The bigger issue than corner is the play at safety and LB.
We had the SB in our grasp but the play at safety and LB in the 2nd half of the AFCC game cost us the Lombardi.
We would have won the SB last year with the corners we have in camp today, had we gotten better play for 1 half from the LBs and safeties.
What has changed?
LB. Thomas, Seau and Brown are here. Vrable and Colvin both missed time during that half.
S. Well, pretty much anyone we put out there will be better than what we played with in that second half. Harrison, Wilson, Meriwhether are all new players to the team compared to what we had on the field in that half of football.
There has been 1 single case of our corners being exploited and costing us games in the BB era. That was early 2005 when Starks was being terrorized.
The quality of play at corner in the BB era has an awful lot to do with TEAM defense. I think if all stay healthy, including expected improvement from Sanders, we will have BOTH the best set of safeties and best set of LBs in the BB era.
While Harrison and Wilson at their peaks were excellent safeties, there was never any depth to speak of.
The only time the LB corps could compare to what we have this year was in 2004. Even then, we had a 3man rotation at OLB, with a recovering Colvin. Thomas will be an improvement, especially in terms of team defense and coverage ability over Mcginest of 2004. Instead of that 3 man rotation, all 3 will play full time, replacing the weakness of that group, Ted Johnson, with Seau and Brown coming off the bench for depth, not to mention any contributiuons from the younger LBs.
I think that we will field the best defense of the BB era this year. 03 was an unbelievable defense, and we do not have Ty Law, but on the DL, at LB, and at safety we are at least as good, and deeper.
I'll trade a little less overall ability at the corner position for an improved team defense at the other 9 spots plus depth every day of the week.
