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This offseason has a trend for Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson -- criticism. He started a national debate when he said that Richard Sherman is not a shutdown corner. His new teammate Antonio Cromartie also made some noise by saying that he, along with Darrelle Revis, are the best cornerbacks in the league.
Not all agree. In fact, both Peterson and Cromartie are called overrated in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports' Shutdown Corner.
Eric Edholm calls Peterson a "very good salesman and even better athlete" and that the Cardinals "will be overpaying" Peterson when he gets his new deal.
Peterson is not, as he has asserted, the best — or one of the five best — cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s outside that group until further notice. But credit where credit is due: By taking on Richard Sherman in debate, the guy has made people think he is. Some NFL teams will buy (or have bought) into it, too.
At the same time, Edholm does state that Peterson "can do things that 90 percent of cornerbacks cannot."
The fact he gets beat regulaly on double moves and still has some work to do in zone coverage are the reason why Peterson is overrated, according to the article.
Cromartie is the overrated pick by Frank Schwab, stating "he hasn't done a ton" since his 2007 season in which he had 10 interceptions.
Here is where Cromartie ranked among NFL cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus' grades each season after 2007: 113th, 45th, 45th, 56th, 16th, 103rd. Last season PFF had him giving up seven touchdowns (only three cornerbacks allowed more) and quarterbacks had a 100.7 rating when they threw his way. Somehow he made a Pro Bowl last year, which says a lot about the Pro Bowl.
He does give credit to him for his 2012 season, but basically calls him a guy that has lost his edge -- he will make some plays and give up a few others.
Both Peterson and Cromartie are guys you can set up to play press man and leave them alone, freeing up the rest of your defense. They make plays. Cromartie needs to show that 2013 was about his injuries. Peterson needs to be more consistent and focused.
Are they overrated? Are they rated just right? Are they underrated? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
