Antonio Cromartie is completely wrong with his latest comments about Richard Sherman. On Tuesday Cromartie said that the Seattle Seahawks cornerback doesn’t deserve to be mentioned with the top corners in the league.
In an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio the New York Jets corner had this to say:
“Go play in a defense where you don’t have two All-Pro safeties,” most likely referring to Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. “That’s what I would tell him. Go follow the No. 1 receiver. Follow him around for a whole entire game and let’s see what you can do. Darrelle Revis has done that his whole career. I’ve done that. Patrick Peterson has done it. Joe Haden has done it. [Sherman] is the only defensive back that hasn’t.”
Yes, Sherman typically plays one side of the field and he doesn’t necessarily follow the opposing team’s No. 1 wide receiver around the field and Thomas and Chancellor are two great safeties, but how can anyone truly believe Sherman isn’t one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL?
Cromartie must be out of his mind.
For starters, many opposing quarterbacks are scared to throw in Sherman’s direction and truly try to challenge him. Just look at how Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers attacked the Seattle defense in Week 1 last season. Rodgers is arguably one of the best QBs in the NFL, and he effectively pretended Sherman’s side of the field was nonexistent. Being able to consistently take away an entire side of a field is both highly beneficial to the rest of the defense and incredibly impressive, particularly against a quarterback of Rodgers’ caliber.
Does Sherman have the benefit of playing with two excellent safeties? Of course. No one would suggest otherwise. But why is Cromartie denying the fact that Sherman is more than likely making the rest of the Seattle defense, including Thomas and Chancellor, better? The rest of the Seahawks defenders absolutely reap the benefits of Sherman consistently helping to shrink the field. That fact simply cannot be denied.
In four seasons, the former Stanford Cardinal has 24 interceptions (20 in the last three seasons) and 65 passes defended (48 in the last three seasons). Cromartie has nine interceptions and 32 passes defended in that same time. Peterson has 13 interceptions and 36 passes defended since 2012. Haden has 10 interceptions and 50 passes defended in the past three seasons. Sherman leads all of the cornerbacks Cromartie mentioned (including Cromartie himself) in interceptions since 2012, and he trails only Haden in passes defended over the past three seasons. And that’s with some quarterbacks refusing to throw Sherman’s way for almost entire games at times.
I get that Cromartie and Revis are teammates again and he wants to support his guy and that’s fine, but to say Sherman isn’t one of the best corners in the NFL is ridiculous and just plain wrong. It’s too bad the Seahawks and Jets aren’t scheduled to play each other this season because seeing Sherman shut down the Jets offense led by Geno Smith while Russell Wilson thumps the Jets defense would have been really fun to watch. Yes, these two teams could potentially meet in the Super Bowl, but be serious. The Jets will most likely have a tougher time just trying to make the playoffs and may ultimately fail to do so. Sherman will just have to settle for playing some fantastic defense against the 16 teams on the Seahawks schedule and then most likely in the playoffs.
Justin is an NFL writer for Last Word On Sports. You can follow him on Twitter at LWOSJustinP, like him on Facebook and add him to your Google network. You can also email him at [email protected]
Main Photo:
