of clavicle and neck injuries, is projected to cover more slot receivers. Chris Cook is locking down one spot on the outside, and veteran Chris Carr and rookie Josh Robinson are competing for snaps at the other.

The Vikings hope a third starter emerges from camp to allow Winfield to work in the slot and play mentor.

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/c...s-will-monitor-antoine-winfields-number-plays

 

[Buckskin86]

Winfield's playing time on a "pitch count"
Brian Hall

The Vikings would like to limit the number of snaps Antoine Winfield plays this season to keep him healthy and fresh. (Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE)

MANKATO, Minn. ? Antoine Winfield is entering his 14th NFL season at age 35 and is still considered, in many ways, the Minnesota Vikings' top cornerback.

He's certainly their most experienced. With 181 games under his belt, he leads a group of corners in which only Chris Carr has played more than three NFL seasons. The other 10 cornerbacks in training camp for Minnesota have a combined 14 years of experience and have played a total of 198 games.

Being surrounded by that type of inexperience could make Winfield feel old. In a training camp with Winfield for the first time though, new defensive coordinator Alan Williams doesn't think his veteran cornerback got the message he's getting older.

"I don't think anybody told him that," Williams said. "I don't know if he's aware of that, so you have to go check with him to see if he's aware that he's getting older because I looked at yesterday's practice and there's nothing that says he is slowing down or wearing down or whatever verbiage you want to use with that."

Williams would like to keep Winfield looking that way. Williams acknowledged the Vikings would like to limit the number of snaps Winfield plays this season to keep him healthy and fresh, saying Winfield would be on a "pitch count." The plan has been discussed, but there is no set number of snaps to help preserve Winfield.

"Early in the year we're just coming up with a plan," Winfield said. "No man can last 16 games. Who knows how many plays that will be. Depends on how I'm feeling midseason, late in the year. I'll communicate with them, let them know and we'll come up with something."

cont...

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/08/01...ing_mnvikings.html?blockID=769743&feedID=3793

Veteran Vikings CB Antoine Winfield still enjoying the game, mentoring teammates
By Joe Oberle | CBSSports.com
August 1, 2012

The Vikings roster is in the process of becoming much younger this season; eight starters are gone since last year.

Still, the younger players need some experienced players to mentor them, and one of the best is the oldest player on the roster: 35-year-old CB Antoine Winfield. He's entering his 14th season but still has plenty of love for the game.

?Absolutely,? he says. ?I think I enjoy it more because I know my time is coming soon. Every day, I am going to get out here and compete. I think these guys keep me young. My teammates get after me a little bit for all the grey in my beard, but it's all fun.?

Winfield's attitude has not gone unnoticed. Coach Leslie Frazier said that he will monitor Winfield's reps during games this year, and maybe he should start doing that in practice, too.

?He really seems to be into this training camp more than any other,? Frazier said. ?You see him out there taking one-on-ones and all of the reps. He is doing everything he can to get ready. He is definitely invigorated in a lot of ways, which is good for our young players to see the way he works and how approaches things.?

One of the players gleaning anything he can from Winfield is WR Percy Harvin, who is matching up often in the slot where Winfield is spending a lot of time in camp. Winfield says that Harvin is very physical for his size and one of the top receivers in the league -- and that keeps Winfield sharp. But Harvin takes what he can from the matchup as well.

?After every play when I go against him, he'll ask me, ?Now what did you see?' And I will let him know what I am doing," Harvin said. "We're going to continue to work hard and [make] each other better.?

Two of the best working to get better, showing that improvement knows no age.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/n...d-still-enjoying-the-game-mentoring-teammates

 

[Buckskin86]

Vikings? Winfield: ?I?m a role player?
Finding a balance in the NFL between preserving the health of a team?s best players and maximizing their talent is always a trick.
By: Dave Campbells, Associated Press

MANKATO, Minn. ? Finding a balance in the NFL between preserving the health of a team?s best players and maximizing their talent is always a trick.

Take the Minnesota Vikings, with All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen. He just turned 30, but he has never missed a game in four previous years with the team and is coming off a 22-sack performance that ranks second on the league?s single-season list.

The Vikings want to keep their entire front four fresh, so all the second-stringers are counted on for regular playing time, sort of a hockey-line substitution philosophy that new defensive coordinator Alan Williams uses. But Allen doesn?t like it. Not at all.

?I?ll do anything to win,? Allen said, ?but I don?t want to come off the field.?

Coach Leslie Frazier said the staff concluded that some of their starters were worn out last year in the fourth quarter in some of the games. Allen played 94.5 percent of the snaps last season, according to game reviews by the Twin Cities radio station website 1500ESPN.com.

?I work so hard in the offseason to get in the best shape that I can. My theory has always been if you want to rest me, rest me during the week because I get paid to play on Sundays,?

cont...

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/238983/group/Sports/

 

[Buckskin86]

Minnesota Vikings: Antoine Winfield, 35, all about experience, savvy ... and big hits
By Bob Sansevere
[email protected]
Posted: 08/16/2012

While the Vikings' Antoine Winfield, 35, is aging, he is far from too old for the game. (Pioneer Press file photo: Chris Polydoroff)

Antoine Winfield is the only Vikings player whose NFL career began in the last century. Winfield was a rookie with the Buffalo Bills in 1999. Now 35 and entering his 14th season in the league, Winfield is the Vikings' graybeard who happens to have a graying beard.

While he is aging, he is far from too old for the game.

"He's still competitive. He still can make plays out there," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "He's definitely in a minority. To find a guy who still can perform at the level he performs at his age and his tenure is unusual. It just goes to show how talented he is, but also how smart a football player he is. It's more than just physical at this stage of his career. He really understands offenses, wide receivers and what it takes to be successful at that position. He's rare and very unique because of the combination of being a smart player and also a very talented player."

The Vikings play host to the Bills on Friday night, Aug. 17, in their second preseason game -- and Winfield's first game since last November. He played in only five games in 2011, spending most of the season recovering from a broken clavicle. Winfield is expected to start at cornerback for the Vikings against his former team.

BS: How different a player are you from those days when you played for the Bills (1999-2003)?

AW: It's been awhile since I've been in Buffalo. As a young guy coming in, you're excited about being in the NFL and just so happy being out

cont...

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/c...ings-antoine-winfield-35-all-about-experience

 

[Buckskin86]

Antoine Winfield Takes Field For Vikings Days After Tragedy
by Christopher Gates on Sep 10, 2012

On Thursday, with the Minnesota Vikings preparing for their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the name of Antoine Winfield appeared on the injury report as having missed practice for "non-football" reasons. The Vikings didn't immediately mention what that reason was.

After Sunday's game, we found out, as reported by Scout.com.

Winfield's brother, 30-year old Anthony Travis, was murdered in the early hours of Thursday morning in Winfield's home town of Akron, Ohio. Police have not yet identified any suspects and are investigating the homicide.

After missing much of the 2011 season with a number of injuries, one of the Vikings' stalwarts was playing with an extremely heavy heart on Sunday afternoon. Following the game, he gave thanks to his teammates for supporting him through the tragedy and said that being on the football field helped him to feel a bit more normal.

Our condolences go out to Antoine Winfield and his family during this time.

http://www.dailynorseman.com/2012/9...ld-takes-field-for-vikings-days-after-tragedy

 

[Buckskin86]

Vikings? Winfield misses practice to attend brother?s funeral in Akron
Associated Press
Updated: September 14, 2012

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield missed practice on Thursday to attend his brother?s funeral.

Anthony Travis was murdered in Winfield?s hometown of Akron last week and laid to rest on Thursday. Winfield played in the season opener against Jacksonville days after the 30-year-old Travis?s death. Head coach Leslie Frazier says he expects Winfield back to practice today and in the lineup Sunday at Indianapolis.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/vikings-...to-attend-brother-s-funeral-in-akron-1.334495

 

[Buckskin86]

Ex-Buckeye Winfield mourns loss of brother
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Antoine Winfield struggled to come up with the words to describe what it's been like in the nine days since his younger brother was murdered.

The Minnesota Vikings cornerback and former Ohio State star played in the season opener last weekend four days after learning of the death of 30-year-old Anthony Travis. And when the Vikings take the field against the Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday, he will be playing just three days after attending his brother's funeral.

Winfield returned to practice on Friday, one day after flying to his hometown of Akron for the services of Travis, who had two daughters.

"That was tough, probably one of the toughest days of my life," Winfield said. "Going to bury my younger brother was a very difficult situation."

Winfield has been leaning on his teammates and the organization for support through these trying times and said he has been using football as his escape. Vikings GM Rick Spielman attended the funeral, and players and coaches have showered Winfield with support.

"I don't want to say it was easy because it wasn't at all," Winfield said. "But it helped just being around the guys. Trying to keep a smile on my face and try to take my mind off of it. But during the game Sunday, I thought about it a little bit at the beginning. But once [I was] on the field, I totally concentrated on football."

The incident left Winfield lamenting the difficult environment in Akron, one he said doesn't offer the young people many opportunities to avoid a life of crime and poverty.

"I'm dealing with it. But it's Akron, Ohio," he said. "It's rough there. It's rough. A lot of guys aren't going to school, [they're] doing the wrong things. You get caught up in bad situations, and those things happen."

The Vikings have long considered Winfield one of the toughest and most reliable players they have, a small guy playing a big man's game, and winning. But seeing their teammate and friend go through such a heart-breaking week and still not miss a game has only further cemented Winfield's place in the team hierarchy.

"To experience the loss that he experienced this week and to come to work, to work as hard as he did and then to play in the ballgame and play as well as he did, I don't know that I could have done that," coach Leslie Frazier said. "I don't know many people that could have done that. It's just a very courageous young man, very strong young man, and his teammates, they were very supportive."

He played the opener against Jacksonville numb, trying to take out all his frustration and grief on the Jaguars.

"Last week I played a lot harder, running around and just trying to hit everything, feeling no pain," Winfield said

cont...

http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2012/09/15/Ex-Buckeye-Winfield-mourns-loss-of-brother.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Minnesota Vikings: Antoine Winfield gives team an earful in 10-minute talk
By Jeremy Fowler
[email protected]
Posted: 09/19/2012

Veteran Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield addressed the team early this week -- "coaches, GM, everybody," he said -- for what appeared to be a fiery message.

The contents of which will stay in the locker room, Winfield said Wednesday, Sept. 19.

"Football," said Winfield when asked about the nature of his 10-minute talk.

Winfield did say the team needs to execute when the game is on line, which wasn't the case last week as Colts quarterback Andrew Luck fired off consecutive 20-yard passes in the final 30 seconds to set up the winning field goal.

"I only stand up and say stuff when it's coming from the heart and I think it needs to be said," Winfield said.

Winfield is 35, enters the final two years on his contract and knows he doesn't have much football left.

Translation: Time to get it together, boys.

"I'm only playing this game because I want to win a championship," Winfield said. "It's not about the money anymore. I still love to play. I think I'm still productive I still play at a high level. That's why I'm here."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...oine-winfield-gives-team-an-earful?source=rss

 

[Buckskin86]

Cornerback Antoine Winfield, in his 14th NFL season, doesn't want to waste the few remaining years of football he might have left. So, on Monday, the three-time Pro Bowler got up in front of his teammates, coaches and even general manager Rick Spielman during a meeting and made an impassioned speech, something he says he's done only a few times in his nine seasons in Minnesota.

Winfield had something on his mind, and had the full attention of the organization for what he said was about 10 minutes.

"I only stand up and say stuff when it's coming from the heart," said Winfield, who would admit only to talking about football. "I thought a little bit about it the night before, but everything else was off the dome."

Everyone took the message to heart.

"He's one of our leaders on the team, the oldest guy on the team, so what he had to say was very pertinent," defensive end Jared Allen said. "We'll leave it at that. What's said in that team room is for our ears only. But it was good. Antoine's a hell of a player, and he has every right to call it as he sees it. And everybody agreed with him."

The Vikings don't want to be lulled into believing everything is going to be OK. Losing 17-7, 17-0 and 20-0 halftime leads in last year's 0-3 start made losing a late lead to the Colts tough to swallow.

"You don't want to give games away, especially this early in the year," Winfield said, later adding: "It's hard to win in this league. We could easily be 0-2. Like I said, games like that when you have a chance to win, you need to find a way to win."

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/09/21...ing_mnvikings.html?blockID=793827&feedID=3793

 

[Buckskin86]

Minnesota Vikings' Antoine Winfield talked, teammates listened
By Bob Sansevere
[email protected]
Posted: 09/23/2012

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield pushes San Francisco 49ers Randy Moss out of bounds after Moss catches a pass during second-quarter action Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Vikings veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield had a talk with his teammates Monday, Sept. 17, telling them they had to study and work harder. Based on the outcome of the Vikings' game against the San Francisco 49ers -- a 24-13 victory Sunday, Sept. 23 -- they appear to have listened. Here is Winfield ...

On the impact of the speech he made: "I think it helped a lot. Guys studied a lot more. The coaches did a great job of calling the right defenses and we went out there and executed. The first two weeks we were giving up some plays we shouldn't have. I think I have a little bit of respect around here. I've been here a long time. Guys know once I'm on the field, I'm giving a hundred percent. They know I'm studying hard. I just want them to do the same thing."

On his decision to address the team: "We have a lot of young guys, a lot of new faces on this team. In this league, it's week-to-week. Guys have to prepare and come out and play well. And we need to stack the Ws as early as possible."

On the grade he'd give his team: "I'd have to look at the film but right now, it's an A-plus."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...gs-antoine-winfield-talked-teammates-listened

 

[Buckskin86]

Winfield always faces a tall order

Article by: MARK CRAIG , Star Tribune
Updated: September 28, 2012

The 5-9 corner keeps seeing bigger, better receivers enter the NFL.

Written on a piece of paper in front of Antoine Winfield was a comparison of the height and weight of the No. 1 receivers in his division during his first and 14th NFL seasons.

Funny how things can change when a short man's career keeps eluding extinction from one millennium to the next.

"Yeah," said Winfield, looking at the piece of paper, "that pretty much sums up the direction the NFL is going."

Or went.

In 1999, Winfield was a 5-9, 180-pound rookie with the Bills. The top receiver in the AFC East that year was the Colts' Marvin Harrison, a 6-foot, 175-pounder who caught 115 passes for 1,663 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"Marvin was sort of tall and real skinny," Winfield said. "Great player, though."

This season, Winfield is still stuck on 5-9, 180 as a 35-year-old veteran leading the young Vikings secondary back into the tall timber that is the NFC North. Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, they face the division's top receiver, Calvin "Megatron" Johnson, a 6-5, 239-pounder who caught 96 passes for 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago and leads the league in receiving yards (369) and catches of 25 yards or more (four) this season.

How good is he? Well, his goal is 2,000 yards receiving. And no one is snickering.

"A guy that size was a tight end in 1999," said Winfield, shaking his head. "But the difference is this guy is running 4.2, 4.3 and can jump out of the gym."

cont...

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/171631461.html?refer=y

 

[PlanetFrnd]

Try to make a point of at least checking the Dispatch to see how former Buckeyes played... Winfield just keeps producing...

Antoine Winfield, CB, Minnesota: Had six solo tackles and four assists in the win over Detroit.

With as many productive years as he's had... he eventually gets into the Hall right?

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

he was roughly 50 tackles short of 1000 career NFL tackles coming into the season.

sounds impressive for a corner to me.

only buckeye defender in my personal OSU hall of fame (archie, eddie, troy, tressel, woody, and 2002 team are framed in the hallway so far along with antoine).

a ring would help the hall.

an extra yard and a ring would probably have put eddie in the hall, now not so sure sadly.

 

[Buckskin86]

REDUCED ROLE

Cornerback Antoine Winfield had the Vikings? lone interception, but he curiously didn?t make the start in the team?s base defense. Instead, rookie Josh Robinson started in the base defense and took some snaps away from Winfield.

?They came to me Wednesday and said they were going to roll Josh in there a little more and try to get him some experience,? Winfield said. ?I?m cool with that.?

We pointed out Sunday that Winfield hadn?t played less than 94 percent of the snaps in a game so far this year, playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps in two of the team?s first four games.

However, on Sunday his role was greatly reduced, but he didn?t seem bothered by it. He said the move wasn?t disciplinary, saying he has started 14 years in the NFL and it wasn?t a hit to his pride to take a step back.

?One of the things we want to be able to do with Antoine, and some of our other players, is be able to take some snaps off them at this point in the season and hopefully when we get to November, December we still have a fresh Antoine Winfield and a guy who can really continue to play at a high level for us,? Frazier said. ?It is his 14th season in the league, so whenever we can take some snaps off him and get Josh a chance to continue to develop, we?re going to try to do that.?

Winfield and Robinson have the only two interceptions for the Vikings this season.

Like Ponder, Winfield was on the team?s injury report last week with a knee issue. He said it was a little swollen after the game.

http://www.foxsportsnext.com/nfl/mi...-simpson-concerned-after-injury.20121007.html