NFL

Liability Coverage

BIG-HITTING SAFETIES WHO CAN'T PLAY THE PASS ARE LOSING THIER JOBS.

By Jason Langendorf, Scouts Inc.

Take a look at Cowboys' strong safety Roy Williams. What do you see? Six feet of menace and 225 pounds of pain; a feared blitzer and heavy hitter.

But tight ends and slot receivers see something different: opportunity. Last year, they were positively giddy to find Williams lined up across from them. The seven-year vet struggled against the pass, even though Dallas removed him from nearly all cover schemes. So while Pro Bowl voters might have turned a blind eye to Williams' weaknesses, the league hasn't: Enforcer safeties are a dying breed.

Just check the off-season transactions: Kenoy Kennedy cut by the lowly Lions; Tank Williams signed by the Pats and promptly moved to linebacker; even John Lynch—leader, thumper, philanthropist—dumped by Denver. The Broncos said all the right things afterward, but essentially they cut Lynch because his fading agility and range were allowing opponents to single him out with coverage mismatches.

Can you blame the Broncos? The safety position is evolving to match increasingly complex playbooks, personnel packages and presnap adjustments. Versatility—not size—is the key. Today's top safeties (think Ed Reed and Bob Sanders) have to match up with freakishly athletic tight ends and barracuda-quick slot receivers while still providing run support and zapping receivers on crossing routes.

Coaches can mask some of the deficiencies of a pass-challenged safety with Cover 2 schemes, but that pulls an enforcer off the line of scrimmage. The Cover 3 is an alternative, but not every DB is comfortable in zone, where spacing and discipline require constant vigilance. Plus, spread sets, motion, no-huddle and playaction still can create (or mimic) scenarios that force a safety to match up one-on-one with a slot receiver or downfield burner. And with refs throwing illegal-contact flags more than ever, there's no margin for error.

So should Williams start working as a linebacker? Not yet. Coach Wade Phillips can scheme around him (read: replace him on obvious passing downs). But when Williams is in the game, Phillips has as much to fear as NFC East ballcarriers.

ALL CHARGED UP

By Molly Knight

Could a torn ACL be the best thing ever to happen to Philip Rivers? That's what he says.

The Bolts QB didn't feel that way in January. Rivers knocked Indy out of the playoffs only to learn he'd obliterated the ligament and meniscus in his right knee. Yet he took the field seven days later in the AFC title game, and—despite missing LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates—the Chargers lost to the Patriots by just nine points. Rivers' toughness won over critics and stunned teammates. Says LT, "It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."

It also jump-started a critical off-season. After surgery, Rivers launched an intensive program to strengthen his lower body and improve his mechanics in the pocket. He also started working out in February, a month earlier than usual. "I'm not a runner," says the 6'5", 228-pound Rivers, "so we worked on quick-twitch stuff within a six-foot radius."

He reported to camp with renewed energy, both physically and mentally. The timing is perfect, because he's coming off a season in which his stats dropped across the board. The fifth-year QB has already dealt with the shadow of Drew Brees; now he's under pressure to match his fellow 2004 draftees—Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning—by delivering a Super Bowl ring.

So it's good that everyone in camp thinks the 26-year-old Rivers is playing his best football. "He's getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and his passes are crisper," says WR Vincent Jackson. "And I don't know how, but even his reads are faster."

Rivers isn't one to argue. "Sometimes I forget which knee I hurt," he says. "I really feel like I'm better than ever." Not to mention tougher.

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