Golden Age for Cornerbacks
One of the toughest positions to play in the National
Football League: cornerback. You can have two interceptions in a game, but if
you get scored on in the game’s pivotal moment you are viewed as a goat. It is
hard to consistently be great at this position because at some point a corner
will lose his step. Today, we take a look at the NFL’s top cornerbacks. It is
hard to rank these guys because they play in different defensive schemes.
Richard Sherman
Sherman is a feisty corner that will smother an opponent’s
top receiver and let them know how great he is. He is the biggest corner on
this list as he is 6’3. His long arms allow him to poke the ball out of
receiver’s hands as they attempt to catch it. Although he does not possess the
speed needed at corner, he is fundamentally sound and physical enough to
irritate wide receivers. Sherman is the heart of that Seattle defense and the
voice of that locker room.
Brandon Carr
Carr is very fluid in his approach at corner and is good enough
to play man or zone. He is easily forgotten because he is on the same unit with
Sean Lee and Demarcus Ware. He does not get the recognition as some of these
guys on this list because of the Cowboys suspect defense. With a good pass
rush, Carr is an All-Pro caliber corner.
Aqib Talib
Talib never quite lived up to the expectations set for him
in Tampa Bay especially with the off the field incidents he faced. However, he
has revived his career in New England as he has shown the ability to shut down
top receivers and tight ends. He has always flown under the radar back to his
days as a Jayhawk at Kansas as well as the injuries he constantly experiences.
He is not the flashiest guy on this list, but he will make sure opposing
receivers have career low numbers.
Joe Haden
Joe who? Haden. Haden is probably the least physical corner
on this list, but his speed allows him to be the shadow of pass catchers. He is
quietly one of the top corners because he plays for the Cleveland Browns. When
teams play against the “Dawg Pound”, Haden tends to make quarterbacks throw the
other way. Otherwise, Haden is high stepping into your favorite team’s end
zone.
Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings
Tillman and Jennings is quite the combo at cornerback.
Tillman is physical and the enforcer of the Bears secondary, while Jennings
seems to have an interception every game. Tillman is like the Tim Duncan of
cornerbacks because he is so fundamentally sound. He might have extended his
career with the skills he has such as: making tackles, forcing fumbles, and
intercepting passes. Did I mention Tillman was 32? Jennings is barely 5’8, but
he is as quick as a cat. When offenses play Chicago, they have to pick their
poison with these guys waiting in the wings.
Deangelo Hall
Hall still possesses the flat
line speed he had when he first came into the league out of Virginia Tech. He
still strikes fear into quarterbacks because of his ability to intercept a pass
and change a game. Hall bounced from
Atlanta, to Oakland, and is now in Washington with that same IMO. He is not a
lockdown corner, but he can occasionally blanket top receivers.
Darrelle Revis
Revis is not 100% healthy coming
off an ACL injury in 2012. He is still one of the top corners in the game. He
has never been an interception artist because offensive coordinators would
rather not design plays to throw at Revis. He is everything a coach could want
in a cornerback, as he possesses size, speed, the ability to come up and defend
the run, instincts, etc. Revis makes teammates on defense and the defensive
coordinator’s job a lot easier. On the contrary, he disrupts the flow of
opposing teams. When healthy, he is the closest cornerback to Deion Sanders.
Basically, Revis has a spot in Canton, Ohio waiting for his face to be
enshrined.
Patrick Peterson
Peterson is often compared to Revis and Sanders
because of how smooth he is at corner. He looks forward to playing man on man
coverage every Sunday. It does not matter if he is facing Calvin Johnson, Julio
Jones, Dez Bryant, or some rookie because he loves to compete. He has all the
qualities Revis possesses and should be a future hall of famer as well.
After losing three of their first four games, Carolina has been red hot
as they have won six games in a row. The Panthers have caught the
attention of many football experts, but not one has mentioned them as a
Super Bowl contender.
The defense has been lights out as they are ranked first in
points per game, fifth in passing yards, eighth in rushing yards, and third in
turnovers. This unit plays smash mouth defense as they look to shut you down.
They have Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy who have 14 sacks combined. Star
Lotulelei opens gaps and allows Kuechly and Thomas Davis to stuff the run. Mike
Mitchell, following the loss of Charles Godfrey, anchors their secondary. 
