In football, spring
accomplishments and evaluations come with an
asterisk and a warning.
*These statements and observation might not hold true
this fall, when regular-season games begin.
The Cardinals know that in May every team is undefeated
and no player has failed. With that caveat out of the
way, everyone seems confident that switching Antrel
Rolle from cornerback to safety could be one of the key
moves of the off-season.
"As far as purely playing the safety position, he's
looked very comfortable and very confident," coach Ken
Whisenhunt said.
It's a move many expected the Cardinals to eventually
make when they took Rolle with the eighth overall pick
in 2005. Some scouts back then thought Rolle would make
a better safety than corner, and Rolle struggled at
times during his three years at cornerback.
But Rolle appears to have all the tools to succeed at
free safety: He's a good tackler, has good instincts,
runs well and has the ability to intercept passes and
run with them afterward.
As the team's third corner last year, he returned three
interceptions for touchdowns, including two in one
game.
Now, it appears Rolle will have the best of both
worlds. He'll play free safety in the base defense and
move to cornerback in some nickel situations.
"I think it was a good move," Rolle said. "I wanted to
move back there. I felt like I could help the team more
back there, roam around, pretty much freelance and be a
deep safety."
Some cornerbacks resist such a move, and in his first
three years, Rolle always maintained he would prefer to
play corner. After last year, however, it didn't make
much sense to keep him there.
Rolle had lost a starting spot to Eric Green and Rod
Hood, and the club had cut last year's starting safety,
Terrence Holt.
So the Cardinals moved Rolle and drafted cornerback
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the first round.
"I think the biggest thing for Antrel is he wants to be
a starter, he wants to be a great player in this
league," secondary coach Teryl Austin said. "I think
he'll do whatever it takes to be that kind of player."
There is much to learn, however. Cornerbacks have to
know just one side of the field, while safeties must
take in the whole field and the entire offensive
formation.
There are signals to be called, information to be
passed on to linebackers and corners. The pursuit
angles are different, as is the time he has to react to
plays.
"The main thing I have to work on is reading the
quarterback from that depth," Rolle said, "just slowing
down a little bit. I'm used to being at corner, so my
instincts are a whole lot faster. You have more time,
and you can't get too antsy."
With the plan to keep him responsible for the slot
receiver in nickel situations, Rolle will keep one foot
in his old world.
"That's one of the things I mentioned that no matter
what happened, I never wanted to move from the slot,"
he said. "That's a natural fit, being that I played
there in college and I fit in pretty good there last
year. It's a great position for me."
But it's only May and Rolle hasn't won the free safety
job yet.
He's running with the first team, but he'll be pushed
in training camp by Aaron Francisco and possibly Matt
Ware.
"He looks like a natural for the position," Whisenhunt
said. "I'm excited to see what he does in the preseason
games and when we get the pads on."
(azcentral.com)