GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 01: Jon Ryan #9 of the Seattle Seahawks makes a touchdown saving tackle on Patrick Peterson #21 of the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Arizona Cardinals fans were treated to a great rookie season by Patrick Peterson. He made the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro first team -- as a returner. As a cornerback, his season can be characterized as a struggle overall. Yes, we can see that he saw great improvement and was even considered by Cincinnati Bengal rookie receiver A.J. Green as the best corner he faced.
However, as Pro Football Focus found in their coverage stats showing the best and worst, Peterson fared among the worst statistically. Let's take a look.
Peterson was picked on a lot by opposing quarterbacks. Only four other corners were thrown at more. He was targeted 113 times and allowed 67 catches, the third highest total in the league. That converts to an almost 60 percent completion against rate. The completion rate isn't near the worst, but it is definitely below average.
Another stat to note is that Peterson also allowed the third most yards in coverage. He allowed 869 yards.
On the bright side, he was not among he worst in everything. His QB rating against was right around average. When throwing at PP, their rating was 85.0. The very best rating was a paltry 45.6 (Darrelle Revis) and the worst was 129.9 (Quentin Jammer).
He was also penalized 10 times.
Now, if you look at his game logs, you will see inconsistency. There were four games in which he gave more than 90 yards. They were Week 1, 4, 11 and 13. Then there was Week 16 against the Bengals when he was only thrown at twice and did not give up a catch.
If by simply watching him over the year, you will noticed this -- after the first few weeks, when he was asked to cover down the field, he did well. He stayed hip-to-hip with the opponents' top receivers. It was underneath he had issues with tackling and spacing.
The good thing is that he showed flashed of becoming a very good cornerback. A full offseason with OTAs and minicamp will do him a lot of good.
Hopefully next year he isn't showing up in these stats again.
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