Hurricane Rolle a hit for Cardinals

Place a football in their hands, and some people make plays. Only a few make magic.

Meet Antrel Rolle, a young man who has turned 50 percent of his interceptions into touchdowns. And that's only half the story.

"I think it's just a Miami thing," Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "Look around the league. Remember the late Sean Taylor? Every time he got his hands on the ball, he was going to the end zone. You saw (the Ravens) Ed Reed on Sunday, and what he's done his whole career. Antrel has that same knack for the end zone, the same swagger, effort and determination to change the course of the game."

These days, the best part of the Cardinals defense is no longer the depth of defensive linemen. It's the upgraded secondary. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is ascending toward becoming the team's best cover cornerback since Aeneas Williams, and Rod Hood is much better when battling the other team's lesser receiver. Meanwhile, Adrian Wilson is a Pro Bowl safety who'll hit you into the neighbor's living room, a man who knocked out quarterback Trent Edwards and personally derailed a promising season in Buffalo. After that game, Wilson actually received hate mail from enraged Bills fans.

But the story of Rolle is becoming absurd. He's not particularly elusive. He's certainly not that fast. He's built solid and muscular, and his lack of foot speed is partly why he was switched from cornerback to safety. Yet Rolle has somehow returned 4 of 8 interceptions for touchdowns, and the numbers should be even more incredible.

They don't count an interception Rolle returned for a score last season against Cincinnati (his third of the game), a touchdown wrongly nullified by penalty. The league acknowledged so publicly.

They don't count a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown against the 49ers earlier this season nullified by an offsides penalty on Wilson.

Rolle should be 6 of 10, a percentage that drops the jaw. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown in last week's playoff win against Atlanta.

By comparison, Reed is rightfully considered the master of the pick six, a man with an astonishing 1,144 career yards on interception returns. Playoffs included, Reed has returned 6 of 48 interceptions for touchdowns, a ratio that actually pales in comparison to his fellow Hurricane.

"Some guys just have that innate quality," Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "Sometimes, you say they're lucky. But when it creates a pattern, it's something different. Either Antrel's one of the luckiest people I've ever been around, or there's some type of talent there."

Rolle says he's always had a nose for the end zone. He was a running back for most of his young life, and he runs with the same kind of internal fury that pours from Anquan Boldin. He follows his blocks, stops with anti-lock brakes and innately understands all angles. His eyes are always well beyond the nearest tackler.

"Once I get the ball in my hands, I definitely know what to do," Rolle said. "I just keep my eyes on the bigger prize and if they touch me or grab at me, nine times out of 10 I don't feel it."

After a rough start, Rolle has finally found a comfort level. He was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2005 draft, and struggled with the pressure, the expectations and with Dennis Green's defense. He was at risk of becoming yet another Arizona draft debacle, a player the Cardinals chose over defensive beasts like DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman.

"I was used to being a pressing corner, and my first two years here, it was mandatory that we played nine yards off the ball," Rolle said. "That threw me off a little bit."

Now, Rolle is developing fast. He wants to be the next Reed. He wants to "see what he sees." The two men are friends, members of the Hurricane fraternity, and Rolle vows to spend part of the upcoming offseason learning more from the master.

Once a target, Rolle is making them pay for throwing his way. For Cardinals fans, that's when the magic begins.

(azcentral.com)