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This is a quality read on how our current D scheme lessens our need for a stud CB.
LEN MAKES A GOOD POINT ON TAMPA 2 CORNERS
Before we go any farther with this one, please understand that we are not drunk or high or suffering from amnesia. We fully realize that we have made a cottage industry over the past five years of twisting the tail of ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, and this item should not be regarded as proof that we have decided to move on. (Must . . . resist . . . . Must . . . resist . . . .)
But we've got to give credit where it's due -- especially when one of the same league sources who like to point out flaws in the logic of scribes like Len lets us know that Len has written a spot-on item.
Specifically, Pasquarelli's piece regarding the Colts' disinclination to match the offer sheet that cornerback Jason David signed with the Saints is drawing nods of approval in league and media circles.
The reality, as Len explains, is that cornerbacks don't have the same value in the Tampa 2 system that they possess in other defensive schemes.
In the Tampa 2, cornerbacks don't run down the field in pass coverage; they primarily cover short zones and chase down running backs who receive handoffs and receivers who catch the short passes that the Tampa 2 tries to force. In the Tampa 2, safeties (who are responsible for the deep zones) and linebackers (who need to be able to cover a lot of ground in the middle of the field) are a much more important commodity.
And the defensive linemen are vital as well, since the four of them typically are required to clog running lanes without linebacker help and to beat five offensive linemen and any other blockers who are kept in for pass coverage.
So, in the Tampa 2, cornerback is arguably the least important position -- and this means that teams like the Colts won't overpay for players like David and Nick Harper, since they'll be able to fill those spots with guys already on the roster or players whom they draft next week.
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