Buyer Beware ... Cornerbacks

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

I've watched them both in college and Rowe has better potential at CB than Smith - for this system. He's terrific in press man and keeps a better/closer distance than Smith, who tends to overly rely on his length for recovery.

Pretty spot-on analysis.

Smith knows he isn't terribly fast but he also knows he's a goddamn giant in relation to his peers. He'll often look beat only to reach up and flick a ball away because of his length. I noticed it the very first time I saw him in training camp - it's a technique for him. It's not something I'd recommend.

I don't love Rowe because I do think he's athletically a little limited. I worry that smaller/quicker WRs will give him fits because I just don't see how he hangs with them. That said, he does appear to be a very nice fit for our system. If he gets his hands on those waterbug types, he'll just swallow them right up because of his physicality.

His quickness measurables all timed extremely well so perhaps I'm just seeing some stiffness that isn't there. If that's the case, he has every tool you could want for this system. My eyes have lied to me before.

Corners are about the riskiest position in the draft anymore, IMO. That said, I like the idea of aggressively targeting one here. Sure, he could bust but that is just the nature of the beast with CBs. If Gaines/Fleming are demonstrations of Dorsey's eye for CBs, then I'm pretty comfortable deferring to him on his CB decision.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I don't love Rowe because I do think he's athletically a little limited. I worry that smaller/quicker WRs will give him fits because I just don't see how he hangs with them. That said, he does appear to be a very nice fit for our system. If he gets his hands on those waterbug types, he'll just swallow them right up because of his physicality.

Isn't Gaines our slot/nickel CB?

And with Gaines back there I like having a more physical duo on the outside...

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Isn't Gaines our slot/nickel CB?

And with Gaines back there I like having a more physical duo on the outside...

If we drafted a CB early? I would assume that Gaines would be our nickle CB. If we don't....then I'm assuming that they think Gaines could be the starter opposite of Smith.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Isn't Gaines our slot/nickel CB?

And with Gaines back there I like having a more physical duo on the outside...

More and more I expect that teams are going to be creative with their WRs and try to force matchup problems by putting conventional slot WRs all throughout the formation.

I don't think you can just expect that your outside corners won't have to deal with the DATs of the world. Even a guy like Donnie Avery would strike me as someone that Rowe might struggle with. Someone that can give him a quick deke to get inside him and then run away from him as he struggles with his hip-turn and acceleration.

The NFL is a harsh world - if you have a clear weakness, teams will do everything they can to exploit it. If a guy like Rowe is struggling with quick WRs, teams will try to create a matchup that puts their waterbug matched up with him.