The only thing that stopped Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones last Sunday was the fact that NFL games last 60 minutes because it looked like the Panthers could try forever to cover him without succeeding.
Jones had 12 catches for 300 yards, many of which came while he was being guarded by cornerback Bene Benwikere. Benwikere said that he felt his conditioning wasn’t good enough as he fell short with the Falcons continually sending receivers deep against him and is working to improve on that front this week as he expects other teams will try to do the same thing. He’s looking forward to the chance to make that plan less successful.
“I’m definitely eager to get back on the field, not only to show outside people. Really to show my teammates and coaches just what I can do,” Benwikere said, via the Charlotte Observer. “It’s a new week. They say in the secondary you have to put everything behind you and have a short memory. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
Coach Ron Rivera said that the team is going to open up competition for playing time at corner, but an injury to second-round pick James Bradberry’s toe limits the options on hand. Robert McClain, rookie Daryl Worley and Teddy Williams are the other options on hand, which makes it hard to imagine Benwikere won’t get a chance at redemption against the Buccaneers on Monday night.