For no reason....Originally Posted by BlackAndGold
For no reason....
It's probably his 2 career INT's and 25 total pass def. I'm not saying he's the worst player who ever lived. However I like players that can take the ball away. I feel like Cockrell is more of a chase & tackle player. He's not a ball hawking shut down guy. He cannot be left alone on the outside to cover deep because he lacks elite speed. He always needs a safety over the top to help. That is a liability. Teams know if they send a player deep on Cockrell's side he's going to draw help from the Safety which takes up 2 secondary players with one receiver. Again he may not be the worst player ever. On this Defense however Cock is a liability.
If he is so great why did the team get away with an original round tender (4th) in the off-season. If he's so spectacular why didn't some team give up the 4th Rd pick and sign him up? Lots of teams could use an upgrade at the #2 CB slot. Why didn't another team slide in and take him away?
No one has said that Cockrell was great(top 40 is not great,but not bad too), but he is a good corner number 2.If Burns take the next step, it's going to be huge for the steelers.
If this is the case,I would put the second best WR of the other team one on one against Burns and I would double the best WR of the other team
If he was a legitimate top 40 CB one of the 31 other teams would have given up a 4th Rd pick to sign him.
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Cockrell = Interference
Maybe Cockrell had not had the contract he wanted....
I don't see it. Sure as a "#1 Shutdown corner in the National FOOTBALL League" then Cock is problematic at best. But to argue that he isn't a legit and more than adequate second corner - well that just seems to fly in the face of 2 seasons worth of evidence.
Is he possibly the least athletically gifted of the starting 11 defenders? Maybe. But last season, Artie Burns, Willie Gay, and Robert Golden were far far more liabilities in coverage than Cockrell was.
As to other NFL teams not signing a player -- well look at the annual crapfest that is the draft and free agency and tell me you really want to use what other franchises valuations of players are as a barometer.
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But given their paltry tender to Cockrell, it would seem that even the Steelers hold a similar view.
Same team which put only an 3rd round tender on Emmanuel Sanders in 2013 in a weak draft....
Maybe. Maybe not.
Bottom line is that he has ranked highly in the passes defensed category both 2015 and 2016 (https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/s...defended/2016/) - especially when you consider there are 64 starting CBs in the league.
Clearly the Steelers are trying to add to their outside CB position with the selection of Allen this past draft. While I am not making a case that Cockrell is a great cover CB that should be assured of a long-term role in this defense -- I do not think he is the culprit for major breakdowns.
Whenever the Steelers really got burned consistently in the passing game - Gay, Golden, Dangerfield and the LBs were usually involved. The lack of adequate resources for nickel, dime, and quarters coverage packages was far more problematic than the play of either CB in base sets. Couple that with an anemic OLB pass rush and any 3-4 team is going to have problems against the pass.
In all seriousness, I hope that Allen turns into Ike Taylor 2.0 and can be paired with a budding star in Artie Burns in 2018. I dream of a secondary filled with long armed guys with great hands who run like gazelles creating turnovers behind a front 7 that creates absolute chaos at the line of scrimmage. In a best case scenario - many of the pieces for that are getting put into place. But still a year away.
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The Steelers have every hope that someone will replace Cockrell is what I think. Injuries are derailing that plan this year so far. I hope Allen is Ike with hands!
How so?
Golson and Sutton are best suited to play in the slot not outside. Those dudes are Wille Gay's replacement.
Allen is the only other DB on the roster who has a shot in the next 2 years of replacing Cocky.
Honestly I hope Cockrell proves me wrong. With the front 7 they have he shouldn't have to stick with guys for too long.
However he would be the first player I would replace if possible.
Again, I have no idea why. Like based on what facts and stuff?
I would replace Golden, Gay, Chickillo, and maybe Williams (jury is still out) before I got around to waving my magic wand over Cockrell.
I mean it is a highlight reel and all - but this shows dude playing pretty close to some darn good wideouts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOHjP2SFP70
I thought I had stated my reasons in a previous post. I think its time to agree to disagree.
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