Elite Pass Rusher vs. Shut-Down Corner
One of my Tweeps- @BRADonSPORTS started this discussion the other day so I thought I'd take a moment to flesh it out a little more since 140 characters just wasn't cutting it.
The question he asked was: which is the greater strength- being an elite pass-rusher or being a shut-down corner?
To answer that question, you must first decide what the definition of the term "greater strength" is. To me, the greater strength is whatever is more likely to be indicative of leading to a championship because what else do we play and watch sports for?
The first part of determining my answer was to think about the past Super Bowl Champions and which parts of the respective defenses played a bigger role. Here's a look at the last 9 Super Bowl Champions and their defensive rankings in the following categories: sacks, passes
defended, interceptions (Sadly, hurries is not an official stat)
2010: Green Bay Packers- 2, 6, 2
2009: New Orleans Saints- 13, 7, 3
2008: Pittsburgh Steelers- 2, 7, 6
2007: New York Giants- 1, 11, 20
2006: Indianapolis Colts- 30, 32, 20
2005: Pittsburgh Steelers- 3, 6, 19
2004: New England Patriots- 3, 6, 7
2003: New England Patriots- 6, 1, 1
2002: Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 6, 1, 1
The average ranking for sacks was 7th, and passes defended and interceptions both averaged 9th. However number alone can't make this case. We need to dig into the rosters and see just who contributed to these numbers.
The 2010 Green Bay Packers were led by Clay Matthews, Jr, who is still young but proving himself to be an elite pass rusher. As far as DB's go, the Packers lead guy is Charles Woodson who is playing at a very high level but I'm not sure I'd put the 'shut down' label on him.
In 2009, the Saints were led by Will Smith and Charles Grant. Elite? No. Very good? Yes. Darren Sharper led them in passes defended, with Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter not far behind. Darren Sharper also led the team with 9 interceptions. Shut down safety? Don't think so.
In 2008, the Steelers were led by James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley with 16 and 11.5 sacks, respectively. Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden knocked down 17 and 14 balls each. McFadden picked off just two passes while Taylor grabbed just one.
In 2007 the Giants pass rush was headed by Osi Umenyiora with 13 sacks. Some guy named Strahan chipped in another 9. The corners, Sam Madison and Aaron Ross accounted for 23 passes defended and 7 interceptions.
In 2006 Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney gave the Colts 15 sacks. Nick Harper and Jason David defended 18 balls and picked off 5.
In 2005 the Steelers had Joey Porter and Clark Haggans on the edges. They combined for 19.5 sacks. The corners, Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend defended 32 balls and picked off a paltry 3.
The 2004 champion New England Patriots got 15 sacks from Willie McGinest and Mike Vrabel. Asante Samuel and Ty Law contributed 15 passes defended (12 by Samuel) and just 3 interceptions.
The 2003 Patriots had Vrabel and McGinest again put up 15 sacks between the two of them. Ty Law and Tyrone Pool were all over the place knocking down 44 passes and intercepting 6 each.
In 2002, the Buccaneers pass rushers, Simeon Rice and Greg Spires tallied 19 sacks. The corners, Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber accounted for 41 passes defended and 10 interceptions.
Of course none of all that means anything, because a true shut down corner doesn't get thrown at, right? Well I just listed the started corners of the last 9 Super Bowl Champions and I didn't see many shut down corners at all. The pass rusher list is far more impressive a list than that of the cornerbacks you just read.
The mantra may be true that shut down corners don't get thrown at, especially in the playoffs because they're not playing.
Let's look at the premiere shut down corners of the present league: The New York Jets' Darrelle Revis and the Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha. Revis intercepted just one pass last year for the New York Jets. Overall the Jets ranked 6th in passing yards allowed. First? The San Diego Chargers. Starting cornerbacks? Antoine Cason and Quentin Jammer. Very good corners but hardly worthy of the 'shut down' title. The Chargers also finished 2nd in sacks.
The Raiders finished 2nd in passing yards allowed and also tied the Chargers for 2nd highest amount of sacks. Asomugha defended just 6 passes and didn't intercept a single pass- a true sign quarterbacks were not even looking on his side of the field.
In summary: both traits are extremely nice to have on your team but a strong pass rush is much more of an indicator of team success than having a 'shut down corner'. The pass rush is a necessity, the corner simply a luxury.
The question he asked was: which is the greater strength- being an elite pass-rusher or being a shut-down corner?
To answer that question, you must first decide what the definition of the term "greater strength" is. To me, the greater strength is whatever is more likely to be indicative of leading to a championship because what else do we play and watch sports for?
The first part of determining my answer was to think about the past Super Bowl Champions and which parts of the respective defenses played a bigger role. Here's a look at the last 9 Super Bowl Champions and their defensive rankings in the following categories: sacks, passes
defended, interceptions (Sadly, hurries is not an official stat)
2010: Green Bay Packers- 2, 6, 2
2009: New Orleans Saints- 13, 7, 3
2008: Pittsburgh Steelers- 2, 7, 6
2007: New York Giants- 1, 11, 20
2006: Indianapolis Colts- 30, 32, 20
2005: Pittsburgh Steelers- 3, 6, 19
2004: New England Patriots- 3, 6, 7
2003: New England Patriots- 6, 1, 1
2002: Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 6, 1, 1
The average ranking for sacks was 7th, and passes defended and interceptions both averaged 9th. However number alone can't make this case. We need to dig into the rosters and see just who contributed to these numbers.
The 2010 Green Bay Packers were led by Clay Matthews, Jr, who is still young but proving himself to be an elite pass rusher. As far as DB's go, the Packers lead guy is Charles Woodson who is playing at a very high level but I'm not sure I'd put the 'shut down' label on him.
In 2009, the Saints were led by Will Smith and Charles Grant. Elite? No. Very good? Yes. Darren Sharper led them in passes defended, with Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter not far behind. Darren Sharper also led the team with 9 interceptions. Shut down safety? Don't think so.
In 2008, the Steelers were led by James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley with 16 and 11.5 sacks, respectively. Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden knocked down 17 and 14 balls each. McFadden picked off just two passes while Taylor grabbed just one.
In 2007 the Giants pass rush was headed by Osi Umenyiora with 13 sacks. Some guy named Strahan chipped in another 9. The corners, Sam Madison and Aaron Ross accounted for 23 passes defended and 7 interceptions.
In 2006 Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney gave the Colts 15 sacks. Nick Harper and Jason David defended 18 balls and picked off 5.
In 2005 the Steelers had Joey Porter and Clark Haggans on the edges. They combined for 19.5 sacks. The corners, Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend defended 32 balls and picked off a paltry 3.
The 2004 champion New England Patriots got 15 sacks from Willie McGinest and Mike Vrabel. Asante Samuel and Ty Law contributed 15 passes defended (12 by Samuel) and just 3 interceptions.
The 2003 Patriots had Vrabel and McGinest again put up 15 sacks between the two of them. Ty Law and Tyrone Pool were all over the place knocking down 44 passes and intercepting 6 each.
In 2002, the Buccaneers pass rushers, Simeon Rice and Greg Spires tallied 19 sacks. The corners, Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber accounted for 41 passes defended and 10 interceptions.
Of course none of all that means anything, because a true shut down corner doesn't get thrown at, right? Well I just listed the started corners of the last 9 Super Bowl Champions and I didn't see many shut down corners at all. The pass rusher list is far more impressive a list than that of the cornerbacks you just read.
The mantra may be true that shut down corners don't get thrown at, especially in the playoffs because they're not playing.
Let's look at the premiere shut down corners of the present league: The New York Jets' Darrelle Revis and the Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha. Revis intercepted just one pass last year for the New York Jets. Overall the Jets ranked 6th in passing yards allowed. First? The San Diego Chargers. Starting cornerbacks? Antoine Cason and Quentin Jammer. Very good corners but hardly worthy of the 'shut down' title. The Chargers also finished 2nd in sacks.
The Raiders finished 2nd in passing yards allowed and also tied the Chargers for 2nd highest amount of sacks. Asomugha defended just 6 passes and didn't intercept a single pass- a true sign quarterbacks were not even looking on his side of the field.
In summary: both traits are extremely nice to have on your team but a strong pass rush is much more of an indicator of team success than having a 'shut down corner'. The pass rush is a necessity, the corner simply a luxury.
As i see you have really strong point of view!
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Your post is very interesting! Your thoughts are close to mine
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