10-15-2020, 09:48 PM
(10-15-2020, 08:39 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: There is a reason why they signed Vonn Bell.
Williams has made a few plays, that I'll give him, but he more often than not reads and reacts to plays way too late and he made a field flipping mistake in pretty much every game he started. Williams was often tasked with covering TEs and we know how that's been in Cincinnati since Reggie Nelson's spot was filled by Shawn Williams.
It certainly wasn’t for Williams. It was quite common for Cincinnati to run three safeties last year in their dime package and they added Vonn Bell to bolster that idea. Shawn and Jessie both played over 90% of the snaps last season (93% for Williams and 98% for Bates). Brandon Wilson and Clayton played 17% and 10% of snaps, respectively. Lou would bring them out as the dime defensive back. With the Bell signing, the idea was that Bell and Trae Waynes and Reader would make the run defense stronger with this type of defensive setup.
The tight end issue has been around for a long time now, including when Reggie was here. Shawn is a better cover safety than Vonn is, but Vonn excels as an in-the-box safety (Bell has one interception for his entire career). I would expect to be seeing more of Shawn Williams as the season progresses.
