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This offseason in the NFL has brought us the fun debate of which cornerback in the NFL is the best. NFL Total Access had a poll for its viewers, asking whether they believed it was Cleveland's Joe Haden, Arizona's Patrick Peterson, New England's Darrelle Revis or Seattle's Richard Sherman.
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antonio Cromartie was a guest on the show and was asked to give his take.
The answer might (or might not) come as a surprise.
While you might guess that he would stick up for Peterson, his new teammate, he did not.
He added himself in the conversation.
"Honestly I think it's out of me and 'Reeve' and that's how I feel who is the best cornerback in the league," he told the hosts.
"If you all just want to go with one or two season what everybpdy's done, that's fine and dandy. But go over the longevity of my career and then match it up against all these right here. Everybody wants to talk about how many picks I got in a season. Well ya'll tell me when was the last time someone had double digit picks since 2007...oh, that was me.
"Another thing, to me, right now, it's out of me and this guy (Revis). You've got three young guys that's up and coming, but right now it's out of me and this guy when we're healthy. And when we're healthy we know what we can do when we're on the football field. And we're both showing it in a Rex Ryan defense where there's zero help at all. We have zero help at all. We tell the safety to roll up to the other side. So we know what we can do. "
When talking about the Rex Ryan defense, he is right. Ryan gives his cornerbacks big responsibilities and would trust them to take the opposing receivers out of the offensive plan.
Cromartie never said that Haden, Peterson and Sherman were unable to, but that they had not up to this point.
"I want these guys to be on an island by themselves and play zero coverage," said Cromartie. "They ain't did it yet. They ain't did nothing that me and Revis have done in a Rex Ryan defense."
Cromartie cited his injury for his play in 2013, but was proud of his 2012 season, the season the Jets were without Revis to a knee injury. He believes he stacked up favorably with the popular Sherman.
Cromartie said about Sherman, "He's been playing great for those past two years, but I think my 2012 season versus his 2012 season is a lot better than his season."
Cromartie said he wants to cover Calvin Johnson this season when the Cards take on the Lions. "I wanna cover the best," he told everyone.
If in fact Cromartie is healthy and he can play at the level he has been capable of doing, then the Arizona defense will be fun to watch on the back end between he and Peterson in coverage.
Is he the best in the league? Most would probably say no, but could he be a team's number one? If healthy, there is probably no question, and since the Cards would have a tandem of two legitimate number ones, that could make for some fun to see this year.
How excited does that make you?
Listen to the latest Revenge of the Birds Radio episode: