Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

[bdutton]

Williams was drafted as a cornerback, but what the Bills found out is that he wasn’t fluid at the position — at least by NFL standards. He struggled to change direction quickly in man coverage, and even when he was in position to make plays on the ball, he couldn’t find a way to prevent completions.

“The problem was just not completing the play,” said the 2011 second-round draft pick. “I would be in the right position and I just felt like I was lackadaisical getting the ball. My motto this year is that ball is going to be mine, I don’t care who it is, a big-time star or not. When you’re on that field, you’ve got to be a dog for that ball. That ball’s a bone, and that’s your bone and you’ve got to go get it.”

This season, he will do his hunting from a new position. When defensive coordinator Mike Pettine began reviewing film on Williams, he surely saw the difficulties Williams was having in man-to-man coverage, and it was pretty obvious to him that safety was a better position for him.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130813/SPORTS03/308130057/Bills-Aaron-Williams-moving-safety-revive-his-career?nclick_check=1

[ZAZusmc03]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

Just another show of the complete ineptitude of the previous coaching staff. IIRC, it was widely known and suggested at draft time that A.Will. Was better suited to play safety in the NFL, and most of us here believed that to be the position he was drafted for. Glad we have, what looks to be, a competent coaching staff going forward.

[OpIv37]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

He looked decent at S against Indy- not great, but much better than the "chicken with his head cut off" routine he pulled at CB last year.

[Skooby]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

He looked decent at S against Indy- not great, but much better than the "chicken with his head cut off" routine he pulled at CB last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's his natural position, he's the right fit for it. The Bills are now playing to their strengths & not their weaknesses.

[cookie G]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

Just another show of the complete ineptitude of the previous coaching staff. IIRC, it was widely known and suggested at draft time that A.Will. Was better suited to play safety in the NFL, and most of us here believed that to be the position he was drafted for. Glad we have, what looks to be, a competent coaching staff going forward.

That was Buddy's decision, and his idea that you needed bigger CB's to match up against taller WR's. Though he thought he might move to safety, that was his 3rd consideration:

This league has gotten big at wide receiver, and it gets bigger and faster every year. So you better get big corners. If you've got 5-8-1/2 or 5-9 corners, you're in trouble. They can't jam, and they can't disrupt the route. But this guy [Williams] is over 6 feet tall, weighs over 200 pounds and is a very versatile player. We'll start him out at corner, and if he can be one of our top two he'll be a starter. If not, he'll be our third guy and move inside on the slot. But if you get in a bind ... and we don't look to do this ... we think he can move in and play safety because he's a good tackler and a smart guy. We felt very fortunate to get him where we did -- so much so that we had our mind made up before we got to the pick. He's almost like a first-round pick, so we wanted to make it count. And we think we did. We took the guy we thought would be the best help for us."

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/15025116/bills-passed-on-a-quarterback-and-still-aced-the-draft

The trouble is...he took a guy that rarely played outside corner, even in college. They had him against the slot receiver most of the time at Texas.

Well, lets hope this works. God knows this team has wasted enough resources on the defensive backfield over the years.

[better days]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

That was Buddy's decision, and his idea that you needed bigger CB's to match up against taller WR's. Though he thought he might move to safety, that was his 3rd consideration:

This league has gotten big at wide receiver, and it gets bigger and faster every year. So you better get big corners. If you've got 5-8-1/2 or 5-9 corners, you're in trouble. They can't jam, and they can't disrupt the route. But this guy [Williams] is over 6 feet tall, weighs over 200 pounds and is a very versatile player. We'll start him out at corner, and if he can be one of our top two he'll be a starter. If not, he'll be our third guy and move inside on the slot. But if you get in a bind ... and we don't look to do this ... we think he can move in and play safety because he's a good tackler and a smart guy. We felt very fortunate to get him where we did -- so much so that we had our mind made up before we got to the pick. He's almost like a first-round pick, so we wanted to make it count. And we think we did. We took the guy we thought would be the best help for us."

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/15025116/bills-passed-on-a-quarterback-and-still-aced-the-draft

The trouble is...he took a guy that rarely played outside corner, even in college. They had him against the slot receiver most of the time at Texas.

Well, lets hope this works. God knows this team has wasted enough resources on the defensive backfield over the years.

Well, Pettine seems to love Aaron at safety because of that versatility Nix spoke of.

[Meathead]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

he made at least one strong run support pop in the indy game that i recall. sure would be awesome if he ends up a good starting safety, gives them the ability and leverage to trade byrd for a nice return if they remain too far apart to agree to a deal

[Buffalo Billy Bison]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...nclick_check=1

They moved A. Williams to Safety not to revive his career but to save it!

[better days]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

They moved A. Williams to Safety not to revive his career but to save it!

HUGE difference in semantics there LOL.

[tampabay25690]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

We actually have coaches that know what's going on!!!

It's actually very nice!

[Mouldsie]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

He will thrive there

[OpIv37]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

Btw that was one thing that drove me insane about the drafting under Nix. It seems like every year, there was at least one relatively high draft pick whose position was immediately changed, and sometimes there were two or 3.

Aaron Williams was picked in the 2nd round. There had to be some good actual CB's available if that's wha Nix wanted. Instead, we have to put additional pressure on a guy by making him learn a new position as he's adapting to the NFL. Stupid. Hopefully this nonsense is over.

[JoeMama]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

The odd thing about Aaron Williams is that he looked pretty good at CB his rookie year.

The guy we saw in year two looked like a totally different player.

I hope the transition to safety works but I'd sooner have Jairus Byrd back, with Williams as a developmental backup.

[OpIv37]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

No doubt on Byrd, but he walks after this year anyway.

[cookie G]

Re: Bills' Aaron Williams moving to safety to revive his career

Well, Pettine seems to love Aaron at safety because of that versatility Nix spoke of.

Versatility implies that he's capable of playing more than one position.

He hasn't shown himself to be a cb. He's one of the worst in the league.