Sam Shields Delivers Again

Another day, another couple big plays by undrafted rookie cornerback Sam Shields.

During Thursday morning’s practice, Flynn threw a short pass toward the sideline to Jason Chery. Shields broke on the ball, tipped the ball just as it reached Chery’s hands and caught it for what would have been a touchdown for the defense.

Shields was at it again during the night practice, with a leaping deflection of a long pass to Patrick Williams and a breakup of an intermediate route to Chery. He wasn’t perfect, as he got beaten deep for a touchdown by Greg Jennings.

The next step in Shields’ run to a roster spot will take place in Saturday night’s preseason game against Cleveland at Lambeau Field.

“I’m very excited,” the usually understated Shields said after the morning practice. “It’s the first game of the preseason. Just go out there and make some plays and make one of the coaches proud.”

Based on sheer ability, cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt says Shields is the most talented cornerback on the team. If he gets the mental game down, he could wind up being a major steal, Whitt said.

“Oh, I’ve made big, big progress,” he said. “When I first got here, I was lost, and each day I kept staying in the playbook, coach Joe Whitt, he told me strategies on how to learn the plays and that’s what I did and it helped me out a lot.”



(gnb.scout.com)