The best cornerback in the NFL (for now) is ...
Let’s resolve this complex, entirely relative, and inconsequential debate once and for all.
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
This is something that many people believe for very good, simple reasons. No starting cornerback was targeted fewer times last season. When he was targeted, quarterbacks had little success. Here’s noted Richard Sherman expert, Richard Sherman:
Want what I got? Get the stats I got! Least targeted. #opinionvsfact pic.twitter.com/f2juIjKm66
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) May 13, 2014 Lockdown everywhere but the field pic.twitter.com/5vUyyhNIvn
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) May 23, 2014 The numbers indicate that Sherman is an excellent player, probably because he is!
PATRICK PETERSON IS THE BEST CORNERBACK IN THE LEAGUE
Many people also believe this for reasons that make sense. The Arizona Cardinals, an organization that exists for the explicit purpose of making smart football decisions and winning football games (which seems to be paying off this season), indirectly staked its place in the debate by making Peterson the highest paid cornerback in the NFL.
As Sherman illustrated, he hasn't been as effective as the Seahawks corner. Peterson has countered by saying he has been asked to do more because of how the Cardinals play defense.
“If you look at their scheme and you look at our scheme, he’s a Cover-3 corner, period,” Peterson said. “A lot of guys say he’s a shutdown corner, but if you look at film and guys who understand the game, go back and look at film and see how his defense is. I believe if you put him in our system, I don’t think he’d be able to last, honestly, because I’m asked to do much more than he is.”
Peterson is correct. Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post created a visualization that shows that Peterson is tasked with covering opponents’ No. 1 receiver much more often than Sherman.
The Cardinals deploy a lot of Cover-1, whereas the Seahawks rely on Cover-3 schemes. The former tasks cornerbacks with playing a lot of man-to-man coverage, and the latter divides the field into zone responsibilities. Both work well for their respective defenses, and it’s probably unfair to compare two players with disparate skill sets. Peterson and Sherman must be doing their jobs remarkably well to be paid as well as they are. We may never be able to say for sure who’s better!
Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s move on to more important--
SHERMAN GOT EXPOSED AGAINST KEENAN ALLEN
Oh yeah, that was a thing that the San Diego Chargers reportedly said after they beat the Seahawks in Week 2. Sherman did look pretty silly on that one play, but it'd be pretty unfair to expect even the best corners to be perfect all the time. Allen had five receptions for 64 yards, which isn't a remarkable day, statistically. Sherman only gave up three receptions, himself. "Exposed" seems pretty harsh.
Sherman was better in the Seahawks' other two games, during which he was not targeted once by the Green Bay Packers and gave up just two catches and two-point conversion to the Denver Broncos. That two-point conversion was hardly his fault, Demaryius Thomas made one of the more remarkable plays of the 2014 season when he--
PATRICK PETERSON WOULD HAVE STOPPED THAT 2-POINT CONVERSION
--hang on, let me finish-- when he high-pointed the football in single coverage and made an amazing effort to keep his feet inbounds. It would be a difficult play for anyone to stop. You can’t really be so sure that Peterson would have prevented it, can you?
.@RSherman_25 Patrick Peterson would've prevented that 2 pt conversion.
— Jonathon Shipman (@ShippySports) September 21, 2014 I'm just saying Patrick Peterson wouldn't have let that happen @RSherman_25
— Ja'Corey Brown (@CoBrown_) September 21, 2014 @RSherman_25 I'm not sure Patrick Peterson gives up that 2 point conversion...
— Ruben Morgan (@RubenMorgan) September 21, 2014 "@PatWhiteSports: Richard Sherman got beat on that 2 point conversion." And people think he is better than Patrick Peterson
— BigHunt (@Hunterr_Nyee) September 21, 2014 Ah. Well. You’re allowed to make hypothetical arguments, I guess. But it’s not like Peterson hasn’t had bad games before. Though as with Sherman, his bad games aren’t that bad. They’re both good payers so there’s really no need to--
I’M RICHARD SHERMAN AND I HAVE A SUPER BOWL RING
Can't ever be too mad lmao... pic.twitter.com/ZHA28B9Tji
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 30, 2014 Uh, hi Richard. Thanks for joining us. You made some good points earlier, but I don’t think this is going to help. It’s not like Peterson wouldn’t have helped Seattle win a Super Bowl last season. I think Pete Carroll would be happy to have him. And you too, imagine how good that secondary would be!
RICHARD SHERMAN SHOULD SHUT HIS MOUTH
Oh goodness, I was afraid that we would get into this.
I WOULD LIKE RICHARD SHERMAN TO SHUT HIS MOUTH
Richard Sherman's column was childish. There's a reason I never played professional football. Same reason Sherman shouldn't be a columnist.
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 2, 2014 Why are you bringing this up now?
SHUT YOUR MOUTH, RICHARD SHERMAN
Yes, Sherman is a very vocal player. But you can’t be that surprised that he chose to defend himself after the Chargers’ comments, can you? He had a good point. We went over this above.
Wait, is that what this is all about? Sherman earning an outspoken reputation, and invoking a visceral reaction from fans and media for a host of complicated reasons every time his face appears on television and his name appears in print? A national conversation ostensibly sparked by a Twitter feud between two of of the NFL’s best defenders that has been highjacked and repurposed as a latent referendum on how we feel about a guy who talks a lot?
Hello, my name is Joe Haden of the Cleveland Browns
RUN JOE. RUUUUUUN.
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