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Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

That's fair, and I agree it would be nice to have someone better.   But I'd guess that if you look around the league, Wallace is in the top half of #2 corners.  Maybe not top half of pure cover corners, but top half in corners playing all aspects of their position.  Pretty tough to complain about that.  


I know people here love to hate on PFF, but they had Wallace rated 41st among CBs.  If accurate, that does place him comfortably in the top half of CB2s.  I’ll sure take that going forward.

 

As for Norman, I certainly think he was worth rolling the dice on for obvious reasons. 

Edited by BarleyNY
Posted
21 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

As for Norman, I'm just not prepared to buy the narrative that he's declined physically to the point that he can't play in the league.  I don't buy it for a minute, mostly because his so-called "decline" coincided with his move from one of the acknowledged young defensive geniuses in the league (McDermott) to one of the acknowledge dysfunctional franchises in the league (Washington).  Richard Sherman has been playing longer than Norman, and nobody's talking about his physical decline.  Sherman was coached in Seattle by Robert Saleh, his current defensive coordinator.   I''m guessing that Sherman is still a competitor in the league because of brains and coaching much more so than continuing physical excellence, and I suspect that's what we're going to see with Norman, too. 

 

I’d be careful comparing the two players. Due to Sherman’s over the top braggadocio we tend to forget that - like Fitzmagic - he’s one of the smartest guys in the NFL. Plus he had NFL caliber coaching every year after high school. Coupled with his length and physicality the effects of age are less detrimental to his performance. 
 

That’s not to knock Norman. He may very well rebound as he’s in the perfect position to do so. ??. However, we probably shouldn’t compare him to a likely HOF candidate that’s always been the exception rather than the rule. 

Posted

I appear to rate Norman a lot higher than most (along w GunnerBill).  I thought the Front Office did a good job in addressing what I (and the author) thought was last years weak point in the Defense, namely CB2 - IMO the awful duo of Wallace/Johnson.  I thought this years battle was Norman/Gaines with Norman as the upper hand.

 

I don't understand the idea of losing it physically for CBs after 30.  Yes, I see that for RBs, but CBs don't take that physical abuse.  An athlete that is taking care of himself in a non-contact position has a lot longer shelf life than the oft referenced 30 year mark.

 

IMO, Norman was being used improperly last year by  a scrub team and lost focus.  I see him as an upgrade over the Wallace/Johnson tandem from last year.  McBeane knew what Norman can bring and went after him quick  and hard.  Well done. 

Posted

A probowl caliber CB2 would really make a difference. The dropoff after TW is significant. That said, Wallace and Norman are average CB, so I see this position group as our 2nd biggest need after OL. Of course QB is far and away our biggest need if JA doesn't make HUGE strides that far exceed last year's improvements. He is still holding this team back IMO. I really hope he can do it because we'll pay a steep price to get a top tier QB.

Posted
20 minutes ago, GreggTX said:

A probowl caliber CB2 would really make a difference. The dropoff after TW is significant. That said, Wallace and Norman are average CB, so I see this position group as our 2nd biggest need after OL. Of course QB is far and away our biggest need if JA doesn't make HUGE strides that far exceed last year's improvements. He is still holding this team back IMO. I really hope he can do it because we'll pay a steep price to get a top tier QB.

you just couldn't help yourself, could you?

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