SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- For a cornerback, the security of a long-term contract comes with the scrutiny of being the focal point of a team's passing defense. But if Chris Gamble is feeling any additional pressure heading into his first full season after signing a contract extension, he isn't letting it show.
"I just feel like I've got to keep doing what I do," he said. "Just play ball, stay consistent, make sure I tackle, play my man and just have fun at the same time."
Fun has come in the form of a new defense that Gamble believes will release him to make more big plays than he has in the first five years of his career.
"Actually, I love it. It's more zone, a little man here and there," he said. "I feel like I can make a lot more plays, just watching the quarterback and reacting."
That makes for an easier, quicker game for the former first-round pick.
"(We're) just playing faster. Everything's simple. Last year there was a lot thrown at us, but this year it's simple; we're just playing faster.
"When it's simple, you just go out and play faster and have fun at the same time. Last year it was just a lot of thinking and not a lot of reaction."
The thinking was reserved for the offseason and organized team activities, when new secondary coach Ron Milus counseled Gamble to focus on his technique.
"I had three new coaches since I've been here, and everybody gives you a different situation on what you're doing and how you do it. With Ron Milus, he teaches us the little things -- (about) technique and stuff like that," Gamble said. "He's always harping on us about that. I kind of like that. He keeps you focused on your technique, and that's really going to help me a lot."
When technique is mastered, Gamble is free to focus on instinctive matters, which is where defensive coordinator Ron Meeks' guidance comes into play.
"Coach Meeks harps on us about running to the ball. We didn't really do too much of that last year, but this year it's always running to the ball, running to the ball," he said. "Things like that might cause fumbles in the game. It's good that we learn to run to the ball right now and just hustle."
And that, he hopes, can take him to new levels of production in interceptions.
"I try to average about five or six a year, but I don't want to jinx myself," he said. "I know I can at least get five or six, because I dropped a couple last year. I know I can easily get five or six."
And if those picks are accompanied by wins, then 2009 would bring the kind of fun he truly seeks.
