Position Battle (sort of): Right Cornerback

Written by Chris Sullivan

Wednesday, 29 July 2009 14:32

It's no secret that the Seahawks were in need of some help defensively last year. During the offseason, we've been able to look back and reassess the causes of the problems last year: poor defensive line play, crappy schemes, short cornerbacks, Brian Russell, et cetera. Tim Ruskell clearly saw eye to eye on some of these concerns -- he went out and bolstered the defensive line with Cory Redding and Colin Cole, changed the scheme (okay, that was Mora, but still), and went out and signed Ken Lucas to a one-year deal.

Lucas has been named the starter at the Right Cornerback position and, in all likelihood, he will be the starter in Week One. However, Josh Wilson has made it clear that this disappointed him and he is looking to have a big role on this team. Don't be surprised if, in 2008 as in 2007, Wilson proves himself a competitor for the starting spot by mid-season.

Last year, Josh Wilson came out and took the starting job away from Kelly Jennings somewhat surprisingly. A lot of people have snarked that Jennings always stunk so this didn't mean much, but that's not true. In 2007, Jennings made a clear step up and had a very good season. In 2008, he lost his groove and Wilson was all too willing to step up and start. Further, he markedly improved throughout the year. Wilson has the speed required to succeed at this level, fluid hips, and a killer instinct when the ball comes his way. Yes, he gave up a lot of yards to Larry Fitzgerald and some of the bigger receivers, but so did practically every other cornerback in the league. His size hurts him, we get it, but the majority of starting CBs in the NFL are between 5'9" and 6'0". I don't think those three inches are as make or break as many others do.

Still, the battle for the RCB position will be a quiet one. It won't necessarily be won out on the field so much as on the practice field, it won't be dueling banjos like the RB situation last year (Jones starts, no Morris starts, wait Jones is starting, oh look Morris...). If Wilson can come out and be a) technically sound, b) effective at blitzing, and c) a ballhawk, look for him to threaten by mid-season for this job. This all starts in the Pre-season. The way I see it, Wilson's effectiveness as the nickel corner is going to alter our game plans. If he is competing as hard as he did last year, they are going to want him on the field. We need a fast, hard, aggressive defense and Wilson, though small, can provide that.

Beyond that though, Lucas was signed to a one-year contract. Will he be re-signed? Will we fill that role in the draft or free agency next year? Or will Wilson prove definitively this year that he deserves to be the starter for years to come? It all starts in training camp, and that all starts THIS. WEEK.

Comments (8) Add Comment

...
written by BillT, July 30, 2009

Everyone take out a ruler mand measure off three inches. Take a good look at it. That's not very much distance when you look at it and lots of players arm length varies that much or their reach over their head. Pure measurments of heigth don't really tell the whole story.

Some player's heads are an inch taller than another players meaning a player three inches taller may only be 2 inches taller at the shoulders where it really counts. How high a player can jump, his reach above his head, and other factors such as torso proportions can make the difference between a 6' player and a 5' 9" player quite a bit or from very small to negligable. One would have to do an indepth analysis of Lucas and Wilson to see how much difference really exists in how effectively they can play against taller receivers.

Wilson played well last season. Even bigger corners had problems with Fitzgerald last season. There have been many under 6' cornerbacks in the league who have had stellar careers and Wilson seems to have all the tools and the desire to get the job done. Another example of selecting a football player over a player just because he's got prototypical size, Wilson has the possibility of becomeing one of our best corners over the next decade or so. Don't count him out. He's a gamer.

...
written by STTBM, July 30, 2009

Super Bowls have been won and lost by half an inch, so dont try to excuse all the times Wilson got beat by saying three inches doesnt matter: it does. (The Stealers lost to Dallas by a half an inch: John L Williams was open in the endzone, and the linebacker got the last digit of his middle finger on the ball and deflected it...end of game.)

Wilson is a good player to have, but lets face it: If you want to win the Super Bowl, you'd better not have him as a starter. Larry Fitz is 6'-2 or 3", which is at least 5-6 inches on Wilson. And Wilson has proven that despite his speed and agility, he is a liability against any WR over 6 feet tall. Face it, despite his speed and fearlessness in tackling, Wilson got beaten a LOT last year, even in the nickel spot.

Personnally, I like Babineaux more at nickel as he is bigger and doesnt seem to end up two steps behind his man in zone coverage like I saw happen to Wilson too often last year. And given a full year at nickel, Babs made more big plays than anyone, including Wilson. Wilsons picks rarely changed games, while Babs always did. Wilson, as I said, is a good player but not a starter and certainly not a "steal" as he was picked high in the second round.

Unless Lucas has lost a major step or two, the only way Wilson sees time at RCB is either due to injury or Rusekells Big Fat Ego: Even Kevin Hobbs is a better player to plug in at RCB than Wilson.

Im all for the little guy, but having more than one Rudy on the field at a time means you get your Butt kicked!!ENough with all the love for mediocre players with high character: I would rather have great players with mediocre character.

I hope Hobbs and company are given a chance in preseason to compete. My fear is Ruskells huge ego gets in the way, and we never see Hobbs against real opponents, we end up with Jennings and Wilson...blech! Same deal with the line...I want to see Unger at C given equal opportunity to unseat Spencer. Otherwise, it will be apparent that there is no open competition, and Ruskell favors his draft busts over promising players.

So I will be watching preseason carefully...Im really excited to see us move beyond the tiny D-lineman and micro-db's...and Im really hoping Mora lets the young guys play some, unlike Holmy who seemed to make players wait unitl their second year to get any playing time no matter how obvious it was they were ready to kick butt (anyone remember Sean Alexander?...)..

...
written by STTBM, July 30, 2009

While there have been CB's under 5'-10" who were very good, the majority were 5'-10" or above. Small db's who are good are the exception, not the rule. My problem is Ruskell seems determined to make them the rule, to our teams detriment. (Jennings problem isnt a lack of height, its a lack of muscle mass and a lack of skills, period.)

...
written by nightwulf, July 30, 2009

In an example of height differential due to body type, I'm 5'11", I have a friend who's 6'3" Seated, we're the same height.
I've got a 30" inseam, he's a 34"...but my reach is the same as his...some guy with long legs, long arms and a short torso is going to "play" several inches taller than he is...

...
written by Brian, July 30, 2009

It's "Shaun Alexander" not Sean. The reason Lucas is going to be the starter, more than likely all year, barring injury comes down to a quote from Mora. "We're not going to mess around, (Lucas) has a wide body of work in this league as a successful (DB)"

Honestly, while that's paraphrased and not really a quote, you get the idea. I think that we will see a lot more of the 3-3-5 and 3-2-6 on passing downs as opposed to the 4-2-5 or 4-1-6 packages of the holmgren era. This will take out a DT and put another LB on the field. Obviously this bodes well for us, given our LB's. That being said, any time there are 3+ receivers on the field, Wilson should be the nickel CB.

...
written by Brian, July 30, 2009

That says ( D B ), as in defensive back.

...
written by Chase, July 31, 2009

Kevin Hobbs over Wilson really...? Lets not go crazy here. Oh and I don't quite get your comment on the Spencer and Unger supposed battle for center. Both were Ruskell draft picks so how can he be playing favorites?

ugg boots
written by uggs outlet, January 24, 2010

"Where people are placing their credit card details onto an internet site uggs outlet and that site is being controlled outside of the UK by criminal networks, then ugg boots for sale there's the obvious potential those details will be used for other fraudulent activity."