Cards' Wilson keeping pretty elite company

As a rookie in 2001, Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson was relegated to the back of the bus.

Wilson didn't mind. He was pretty quiet back then - even more so than he is now - and he figured the veterans didn't want to hear from him anyway.

He'd sit with the other first-year players, some scrubs and a senior citizen who looked like he should be heading to the horse track to place a few $2 bets.

"I was always asking, 'Who is the old man in the back of the bus smoking cigarettes?' " Wilson said. "That was some bad second-hand smoke."

That old man, Wilson soon found out, was Hall of Fame safety Larry Wilson, who played in eight Pro Bowls and had 52 career interceptions.

Larry Wilson was a Cardinals' vice president at the time, and he still liked riding the bus, mostly because it gave him a chance to talk to some of Arizona's younger players.

In Adrian Wilson, he found a kindred spirit. The two men played the same position. Both men were doers instead of talkers. And now, eight years later, it's a certainty they'll be linked again one day - in the Cardinals' Ring of Honor.

Adrian Wilson needs one sack to become just the 10th player in NFL history to record 20 career sacks and interceptions. Chances are he'll get that sack Sunday in St. Louis, where Larry Wilson played all 13 years of his NFL career.

Larry Wilson will be at the game, one safety saluting another, one franchise icon immensely proud of another.

"I think that's one of the greatest things. He's just been a Cardinal," Larry said. "It's so good to see a player that wants to be a Cardinal, that wants to be a part of this team and isn't always looking to go someplace else. Boy, do I appreciate that."

For the most part, the Wilsons had a one-way conversation on those bus rides. Larry spoke. Adrian listened. Larry would talk about what it was like to play in the 1960s and early '70s, about how tough the players were and how different the game was.

Adrian could have put on his headphones and tuned the old man out. What did he care? This was 2001. But Adrian was an old soul even then. He appreciated the history lesson.

"I like to listen a lot," Adrian said. "I learned a lot from him. Just the type of person you have to be and the type of player you have to be to play the position."

Adrian espouses much of Larry's old-school philosophy. He believes the game itself is the reward, that self-promotion is for fools. It's why he had to be prodded by a Cardinals official to talk about the 20 sacks and interceptions. He'd rather just do his job, go home and spend time with his family.

"I've seen what can happen if you're in the spotlight too much," Adrian said. "I want to lead from the back."

The straight line between the two men extends to the football field as well. Larry Wilson was the forerunner of the safety blitz, the play that has launched Adrian Wilson to two Pro Bowls.

In 1960, Cardinals defensive coordinator Chuck Drulis designed a scheme in which the free safety would blitz the quarterback. The play was called "Wildcat," after Larry's nickname.

"I had to wait for the right player to execute it," Drulis said at the time. "He had to be quick, he had to be a hard tackler and he had to have a lot of guts, because he could be belted really hard by those big offensive linemen if anything went wrong."

Sound like somebody you watch every Sunday?

The Wilsons haven't talked since Super Bowl week last February. Larry doesn't join the team on road trips anymore. But he watches every game, and his admiration of Adrian has only grown.

"Wow. What a player," Larry said. "What impresses me is when somebody enjoys playing. I'm firmly convinced Adrian is one of those guys who enjoys it. To me he's had a great career."

Does he think Adrian plays the game the way he did?

"I don't know what I was when I played," Larry said. "I sure would like people to think I was like him. He's not only an exceptional player, he's an exceptional guy."

Ten years ago, there was only one great safety in Cardinals history. Ten years from now, there will be two.

"I want to go down in history," Adrian Wilson said. "I've never been retired at any level, whether it's high school, college or anything. Just to be mentioned with Larry and to have that kind of aura about you says a lot about what you've done as a player for one franchise.

"For me, that's big. That's just something I can remember with my kids."

And to think, it all started in the back of a bus.

Players with 20 career sacks* and interceptions

Safety Ronde Barber, Tampa

Safety LeRoy Butler, Green Bay

Safety Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia/Denver

Linebacker Donnie Edwards, Kansas City/San Diego

Safety Rodney Harrison, San Diego/New England

Linebacker Seth Joyner, Philadelphia/Arizona/Green Bay/Denver

Linebacker Ray Lewis, Baltimore

Linebacker Wilber Marshall, Chicago/Washington/Houston/Arizona/New York Jets

Linebacker William Thomas, Philadelphia/Oakland

* Sacks were not kept as an official stat until 1982, which precludes players such as Larry Wilson from making the list.