State of the Vikings: Cornerbacks

[allday1991]

I think the majority of the posters on here can agree our biggest weakness is our o-line. With two big injuries on the line this year we have seen how important it is to have a powerful o-line, however i'd like to take this conversation to another possible weakness that I find isn't getting as much attention, our CBs. As it stands now our core is Xavier Rhoades, Captain Munnerlyn, Terence Newman, Josh Robinson, Trae Waynes and Marcus Sherels. I am no coach but I am going to give a quick run down of what I think each player brings to the table (feel free to disagree and correct me)

Terence Newman: Arguably been the best/most steady corner for us all year which is good but kind of scary considering he is 37 and likely done this year or next. So as good as he has been who knows if he will be here next year and who knows what 38 looks like for him if he does decide to return. Also has only Picks on team for CBs (2).

Xavier Rhodes: Coming into this year Rhodes was starting to get a lot or praise and notice from around the league as a top CB however this season has been bumpy to say the least. Rhodes has been torched on numerous plays and has been noted by officials as a "holder".
I haven't lost faith because of a bumpy season I believe Rhodes can rebound and play well however once officials start to get a reputation about a player it is hard to shake and I am concerned the reputation and unwarranted flags will negate how good he could be. I guess he needs to strap on the boxing gloves and fight for his reputation back, one practice at a time .

Josh Robinson: This one is short and sweet, hasn't played this year and hope he doesn't. Never been a fan of Josh Robinson and don't think he has what is takes to be a starting CB in the league.

Captain Munnerlyn: One player I have been pretty shocked about and might be one of the most improved from last year imo. Captain had a rocky start to last season but started to find a rhyme with a position change. This year I think Captain has played great, he makes nice reads on running plays and is quick to support, and is usually in decent to good coverage on passing plays. I think Captain is a good piece going forward for our CB core.

Marcus Sherels: Don't know what to say about this kid, love him. Such a reliable catcher and punt returner and often clutch when we need him. He isn't a starting CB imo but is a special team player with huge impact. He can return a punt with the best of them and cover kicks/punt nearly as well. I say we keep him for special teams however I don't believe he benefits or improves our CB core.

Trae Waynes: Our rookie first round pick, very athletic and quicker than Marshawn Lynch trying to get to his bag of skittles before Eddie Lacy finishes them. Yet to see to much of him play, granted when forced into the chance he has played well/decent. Hard to say yet what type of potential if any he brings to our core but will be interesting to see play out into maybe later this season or next year.

So of our 6 current CBs we have two (Granted Rhoades cleans up his play) decent/good CBs, one who may not return, two more I believe cant deliver the goods and one question mark. It may not be as big of a weakness as I may be making it out to be but I believe a CB should be drafted by the 5th round at the latest and maybe even another one after.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Good post! I think Newman plays another year. Robinson needs to go next year. I think all we really need in that department next year would be a good depth guy to maybe replace Robinson. Outside of that, I think we're pretty set

[jackal]

Next season should be close to what our group is able to do.. I still wonder why the Vikings corners
don't play the ball more? They seem to focus only on wide outs route.. I am not sure if that is a
result of Zimmer's coverage and assignments plan or not ??

[fiestavike]

I like all our CBs including Jabari Price. You can never have too many CBs but this is a pretty good group.

[J. Kapp 11]

I still contend Rhodes has done better than he's given credit for. He always draws the tough assignment, which means he's going to get thrown at. I don't care if Deion Sanders in his prime is covering a guy like Calvin Johnson ... Matt Stafford is throwing it Calvin's way, and he's going to complete some passes. The penalties are concerning, but again, he's playing tough matchups against physical receivers, and the rules favor the receivers.

Rhodes will be just fine.

[losperros]

I still contend Rhodes has done better than he's given credit for. He always draws the tough assignment, which means he's going to get thrown at. I don't care if Deion Sanders in his prime is covering a guy like Calvin Johnson ... Matt Stafford is throwing it Calvin's way, and he's going to complete some passes. The penalties are concerning, but again, he's playing tough matchups against physical receivers, and the rules favor the receivers.

Rhodes will be just fine.

I agree. Rhodes has been trying to cover stud WRs that basically nobody can cover. I like this kid and think he'll get better.

Although most don't agree, I also like Robinson, who did a much better job last season. Too bad he's hurt. I think he could help the D secondary a lot.

[slapnut19]

it will be interesting to see who comes back for next season. right now only rhodes, waynes, price, and munnerlyn are under contract after this season with newman, robinson and sherels all upcoming unrestricted free agents. I can see newman and sherels back, but robinson is probably gone.

[allday1991]

Good post! I think Newman plays another year. Robinson needs to go next year. I think all we really need in that department next year would be a good depth guy to maybe replace Robinson. Outside of that, I think we're pretty set

Thanks! I think having Newman back for one more season would be great for our core especially if he delivers like he has been this year, also brings a bunch of experience which can benefit young players like Waynes. I have also seen enough of Robinson where i dont mind or think that it hurts our core if we lose him, however like mentioned previously he was having a bit of a comeback last season however i am not convinced he has the size to cover the type of wr in todays league.

[allday1991]

Next season should be close to what our group is able to do.. I still wonder why the Vikings corners
don't play the ball more? They seem to focus only on wide outs route.. I am not sure if that is a
result of Zimmer's coverage and assignments plan or not ??

Agreed, the biggest concern imo is the lack of interceptions and attacking the ball. Maybe it is an assignment thing as you mentioned or how they're coached. We are near top of the league in not allowing big plays which might have to do with the Cb playing routes instead of attacking the ball. You jump a route or attack too aggressively it can allow the WR to have a big play and Zimmer hates that. Attacking the ball imo is alot like a deep pass, there is a equal amout of both good and bad things that can happen however you have to pull the trigger.

[mondry]

I still contend Rhodes has done better than he's given credit for. He always draws the tough assignment, which means he's going to get thrown at. I don't care if Deion Sanders in his prime is covering a guy like Calvin Johnson ... Matt Stafford is throwing it Calvin's way, and he's going to complete some passes. The penalties are concerning, but again, he's playing tough matchups against physical receivers, and the rules favor the receivers.

Rhodes will be just fine.

No doubt he faces the toughest target but it's not like he's been keeping these guys to like 5 catches for 60 and no TD's, he's been beat for 100+ and a TD quite often when you combine the WR's yardage and rhodes' penalties.

josh norman has basically taken the other teams top WR completely out of the game every week so it is possible.

I think Rhodes has been semi disappointing overall as a first round pick but he's also not doing awful either. It depends on what you expect out of him as I was hoping for a true shut down corner but he hasn't come close to that yet.

[J. Kapp 11]

No doubt he faces the toughest target but it's not like he's been keeping these guys to like 5 catches for 60 and no TD's, he's been beat for 100+ and a TD quite often when you combine the WR's yardage and rhodes' penalties.

josh norman has basically taken the other teams top WR completely out of the game every week so it is possible.

I think Rhodes has been semi disappointing overall as a first round pick but he's also not doing awful either. It depends on what you expect out of him as I was hoping for a true shut down corner but he hasn't come close to that yet.

I disagree.

Case in point: In the second game against the Lions, Calvin Johnson went a stretch of 53:22 without catching a single pass. But all anybody remembers is that Rhodes gave up a TD ... Stafford put the ball up high ... Johnson is 6-5. Rhodes was right with him, but Johnson boxed him out, went up, and took the ball. When you're a corner, sometimes you lose. Rhodes can't shut the guy out (but he almost did). People on this board were quick to point out Johnson had 86 yards in that game ... more than half of those yards, the 46-yard reception Johnson had on the Lions' first drive, came on a single play against Captain Munnerlyn in the slot, not Rhodes.

As for 100-yard games, the Vikings have allowed three 100-yard receiving games ... two of those came in Vikings wins.

Xavier Rhodes is not a problem. None of our corners are, nor is our pass defense. When we lose, we give up yards on the ground -- a 100-yard rusher in each loss.

[allday1991]

I disagree.

Case in point: In the second game against the Lions, Calvin Johnson went a stretch of 53:22 without catching a single pass. But all anybody remembers is that Rhodes gave up a TD ... Stafford put the ball up high ... Johnson is 6-5. Rhodes was right with him, but Johnson boxed him out, went up, and took the ball. When you're a corner, sometimes you lose. Rhodes can't shut the guy out (but he almost did). People on this board were quick to point out Johnson had 86 yards in that game ... more than half of those yards, the 46-yard reception Johnson had on the Lions' first drive, came on a single play against Captain Munnerlyn in the slot, not Rhodes.

As for 100-yard games, the Vikings have allowed three 100-yard receiving games ... two of those came in Vikings wins.

Xavier Rhodes is not a problem. None of our corners are, nor is our pass defense. When we lose, we give up yards on the ground -- a 100-yard rusher in each loss.

Could that be the case that teams run the ball when their ahead so it's more likely for the rushing numbers to be higher in games we have lost and are losing for the majority of the game? Especially since Forte will likely be out of the division it leaves little to worry about as far as running threats go however you look at passing threats and you have Jeffery, most likely Megatron, I also think Kevin White will play out well for the Bears and of course Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson. When you look at our division clearly the main threats come from the passing game.

[fiestavike]

I disagree.

Case in point: In the second game against the Lions, Calvin Johnson went a stretch of 53:22 without catching a single pass. But all anybody remembers is that Rhodes gave up a TD ... Stafford put the ball up high ... Johnson is 6-5. Rhodes was right with him, but Johnson boxed him out, went up, and took the ball. When you're a corner, sometimes you lose. Rhodes can't shut the guy out (but he almost did). People on this board were quick to point out Johnson had 86 yards in that game ... more than half of those yards, the 46-yard reception Johnson had on the Lions' first drive, came on a single play against Captain Munnerlyn in the slot, not Rhodes.

As for 100-yard games, the Vikings have allowed three 100-yard receiving games ... two of those came in Vikings wins.

Xavier Rhodes is not a problem. None of our corners are, nor is our pass defense. When we lose, we give up yards on the ground -- a 100-yard rusher in each loss.

Not to mention that Xavier Rhodes can hit and tackle. He generally does really well taking away bubble screens to his side and supporting against the run. He could wrap those long arms around Godzilla or even Eddie Lacy. I think Xavier is awesome. He's on the cusp of being a great player. I hope he can improve a little more this year.

[mansquatch]

I almost want to ask if the OP watched some of the games? Rhodes a liability? What?

The biggest question at CB is whether Waynes takes the next step. This is a position of strength for the team. The bigger concern in the secondary is Safety opposite #22.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Im more worried about Waynes then Rhodes. I am praying they are just taking it slow with Waynes as a precaution and not as a necessity.