| Page 2 of 2 < |
Prioleau Grabs an Opportunity
Pierson Prioleau, working to stop Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway, played almost every down after Sean Taylor was ejected from last Saturday's game.
(By Toni L. Sandys -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
And they were smitten with his attitude.
"He's the type of blue-collar guy who is willing to work through anything," said Jackson, Washington's safeties coach. "I've never heard him make an excuse or say there was something he couldn't do. You can always count on him. You can't help but like him, either, because he's always so positive."
Prioleau came to Buffalo as the ultimate underdog, with a list of deficiencies surpassed only by his reputation for conquering them. He played high school football in Alvin, S.C., atown of about 800 people -- and hardly attracted any attention. Recruiters liked his play-making ability but not his size. Prioleau had resigned himself to a career at Wingate, a Division II school in North Carolina, when Virginia Tech offered him a scholarship two weeks after signing day.
His NFL career followed a similar pattern. Drafted in the fourth round, Prioleau played for two seasons in San Francisco before the 49ers released him. He spent the first half of the 2001 season out of the league until the Bills took a chance and signed him. Prioleau, in his first two starts, totaled 21 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 broken-up passes . He remained a pillar of the team's secondary for the next three years.
"Every time I get a chance, I go into it with this idea that I'm going to take advantage of it," Prioleau said. "I have so much fun and energy and drive doing what I do that I can't help but be positive. When I get challenged, that just gives me a chance to prove everybody wrong."
In Washington, Prioleau said, he found the greatest challenge of his career. He came to the team hoping for more playing time, but instead found less. A reliable starter for much of his career in Buffalo, he still grapples with the notion that he's now a role player. A target.
Coaches said Prioleau knows Washington's defensive schemes better than any first-year player in memory. He came in with plenty of experience playing for Williams's defense, and he thoroughly prepares to play several positions: either cornerback or safety spot and nickel back.
"We like guys here who can fit into any position," Williams said. "That gives you a lot of flexibility on defense."
Williams's motto is that every one of his players is a starter. Nobody, Jackson said, accepts that philosophy better than Prioleau.
"I still prepare like I'm going to play every snap," Prioleau said. "When you're a situational guy, you have to be exact, because you only get a certain amount of opportunities to contribute. You want to make sure you do what you're supposed to do.
"It doesn't matter that I don't start. If teams are going to come after me, I better be more ready than ever."
