Antonio Cromartie not buying Richard Sherman as top NFL corner
Antonio Cromartie has never been one to hide his emotions and the New York Jets cornerback was at it again on Tuesday, this time calling into question those who think Richard Sherman is the top cornerback in the league.
Which is basically everyone in the free world not named Antonio Cromartie.
Currently, Sherman is considered to be the game’s best cornerback, with the Seattle Seahawk being as close to a shutdown corner as they come. In the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2014, in which players vote for who they consider to be the best in the league, Sherman was No. 7 on the list. No other cornerback made the top 20 on the list. Sherman is a good bet to land pretty high on this year’s list too, which the NFL Network is unveiling this month.
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That didn’t stop the Jets cornerback from his own take, which flies in the face of conventional wisdom as well as what his fellow players voted on last year.
“Do I believe he’s a product of the system? I’ve said it before I believe he is, ,” Cromartie said on the NFL Network’s “Total Access” show on Tuesday. “Everyone wants to get mad at me because I say if he didn’t have such and such players, having [Earl] Thomas and having the other safety that is back there – you have two All-Pro safeties and they only play two coverages, Cover 2 and Cover 1.
“He does what he does in that system and that’s what makes him the best at what he does at times in that system. You can’t fault him for that. It’s the system he plays in and he plays it to the best of his ability.”
Talk about some backhanded compliments from a player once called ‘Alcotraz’ because of his own lockdown ability. Interestingly enough, Cromartie’s peers did not vote him onto last year’s NFL Network’s Top 100 Players list. Perhaps that says something, perhaps it doesn’t, but it shows that around the league there is a perception that Sherman is one of the best at his position.
And Cromartie? Well, he isn’t viewed the same way, at least not in 2014. He hasn’t been unveiled in this year’s list either, as the network has released Nos. 100-81.
Sherman was the vital cog for the Seahawks top-rated defense last year, a unit that was also best in the league against the pass. In fact, opposing teams seemed wary to pass against the Seahawks, averaging a league low 31.7 passes per game against Seattle in 2014.
Teams often chose to pass away from Sherman, given their fear in his playmaking ability. If that’s a system cornerback as Cromartie says that Sherman is, then he’s an awfully good one.
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Kristian R. Dyer writes for Metro New York and is a contributor to Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KristianRDyer
