Deion Sanders was the best cornerback of his generation. Maybe the best pure cover cornerback ever. Teams basically shutdown the passing game on his side of the field most of the time. It took a rocket armed QB to challenge him because any floater you put up would go the other way for 6.
Belichick, like Parcells, knows that the front seven is far more important than the secondary. Unless you've got Dion Sanders back there, stopping the run and pressuring the QB do far more for your pass defense than covering people. This is why our defense was so great in '04, even though we had nobody in the secondary. My main beef with Mangini so far is that he seems to have neglected the front seven. We're missing the two centerpieces of the 3-4--a nose tackle and a pass-rushing OLB, and by using the 3-4 he negates the impact of our linebackers who have excelled in the 4-3. I've got no problem with Mangini wanting to institute his system, but he's got to come up with the players to do so. That most likely means picking up better guys up front and letting someone like Miller walk.
Looking back, Miller scored a 22 on the wonderlic, the average for defensive backs was 19 that year. Maybe the guy just needs a few more years to develop into that #1 corner we all had hoped for when we drafted him.
It's funny. Last night, after reading this thread, I went back and watched the tape of the game, using slow mo on each lions drop in the second half. You know who to thank for that comeback....Andre Dyson. Miller, pretty much on Williams, (both corners have help over the top, the Jets are in a 2 deep zone for the most part...)doesnt see nary a ball even thrown his way, and when it is, its a short route, after he's run deep. And...on one of the converted fourth down plays, it's Miller that catches on to the offense and frantically tries to call time out. Go back, look at the tape (in the fourth qtr, Miller is at the top of the screen...)....Apparently the Lions OC repects Miller far more than we do here....
I agree he was probably the best cover corner ever. He shut down his side, simply because teams were afraid to throw to his side of the field, for fear he would intercept, and subsequently return the ball 80 yards for a TD. As I said, he was great in coverage, but once his man had the ball in his hands, Deion was looking for every way imaginable to bring him down without dirtying his pants. I'm not calling Deion a bad corner. In his prime, there's not a team in the NFL that wouldn't want him. However, don't expect him to make a play after the completion.
The Lion's OC is Mike Martz. His offense hasn't done jack-squat against anybody but the team he coached last year (think he might know St. Louis defensive schemes pretty well by now?), despite haivng Jon Kitna (a pretty decent QB) and Roy Williams (the flava of the year at receiver.) Now that you mention it, you're right, the Lions didn't throw much at Miller all day. They lost. I would say the two things are likely related...
whats up with david barret? I didnt hear about him at all in the past few weeks, is he hurt or is he just not a mangini guy?
Deion probably saved twenty TD's over his career by pulling down somebody (usually not his man BTW) from behind who would not have been caught by anybody else on the planet. He had the best wheels in the NFL this side of Barry Sanders and Sanders was probably the only breakaway threat that Deion didn't horse-collar down at least once in his career.
I have to agree with you Alio, he was a great corner, but he looked sometimes like he was afraid to actually lay a hit on someone. I have seen him on a couple of occassions where it looked like he intentionally tripped on his own shoes to keep from tackling someone.
My point was not so much about miller, as it was directed at those bitching about his performance after sunday's game...... We get alot of that sort of thing....
He's hurt. Seems like he's been day to day for the past 3 weeks. I think our pass d will improve a lot with him at #2, Dyson at #1, and miller and coleman in the nickel and dime.
Seems to me Barrett won't be here next year. I remember reading that Barret claims to be totally healthy yet he is on the injury report and inactive every week. He's in the doghouse for something....
He's got 2 Int's a forced fumble and 2 passes defensed. Believe me if he was healthy enough to go he'd be on the field. He was a big part of the Tennessee and Buffalo wins and his Int in the 3rd quarter in the New England game was a key reason the Pat's could not ice the game, setting up the Jet's near-miss comeback.
