Black&Black
Delivering Smiles
Hello, and welcome to B&B Pharmaceuticals!
In the wake of last season's 6-10 ass plundering, we've devoted copious time to breaking down the cornerback position in the NFL. As you all know, it was pretty fucking shitty for the Panthers for most of 2016. I postulate that you need four cornerbacks in today's NFL. The common refrain is that you need three, to which I say, pardon my language, is complete bunk. How often do you last an entire season without at least one of your corners missing time? I haven't researched this because I like girls, but I have to assume that it almost never happens. If you are not four deep at cornerback, even if you're the Panthers and never play dime, your defense is eventually going to be exposed.
This is the ideal cornerback "depth chart" in the NFL, according to me:
#1 - The Alpha
This is your so called #1 cornerback. He doesn't have to be as good as Josh Norman (Washington did miss the playoffs too) but he should be at the level of a Darius Slay. Someone who can consistently compete with the elite and above average receivers. Ideally he can follow the opponent's #1 around the field, even inside on occasion.
#2 - The Beta
This mother fucker needs to be able to carry his weight on the other side. This guy is not a game changer, but he is definitely a starting caliber player. Chris Gamble is a good analog for the Beta cornerback.
#3 - The Slot
I got real creative with the name for the position. This guy excels at covering the slot. Ideally he can play outside if the Alpha needs to track the #1 receiver in the slot, or if there's an injury to either of the outside corners, but he specializes in slot coverage.
#4 - The Joker
This guy is an above average special teamer who can play any of the three cornerback positions. Sort of a cornerback "super sub". Like I said, at least one of the starting three will be hurt at some point, so this fella ought to be able to play some competent football.
#5 - The Omega
The last guy. You're not going to have five starting caliber cornerbacks, and this guy might not even dress half the time, so I like taking a guy who is a bit of a project and seeing if you can find a role for him on special teams. If he has to play defense, you play him and hope for the best, but you hold this spot for a young man who you hope to push into a bigger role next year.
As far as the Panthers are concerned, the only spot I think we currently have nailed down is The Slot. We seem to consider Bradberry an Alpha, and I was encouraged by his rookie year, but I get the feeling that he's more of a Chris Gamble. I'm hopeful Worley can be a Beta, but I think he's probably more of The Joker vintage. He played well on special teams, and we could probably "hide" him for a game or two if he had to play. However, most of his 2016 film was really bad. So it seems like two of our top three are being stretched beyond their limits. All of the other cornerbacks on the roster, expect for maybe, maaayyybe Lou Young, do not belong in the NFL. In conclusion, I feel better about the position than I felt last summer, but we still have work to do.
That's all for now. Join me next week, when I'll be discussing what truly is an "explosive play".
-B&B
In the wake of last season's 6-10 ass plundering, we've devoted copious time to breaking down the cornerback position in the NFL. As you all know, it was pretty fucking shitty for the Panthers for most of 2016. I postulate that you need four cornerbacks in today's NFL. The common refrain is that you need three, to which I say, pardon my language, is complete bunk. How often do you last an entire season without at least one of your corners missing time? I haven't researched this because I like girls, but I have to assume that it almost never happens. If you are not four deep at cornerback, even if you're the Panthers and never play dime, your defense is eventually going to be exposed.
This is the ideal cornerback "depth chart" in the NFL, according to me:
#1 - The Alpha
This is your so called #1 cornerback. He doesn't have to be as good as Josh Norman (Washington did miss the playoffs too) but he should be at the level of a Darius Slay. Someone who can consistently compete with the elite and above average receivers. Ideally he can follow the opponent's #1 around the field, even inside on occasion.
#2 - The Beta
This mother fucker needs to be able to carry his weight on the other side. This guy is not a game changer, but he is definitely a starting caliber player. Chris Gamble is a good analog for the Beta cornerback.
#3 - The Slot
I got real creative with the name for the position. This guy excels at covering the slot. Ideally he can play outside if the Alpha needs to track the #1 receiver in the slot, or if there's an injury to either of the outside corners, but he specializes in slot coverage.
#4 - The Joker
This guy is an above average special teamer who can play any of the three cornerback positions. Sort of a cornerback "super sub". Like I said, at least one of the starting three will be hurt at some point, so this fella ought to be able to play some competent football.
#5 - The Omega
The last guy. You're not going to have five starting caliber cornerbacks, and this guy might not even dress half the time, so I like taking a guy who is a bit of a project and seeing if you can find a role for him on special teams. If he has to play defense, you play him and hope for the best, but you hold this spot for a young man who you hope to push into a bigger role next year.
As far as the Panthers are concerned, the only spot I think we currently have nailed down is The Slot. We seem to consider Bradberry an Alpha, and I was encouraged by his rookie year, but I get the feeling that he's more of a Chris Gamble. I'm hopeful Worley can be a Beta, but I think he's probably more of The Joker vintage. He played well on special teams, and we could probably "hide" him for a game or two if he had to play. However, most of his 2016 film was really bad. So it seems like two of our top three are being stretched beyond their limits. All of the other cornerbacks on the roster, expect for maybe, maaayyybe Lou Young, do not belong in the NFL. In conclusion, I feel better about the position than I felt last summer, but we still have work to do.
That's all for now. Join me next week, when I'll be discussing what truly is an "explosive play".
-B&B
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