Legwold: Is CB NFL's 2nd tougest position? - The Orange Mane

s0phr0syne · 06-19-2009, 08:54 PM

Good article by Legwold up on msn.foxsports.com/nfl; not necessarily anything new or groundbreaking though.

It's a pretty long piece that I tried to edit while retaining the most salient points to conform to our "article policy"...I'd encourage you to check it out in its full length glory:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9...hest-position?
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Is cornerback the NFL's second-toughest position?

by Jeff Legwold, Special to FOXSports.com

Quote:

...
Cornerback is indeed an island it seems, an island of short-lived careers — one where you get tossed off because most front office folks in the league just don't trust anybody over 30 and one where you can't get on very quickly either.

Quote:

....
[Bly:]"You have to be like a young guy, at least from the neck down.''

Yet not too young either, as just four rookies started at least eight games at the position league-wide last season as well with two of those — Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr — having done so for the rebuilding-from-the-ground-up Kansas City Chiefs.

Quote:

"And man-to-man, it's like man-to-man in basketball and at the end of the day, you know that Kobe and LeBron are going to get theirs, you have to just to limit what you can and keep them from beating you,'' Goodman added. "Most of the good receivers are big, fast and you have to guess all day. It takes building instincts and finding a way to keep your confidence. Young guys have athletic ability, but they don't have the knowledge and they don't have the ability to maintain their confidence.''

For his part, Goodman once again finds himself part of a matched-set of 30-somethings at cornerback, now paired with Champ Bailey in the Broncos secondary. The Broncos will push the limit even further this year, already poised as their OTAs drew to a close this past weekend to start four 30-year-olds in the secondary overall.

Quote:

But what happens, why the short list?

The rules book for one. With the flags flying more for even less contact after five yards, cornerbacks say they find themselves leaning on their ability to run more than they did in seasons past.

Bailey, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, said he has had to make a transition from almost constantly using his hands to guide a receiver after he first came into the league in 1999 to playing the minimal-contact game now as illegal contact has been a "point of emphasis'' for the league's officials for several seasons.

"So knowing what could happen on each play is important, it's the first thing,'' Bailey said. "You might lose a step or two, and I don't think I have really, but your anticipation, your ability to read the route helps you get there faster. You aren't faster, but you play faster. But what that means is you have to study, you can't just believe you're going to be fast forever.''

"The way I put it is, it's like being asked go out and guard the best athletes on the field one-on-one, but you can't touch them,'' Goodman said. "In basketball you can't guard Kobe or LeBron one-on-one anyway, but if you can't touch them, no way.''

Which is the hurdle for the newbies at the position. Rarely challenged in college, a top-flight corner has often simply run sprints up and down the field for many autumn Saturdays as the ball routinely went elsewhere. Or they sat back in a zone, facing the quarterback, simply played the ball in flight and ran to a spot.

But once they're in the NFL, they are asked to match up with some of the best and brightest on the outside, and they have to play with far less contact down the field than they did on scholarship.

"So they give up a play here, a play there and pretty soon their confidence is hit, they don't bounce back right away,'' Goodman said. "Bottom line, you can't defend a good quarterback, a good route and a good pass to a good receiver, so you have to deal with it out there. So, it's hard to be young, hard to be an older guy.''

Quote:

Goodman, Bly and Bailey have all said they prefer workouts with lighter weights and more reptitions, that endurance becomes more important as they age rather than power. Bly has gone as far as to fly an exercise therapist he used during his time with the St. Louis Rams to both Denver and Detroit when he played in those cities to continue a workout developed for him to maintain his flexibility.

Anaximines · 06-21-2009, 10:41 PM

Good post s0ph. Interesting article with almost all of its attention squarely on the Broncos (whole article is basically taken from interviews with Bailey, Bly, and Goodman). Who's Coleman though, that's a typo for Goodman, right?

Kind of brings my expectations for A. Smith back down to earth a little bit.

BearMan18 · 06-21-2009, 10:58 PM

So dependent on scheme.

If you guys had decent corners you could run the cover 2.

Ugh... hope we can get Orton his turnovers.

sirhcyennek81 · 06-21-2009, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

So dependent on scheme.

If you guys had decent corners you could run the cover 2.

Ugh... hope we can get Orton his turnovers.

CHANGSTER · 06-21-2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

So dependent on scheme.

If you guys had decent corners you could run the cover 2.

Ugh... hope we can get Orton his turnovers.

I think that entire second line may be a typo.

BearMan18 · 06-21-2009, 11:18 PM

Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

CHANGSTER · 06-21-2009, 11:29 PM

I think this is what you meant to say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

If you guys had average corners that couldn't play man to save their lives and like all cover 2 corners are wildly overrated you could run the cover 2.

Inkana7 · 06-21-2009, 11:29 PM

So, any bets as to when this guy gets banned?

sirhcyennek81 · 06-21-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

Yeah...bailey and goodman tend to shy away from tackling...

BearMan18 · 06-21-2009, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inkana7

So, any bets as to when this guy gets banned?

Sure. How much?

MagicHef · 06-22-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

Bailey can't tackle? What's it like to be a fan of a team you have obviously never watched?

gyldenlove · 06-22-2009, 08:23 AM

CB is one of the easier positions to have success at. You are almost completely dependent on the people you play with, if they are good you will look good almost without trying.

Safety is a difficult position to be good at, you need to be athletic, fast, have extremely good instincts and solid fundamentals.

TonyR · 06-22-2009, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gyldenlove

CB is one of the easier positions to have success at.

My understanding is that it's a tremendously difficult position, which is why it's a premium position in the NFL and one of the highest paid (I know a couple of years ago it was the highest paid, not certain that's still the case today).

And this article should further explain and validate why the Broncos moved up to draft a CB. All of our DB starters are on the wrong side 30 and CB's don't often play very far into their 30's.

SonOfLe-loLang · 06-22-2009, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

yeah, bly shied away from a tackle, but Bailey was always up in people's business.

Flex Gunmetal · 06-22-2009, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

Champ is one of the best tacklers in the league. Not just one of the best tackling corners, one of the best tacklers.
Have you ever watched a Broncos game?

BearMan18 · 06-22-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flex Gunmetal

Champ is one of the best tacklers in the league. Not just one of the best tackling corners, one of the best tacklers.
Have you ever watched a Broncos game?

Sure... but every time he does it he hurts himself.

Have YOU ever watched a Broncos game?

Mountain Bronco · 06-22-2009, 11:34 AM

You have no clue. Bailey doesn't get hurt that often. His majory injury last year had nothing to do with any contact. What will be your new team when Orton is a free agent? We got rid of Cutler Fan for this guy?

Flex Gunmetal · 06-22-2009, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

Sure... but every time he does it he hurts himself.

Have YOU ever watched a Broncos game?

Before last year champ had missed 3 games in 9 seasons.
lol

BearMan18 · 06-22-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mountain Bronco

You have no clue. Bailey doesn't get hurt that often. His majory injury last year had nothing to do with any contact. What will be your new team when Orton is a free agent? We got rid of Cutler Fan for this guy?

I saw that. Primetime game against New England, right?

Guy got his ass kicked by the invisible man and out for the season?

Flex Gunmetal · 06-22-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

I saw that. Primetime game against New England, right?

Guy got his ass kicked by the invisible man and out for the season?

Haha you're an idiot.

BearMan18 · 06-22-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flex Gunmetal

Haha you're an idiot.

I'm just sayin he's probably lost a step at this age and a cover 2 might not be a bad idea. Especially for our new 5'6 corner.

Flex Gunmetal · 06-22-2009, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMan18

I'm just sayin he's probably lost a step at this age and a cover 2 might not be a bad idea. Especially for our new 5'6 corner.

You're just sayin he's injury prone and can't tackle, both of which are totally wrong.
Hence, you are an idiot.

s0phr0syne · 06-22-2009, 11:51 AM

Are there even any 3-4 teams that run a cover-2 the majority of the time?

The only two cover-2 teams that come to my mind are the Bills and the Bears? Anybody else left?

Colts have shifted away, as have the Bucs this offseason.

Also, your claim about our corners not being able to tackle, and additionally your questions about Bailey's toughness:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-h...vs-Chiefs-2008

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06-21-2009, 10:41 PM	#2
Anaximines Anaximines Anaximines Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 532 Adopt-a-Bronco: Robert Ayers	Good post s0ph. Interesting article with almost all of its attention squarely on the Broncos (whole article is basically taken from interviews with Bailey, Bly, and Goodman). Who's Coleman though, that's a typo for Goodman, right? Kind of brings my expectations for A. Smith back down to earth a little bit.

06-21-2009, 10:58 PM	#3
BearMan18 The trade fell through! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 236	So dependent on scheme. If you guys had decent corners you could run the cover 2. Ugh... hope we can get Orton his turnovers.

06-21-2009, 11:18 PM	#6
BearMan18 The trade fell through! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 236	Sorry, that must be scheme confusion. I know you like your 30+ year old "cover guys" but I'm coming from a team with corners that can make tackles. So forgive the transition.

06-21-2009, 11:29 PM	#8
Inkana7 Ring of Famer Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,232 Adopt-a-Bronco: Derek Wolfe	So, any bets as to when this guy gets banned?

06-22-2009, 08:23 AM	#12
gyldenlove Ring of Famer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: London, ON Posts: 10,140 Adopt-a-Bronco: Spencer Larsen	CB is one of the easier positions to have success at. You are almost completely dependent on the people you play with, if they are good you will look good almost without trying. Safety is a difficult position to be good at, you need to be athletic, fast, have extremely good instincts and solid fundamentals.

06-22-2009, 11:34 AM	#17
Mountain Bronco Ring of Famer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Mountains Posts: 1,447	You have no clue. Bailey doesn't get hurt that often. His majory injury last year had nothing to do with any contact. What will be your new team when Orton is a free agent? We got rid of Cutler Fan for this guy?

06-22-2009, 11:51 AM	#23
s0phr0syne Symbiotic Absorb and Redirect Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,596 Adopt-a-Bronco: None	Are there even any 3-4 teams that run a cover-2 the majority of the time? The only two cover-2 teams that come to my mind are the Bills and the Bears? Anybody else left? Colts have shifted away, as have the Bucs this offseason. Also, your claim about our corners not being able to tackle, and additionally your questions about Bailey's toughness: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-h...vs-Chiefs-2008