Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson tangle for the seventh time in their NFL careers Sunday when Arizona plays at Seattle. Their amusing Twitter feuds turn secondary. Their cheeky comparisons in salary and in 2011 draft status become moot. Their vibrant personalities and egos are minimized.
At practice with the NFL’s best cornerbacks: Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson
Two of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman, meet again this week when the Cardinals visit the Seahawks Sunday. We asked the wide receivers coaches from each team, who have to face these guys every day, what makes Sherman and Peterson special.
The focus becomes their astonishing talent at cornerback.
On each offensive snap of this game, you get a chance to see either Sherman or Peterson illustrate what artistry in their craft looks like.
Three NFL general managers said this week, requesting anonymity, that if each was starting a team from scratch that Sherman and Peterson would be their starting cornerbacks. Each one believed the majority of NFL general managers would agree.
Both were drafted in 2011, Sherman from Stanford and Peterson from LSU. Sherman being drafted in the fifth round with 23 cornerbacks and 153 players overall selected before him remains a gigantic, historical NFL scouting SNAFU. Peterson, however, was magnified as the fifth-overall pick.
Sherman is more rangy at 6-3, 195 pounds. Peterson is more stout at 6-1, 219 pounds.
Both exemplify the NFL’s move to larger yet speedy corners to muscle and defuse dynamic receivers in a pass-swanky league. Sherman has 21 career interceptions and 61 career passes defended. Peterson has 14 and 46, respectively. Each player has three victories in this series.
Here is something coaches love about both -- they can count on them being there. Neither player has missed one of his possible 58 career regular-season games. Durability and rare ability are potent NFL companions. Peterson has played more positions in his career, including at receiver and kick returner.
In each team’s practices, each team’s receivers coach gains an up-close, exacting view of Sherman and Peterson. For Seattle, that’s Kippy Brown. For Arizona, that’s Darryl Drake.
Here are their observations on Sherman and Peterson:
Skill set
Brown: “Richard is long, lean and tall. He is such an instinctive player. He has instincts you can’t coach. Richard could come over and play receiver tomorrow. The turn, the move, his change of direction is something all of the great corners in history have had. It’s the athleticism, something Patrick has, even though they have different builds.”
Drake: “Patrick is strong, compact and well put together given his size and athletic ability. He is extremely gifted in his change of direction, with his great hips and flexibility. He has the ability to start and stop quickly. It’s really tough on defensive backs now in the league, the way things are called so closely on them. He finds ways to play within the rules and uses well the one thing corners must have -- speed. You’ve got to be able to run. So you put together strength, great reaction, great technique and a guy who sometimes when he is running looks like he is not moving that fast when in fact he is rolling, well, that’s Patrick.
Hands, eyes and feet
Brown: “You don’t see many guys above 6-feet at corner move like Richard and his eyes and hands are big parts of his natural instincts. There hasn’t been a tall corner that can play like he can in a long, long time. He uses his feet well in balance, because you don’t see him on the ground hardly at all. Think about all the cornerbacks you see falling down, boom!, in coverage. They are often on the ground trying to make plays. Not Richard.”
Drake: “Quick hands. Patrick has an Ali-type jab and a George Foreman-type punch. Patrick has disciplined eyes. He is beginning to excel at seeing through the receiver to the quarterback. That is seeing what the quarterback is doing, getting that feel so you know even more what the receiver is doing. He has unbelievable feet. Changes, up and down, transitioning, no wasted movement in any of that. Very few corners are able to do that.”
Mindset
Brown: “Richard is really smart. Very intelligent. When you go against him you better bring something brand new because if he’s already seen it once, he’s filed it away and he’s got it. He is fueled by everyone who overlooked him. A lot of people missed on him. It happens. Those guys that get overlooked like that arrive and sometimes say, `Here I am.’ Sometimes all those guys need is an opportunity. He got one here.”
Drake: "You've got to give Patrick's defensive backs coach, Kevin Ross, a lot of credit for helping Patrick become a physical corner. Kevin really brings that physical nature to the classroom just like he did when he was a player. He has helped Patrick become a complete player, a guy who can cover and tackle. And give Patrick credit for opening up his ears and listening. A lot of times guys that have that kind of ability close their ears -- `I'm too good to listen.' But Patrick is showing how much he is listening because it is showing up in his game. Especially in the last few weeks against Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson, Patrick is going to another level."
Practice performance
Brown: “We are all about working each other here, getting better. That is a creed we live by here. It’s how we practice, it’s what we do and you take pride in not getting beat in individual drills or in any one-on-one situations. We keep score. Every day we look at the tape as a team. Every day. All of the time I see balls in the air and I think, `Well, we’ve got this one. We made that play.’ And here comes Richard and knocks it out or picks it off.”
Drake: "We go at each other. Patrick wins the majority of the time against our receivers. We win some, too, and our guys know they had better or receive `The Wrath of Drake'. We laugh about it but we're serious about it. Our guys know they won't see a cornerback better than Patrick Peterson in a game and that maybe they will see an equal one in Richard Sherman. So, that helps to make you awfully prepared."
The effects
Brown: “Richard does what great corners do. He affects everything on his defense and he affects everything on the opposing offense. Guys are few and far between who can do that. It makes him special.”
Drake: “Patrick is the total package, like some of the great corners from long ago, who can take a complete side of the field and shut it down. You can put him out there and just say do that and not blink or fret and feel secure. He is like a lead fighter pilot -- just follow me.”
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