cowherd said

[JBUCK66]

corners are overrated

he makes the point that NYG and Pats had crappy corners and made the SB

also said draft was best ever at WR and rule changes have made them more valuable. I think he makes a good point (rare)

comments?

 

[cincygrad]

I agree that rule changes have dictated a lot more zone defense. It seems the winning teams rely on great pass rushes rather than great corners. The same is even true in our division where the Ravens and Steelers have never had great corners. Hard to complete passes when the quarterback is on his ass.

 

[flamingrey]

corners are overrated

he makes the point that NYG and Pats had crappy corners and made the SB

also said draft was best ever at WR and rule changes have made them more valuable. I think he makes a good point (rare)

comments?

Rule changes have made WR more valuable, but on the flip side, they've also made having a good corner more valuable. These days they call every little touch, so corners with good technique are a must.

That said, pass rush is still much more valuable. But if you want to ignore the backfield, then you better have a dynamic pass rush.

One last note, the Pats had a middle of the pack at best defense, so saying they had crappy corners yet made the SB isn't really proving much. They had a lot of crappy position groups on defense. They made it to the SB due to their offense. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[vancelot23]

I gotta agree with Flaming. Pittsburgh sure could have used a good CB against Denver. Baltimore does have one damn good CB too. Hell, we could have used a good CB down the stretch.

 

[JBUCK66]

if you have one good corner....against 4 receiver sets.....well, not hard to negate him

 

[vancelot23]

Then you need more good corners, not less.

 

[JBUCK66]

any teams with 2 shutdown corners?

 

[vancelot23]

Doesn't mean you don't need one.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

I think the point here is that an elite pass rush trumps elite CB units. While possessing a high end, man-to-man corner is important, being able to pressure and harass opposing QB's is of greater importance. I agree with Flaming on this one, the Patriots defense was trash top to bottom. They have Tom Brady and have thus operated on the stance of throwing the football 50 times a game and outscoring opponents. To further the argument, look at the Patriots' drafts the past couple seasons, mostly CB's (granted most of them have been busts) and very few pass rushers. Thus they struggle to get sacks, and their numerous draft picks in the secondary struggle in prolonged coverage.

 

[flamingrey]

Personally, I wouldn't invest too much into the backfield. I'd like to have one all-pro type of CB like we do in Leon. Then from there give me solid guys (not has-beens) and invest the real money in pass rushers all over the field. Currently, we only have rushers on our front line. Having at least 1 threat from the LB's is important as well.

 

[bengaldoug]

any teams with 2 shutdown corners?

There's barely two shutdown corners in the league, much less on one team......the skill of these receivers plus the rule changes enhancing their advantage has made many teams play zone......there is only one shutdown corner in this draft most likely (Claiborne) and he'll be long gone come pick number 17......on the radio today I heard Kiper say he now believes Gilmore has a chance to go top ten, and that he has moved past Kilpatrick into the second spot amongst corners......he'll most likely be long gone too, leaving us with the leftovers....we'll probably pick the cop mugger (Dennard)......I would try to enhance the pass rush some more, seems like the best way to get to modern day offenses is by getting the QB off his rhythm.......

 

[vancelot23]

Personally, I wouldn't invest too much into the backfield. I'd like to have one all-pro type of CB like we do in Leon. Then from there give me solid guys (not has-beens) and invest the real money in pass rushers all over the field. Currently, we only have rushers on our front line. Having at least 1 threat from the LB's is important as well.

This. Even the best CB can't cover forever, so yes, pass rush is important, but you can't have bums at CB either or it doesn't matter what your pass rush has. You don't need 2 or 3 all pro CBs, but you need solid CBs. One shutdown guy would be ideal.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

You can never have enough pass rush. I'm not saying ignore the CB position, having a shutdown guy like Revis can be a huge plus. But look at the Eagles, they signed Asomugha, DRC, and had Samuel already in house. That amounted to 8-8 in a shitty division. Being loaded at CB doesn't always translate. Give me one top-flight CB, and one guy who can cover the slot. The pass-rush will take care of the rest.

 

[DanBengalfan]

with a good pass rush, average corners will look great.

with a poor pass rush, good corners will look average.

It's a team sport.

 

[cincygrad]

I gotta agree with Flaming. Pittsburgh sure could have used a good CB against Denver. Baltimore does have one damn good CB too. Hell, we could have used a good CB down the stretch.

Pittsburgh got beat because Dick LeBeau laid a gigantic egg in the form of a gameplan.

 

[vancelot23]

But they still were in the game if they had a CB who didn't get beaten like a drum. Pass rush is more important but that doesnt mean CB is not important too

 

[cincygrad]

But they still were in the game if they had a CB who didn't get beaten like a drum. Pass rush is more important but that doesnt mean CB is not important too

Having your free safety on the sideline due to health concerns also played a role.

 

[bengaldoug]

As a Steelers hater, watching Ike Taylor get used on that play (and a few others that day) made last season worthwhile....

 

[dare2be]

Gotta go with cincygrad on this, both points. I'd also add that general basic tackling was an issue too. I wish I had kept the game for more analysis, but I deleted it in disgust.

 

[dare2be]

10 completions. 10. Including overtime. It was tackling and poor execution, not just by the CB.