The Myth of the Shutdown Cornerback

[BoBlake]

Sherman, Revis, Peterson, Prime Time and the Myth of the 'Shutdown Cornerback' | Bleacher Report

Much better formatting on the webpage, but if you don't want to click the link then you can read the views here. Note that the article is too long for the SportsHoopla, so if you're best off reading the link anyway.

Richard Sherman is having a tremendous season. This may come as a shocking revelation during a week when the vulnerability of the Seahawks defense is the official big story.

Did you see Dez Bryant's 23-yard reception against Sherman to set up a touchdown? What about Bryant's jump ball over Sherman on 3rd-and-5 in the fourth quarter? Sherman needed pass interference to stop him on another series. What about Sherman's big mistakes in the Chargers loss? Face it: HE IS NOT A SHUTDOWN CORNERBACK.

Darrelle Revis is having a tremendous season. This may come as a shock after weeks of fretting about the downfall of the Patriots.

Did you see Sammy Watkins break him down for a 24-yard catch near the goal line Sunday? What about all the trouble he had against James Jones in the Raiders game? The guy has one interception and three passes defensed all year, for heaven's sake. Totally overrated. HE IS NOT A SHUTDOWN CORNERBACK.

Patrick Peterson is having a very good season.

OK, wait. Timeout. Are you serious? He allowed two touchdowns against the Redskins! DeSean Jackson blew past him like a Mustang beating an ice cream truck off a red light. Every other Cardinals defender BUT Peterson had a great game Sunday. Face it: HE IS NOT A SHUTDOWN CORNERBACK.

Cue Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

If your definition of "shutdown cornerback" is some magical superhero who never allows a reception and essentially constructs a 30-foot-high wall across one half of the field, then you are right: Sherman, Revis and Peterson are not shutdown cornerbacks.

If "shutdown cornerback" is just a defensive version of "elite quarterback," a sideswiping weapon in your everyone in the NFL is overrated arsenal, then no facts will get in the way of the story anyway.

But if you are looking for great cornerbacks, Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks, cornerbacks who influence opponents' strategy and cornerbacks who can make a major difference in the playoff race, then Sherman, Revis and Peterson fit the description.

So here's a shocking revelation: The cornerbacks everyone says are great are, in fact, great. Even when they give up a touchdown, or their team loses a game.



For Cornerbacks, Non-Highlights Are Highlights

The Cowboys threw six passes to Richard Sherman's side of the field, according to my tally.

One pass resulted in an interference penalty. Two others were mentioned at the start of the article: 23- and 16-yard completions to Dez Bryant. Three others were incomplete passes to Bryant: a bomb where Sherman disrupted Bryant's pattern with a jam; tight coverage on a comeback route on 3rd-and-long; and a late-game sideline pass where Tony Romo had no window and forced his throw out of bounds.

So Bryant, one of the two or three best receivers in the NFL, caught two passes for 41 yards and forced one flag against Sherman. No other Cowboys wide receiver was thrown to with Sherman in coverage, though there were some passes into the flat in front of him.

As bad days go, Sherman's afternoon against Dallas was pretty darn good.

The Cowboys' big passing plays came against Byron Maxwell or nickel corner Marcus Burley, and of course they did their greatest damage on the ground. Bryant often lined up on the left side of the formation or in the slot to avoid Sherman early in the game. That's exactly what opponents are supposed to do against a great cornerback: adjust their game plans to avoid the dangerous defender.

Revis allowed Watkins to catch just one meaningful pass Sunday; the rookie star was nearly invisible as the Bills did what little damage they could manage with Robert Woods and tight end Scott Chandler.

Peterson gave up a slant-and-go touchdown to Jackson and got rubbed on a touchdown to Pierre Garcon. They were the only significant plays he allowed all afternoon. Nickelback Jerraud Powers and safety Rashad Johnson combined for three interceptions and a forced fumble.

Ask yourself: Why were Powers and Johnson getting so many opportunities?

This is what great cornerbacks do. They funnel plays to other defenders by blanketing their receivers. They dissuade quarterbacks from throwing to their side of the field. And yes, sometimes they lose matchups to the likes of Dez Bryant or DeSean Jackson, whom they often draw in single coverage, or get victimized by a well-designed pick play.

It only takes a touchdown, a few receptions allowed or a poor team defensive performance for an All-Pro cornerback to attract criticism. Sherman brings much of it upon himself with his constant Twitter chirping. Revis has not been able to give up a catch for two years without every wise guy at the sports bar pointing at the screen.

You see that? He did it again! That was the third time I pointed Mr. Island Guy out this month!

Peterson gets a break because the Cardinals go largely unnoticed by the world at large. But after Rueben Randle caught a one-handed back-of-the-end-zone fade when the Cardinals faced the Giants, color commentator John Lynch made sure to point Peterson out. "How about going right after Patrick Peterson, one of the finer corners in football?"

Later, when Peterson hooked Victor Cruz's shoulder to earn pass interference on otherwise outstanding deep coverage, the announcers chimed in again.

"The Giants go after their top corner again and succeed," Kevin Burkhardt said.

"Eli Manning told us in meetings that he would not shy away from Patrick Peterson...I don't think Peterson's used to it. He's used to people going the other way, and they're getting after him," added Lynch.

Cruz and Randle combined for nine catches, 99 yards and one highlight-reel touchdown in a 25-14 loss. Peterson allowed a few other short catches and drew two more contact fouls, but he must have been doing something right during all of those other plays when the announcers were not singling him out.

That's the problem with great cornerbacks: They are invisible when they succeed, unless the broadcasters assemble one of those "tight coverage" montages that are typically reserved for Revis. To really appreciate great cornerbacks, you have to scout them, keeping in mind that one-handed, leaping, sideline-tightrope catches are often evidence of great coverage, not bad coverage.

You can also look at the stats. Those, too, require a trained eye.



Numbers Never Lie but Are Often Very Quiet
....click the link to read more (thread was too long)

 

[Limidi]

One hell of an article!

 

[flyerhawk]

Great article. Right on point. It explains why it is so difficult to measure CB performance.

 

[DunceKaep]

What is certainly true is that all their rapping, the DB's have made themselves relevant thus demanding and receiving huge contracts.

 

[NorthernLights88]

Go look at tape of prime Randy Moss deciding to and putting in the effort on given plays, as he absolutely annihilated even triple+ coverage at times. Guys like Calvin Johnson are also damn good at this type of thing. I don't care if it it's Sherman, prime Champ Bailey, Revis, or anyone else, none of them are beating a prime Moss type player in their prime 1 on 1 most of the time unless the QB sucks/has no time to make a good throw. Take an average CB, line him up against an average WR 1 on 1 with no safety help, and that WR wins the majority of the time if the QB has sufficient time to throw and puts up a good throw.

 

[flyerhawk]

So Patrick Peterson has 12 penalties this year. Most by a cornerback. He has allowed 6 TDs, tied for most allowed by a cornerback.

Yet the Cardinals defense has been very good this year. So are those numbers a reflection of poor play or being left in a lot of Cover 0 situations?

 

[Cyder]

So Patrick Peterson has 12 penalties this year. Most by a cornerback. He has allowed 6 TDs, tied for most allowed by a cornerback.

Yet the Cardinals defense has been very good this year. So are those numbers a reflection of poor play or being left in a lot of Cover 0 situations?

The Cards don't sack the QB so the secondary is out there covering for quite some time. It's like you said, hard to judge performance in that position.