Meet Vikings Corner Back # 26 Antoine Winfield

Antoine Winfield was born on June 24, 1977, in Akron, Ohio. He attended school at Garfield High School, in Akron, Ohio, where he was named all-state, and division one player of the year. In addition to playing safety at Garfield High, Antoine rushed for 1,069 yards, on 150 carries his senior year. Antoine also helped lead the team to three Akron City titles, and a 10-1 mark his final season.

He played football at Ohio State University, and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's outstanding defensive back his senior year. Antoine played in all 50 games at Ohio State, and started in 29 of those games. He won All-American honors following his Junior and Senior year, and was a two-time All-Big 10 selection. He is the only defensive back in school history, and the 5th player ever to record over 200 tackles. Antoine finished his college career with 278 tackles, of which 224 were solo.

While attending school at Ohio State, Antoine majored in communications, and in 2002, he served as the Buffalo Bills spokesman for a "wear your helmet" bike helmet safety program. Winfield has a wife Erniece, and has two sons, Antoine Jr. and Austin. Winfield was selected as the 23rd pick in the 1999 draft by the Buffalo Bills.

In 1999, Antoine played in all 16 games and made two starts. He made his NFL debut on December 26, 1999, when he replaced Ken Irvin, who was injured the week before. Antoine made his first career interception against the Indianapolis Colts, picking off Payton Manning on September 2. he also recorded his second interception, and made five tackles against Miami, and returned the interception for 10 yards. He played in one play off game versus Tennessee. In that game, he recorded 6 post season tackles, and his first post season interception.

In 2000, he started in the first 11 games of the season, before being put on injured reserve, with a shoulder injury. In his 11 games, Antoine made 65 tackles, of which 55 were solo, and made one interception. Antoine's only interception came off Peyton Manning, in a game on October 1. Antoine was dominate during this season, as he posted 8 tackles against Miami, on October 8, and nine tackles against the San Diego Chargers on October 15, and the New York Jets on October 29. He started in the game on November 12, but left with a shoulder injury. The following week against Kansas City, he was injured again, and this time was out for the season.

Antoine returned in 2001, and led the Bills in tackles with a career high 106, of which 79 were solo. He became the first corner back in Bills history to finish first in tackles. Antoine added 13 pass defenses, forced a fumble, and recovered his first career fumble. Winfield started in all 16 games, and was the Bills leading tackler in three of those games. He recorded his first career forced fumble, and his fourth career interception of Peyton Manning on September 23. As a special note, three of Winfield's first four interceptions came off Peyton Manning. Winfield then recorded his first career fumble in a game against New England in November 11. Antoine had a season high nine tackles in four straight games: San Francisco, Carolina, New England, and Atlanta respectively.

Winfield played the 2002 season in a Bill uniform, and started in 13 games. Antoine Winfield was injured in a game against Houston, and was out for the next three weeks. Coming off the knee injury, Antoine made four tackles against the Jets on November 24, and recorded his second career fumble recovery that led directly to a touchdown. This happened on December 1 against Miami. In a very physical game against Green Bay, Winfield made four tackles, two pass defenses, and a memorable hit on Terry Glenn that separated the receiver from his helmet. Antoine also notched 11 tackles in the game at the Metrodome versus the Vikings very early in the season. This was two short of his career high game.

In his final season with the Bills, Antoine started in all 16 games at Left Corner Back. He was ranked third on the team in total tackles with 124, was tied with Lawyer Miller with the team lead with 14 pass defenses, recorded the first sack of his career against none other than Peyton Manning, and posted nine tackles and a pass defense in that game. Antoine also tied for a team high 12 tackles and helped shut down the running game of the New England Patriots on September 7. Antoine made a hug impact this season, and recorded no less than four tackles a game all season long. Winfield was signed by the Vikings as a free agent on March 8, 2004.

Upon coming to Minnesota in 2004, Antoine made an immediate impact with the Vikings. He started in 12 of 14 games and both playoff games. He led the team in interceptions, while raising the energy level of the entire defense with his aggressive playing style. Despite missing parts of four games, he managed to make 99 tackles this season, and led the Vikings in the playoffs with 22 tackles. Winfield was named NFL Player of the Week for the Wild card games against Green Bay. In that game, Antoine had one interception, and helped disrupt Brett Farve into throwing three other interceptions. He also earned votes in the Associated Press all-Pro balloting. He made a career high 16 tackles in a game against Indianapolis, and made three interceptions. Then the following week posted his first back to back interception game, against New Orleans. Winfield had two games where he posted 12 tackles. He recorded 12 tackles against Dallas on September 12, and on Monday Night Football against Philadelphia.

In 2005, Winfield recorded a career high 4 interceptions and led all defensive backs with 100 tackles. In this season, he was tied for second on the team with 12 pass defenses, third on the team with six tackles for a loss, and tied for a team high with two fumble recoveries on special teams. He had a season high 12 tackles against Detroit, grabbed his second interception of the season, and made three tackles on special teams. Winfield also made nine tackles in games versus Cincinnati, St.Louis, and N.Y. Giants. He started in all 16 games this season.

In his 2006 campaign, Winfield led the Vikings with 20 pass defenses, and was tied with the team lead with four interceptions. This matched his career high from 2005 for one season. He made 97 tackles, of which 83 were solo. He made 20 pass defenses, four interceptions and returned them for 33 yards. Since joining the Vikings in 2004, he has averaged over 95 tackles per season, has helped the Vikings to be ranked third in the NFL in takeaways with 36, and was a key element to the Vikings 8th ranked defense for the first time since 1994. Antoine has made a huge impact on this Vikings defense, since his arrival. He is a stand up guy, and is regarded as one of the hardest hitters in the NFL. He has raised the Vikings defense energy with his aggressive playing style. Antoine has eight regular season and playoff interceptions since joining Minnesota, and the Vikings are currently 8-0 when Antoine has an interception. He has been one of the most sought after free agents in recent memory by the Vikings.

Antoine Winfield has been one of the best players in the NFL. He is very durable playing 118 games in his career, and making 102 starts. He is very hard hitting, and brings an energy level to the game that is second to none. Winfield has played in all four games in 2007, with one interception and a touchdown. He has made 29 tackles this season, averaging 7 tackles per game. Winfield has 27 solo tackles, and four pass defenses. So, whenever there is something big happening on this Vikings defense, you can bet Antoine Winfield had something to do with it.

SKOL WINFIELD!!!!!!

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SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!