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Williams said he was overwhelmed by the congratulations he received from former teammates and others who had been part of his football life.
"Everything he did, whether it was on or off the field, he did with a tremendous amount of honesty and dignity," said Dave McGinnis,Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys, who coached Williams in Arizona.
Growing up in a strict but loving family in New Orleans,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Williams said school was more important to his parents than athletics.
Zygmunt started by saying he had been associated with many great players in his 27 years with the Rams.
Quite the opposite.
PHOENIX (AP) — Aeneas Williams spent most of his NFL career on bad teams.
Now a pastor in St. Louis, Williams will be introduced at the Hall of Fame induction by his father, Lawrence, whom he credits for molding him into the man he became.
But that didn't prevent him from pursuing excellence, becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league and earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"You're at the top of that list with your incredible play," Williams read. "But your exemplary life as a man even surpasses your performance and accomplishments on the field."
On draft day of 2001, the Cardinals traded him to the St. Louis Rams for draft picks.
Williams still remembers, and often repeats, what Southern defensive coordinator Percy Duhe told the New Orleans newspaper, that "Aeneas is a good player,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, but I don't think he'll ever go pro because he runs a 4.6 (second) 40-yard dash."
He finally made it to the playoffs with the Cardinals in 1998,Brett Favre Falcons Jersey, then intercepted two passes as Arizona stunned the Cowboys in Dallas in the first round.
Williams had 55 interceptions, including eight seasons with at least four. He made the Hall of Fame in his third time as a finalist.
While the team lost year after year, Williams said he bears no animosity.
That year, for just the second time in his career, Williams was in the playoffs.
Williams read it aloud, his voice cracking a bit with emotion.
"The one common thread that they all possessed is they elevated the play of everybody around them,Alexis Sanchez Chile Jersey," McGinnis said. "They had a different presence."
Williams and Singletary are two of six Hall of Famers McGinnis has coached.
Williams was moved to safety in the final years of his career, retiring in 2004, leaving a trail of admiration.
And he never let the poor play around him affect his performance.
"I pulled him aside one day and told him 'Having you play corner reminds me of having Mike Singletary at linebacker,'" McGinnis said.
"I didn't have to look outside my home for a hero," Williams said.
But the Cardinals slipped back into their inept ways and, after a decade in the desert, Williams left to join a winner.
"I really saw the makings of what the current (Cardinals) organization is experiencing now," Williams said.
In his 10 seasons with Arizona, the Cardinals had one winning season.
McGinnis, who was the defensive coordinator, then head coach, at Arizona, said every game plan would be developed around Williams.
But despite that, he either led or shared the NFL lead in interceptions three times and made six Pro Bowls. Williams never missed a game and started all but one. He had a streak of 157 consecutive starts.
"I ran a 4.28 for scouts that spring," he said.
"I never wanted to just be a great player on the field," he said. "I wanted people to experience joy off the field as well."
"I can say my time in Arizona was fulfilling,Cheap Jerseys Online, rewarding," he said. "I'd never trade it for the world."
"Just refuse to become a loser even though we weren't winning a whole lot of games," Williams said.
The then-Phoenix Cardinals picked him in the third round.
He played football in high school, but didn't draw any interest from colleges. So he followed his older brother to Southern University.
He started at left cornerback, helping transform a woeful Rams defense, and St. Louis reached the Super Bowl, where it lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 20-17.
Williams said he joined the track team that year and worked with a fellow football player to improve his speed.
As a junior, he decided to join the football team as a walk-on. The following season, he led the Southwestern Athletic Conference with seven interceptions.
He carries with him a congratulatory note he got from Jay Zygmunt, former Rams president of football operations. |
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