Yardbarker: DeAngelo Hall

Cornerback Tandems: Rating the NFL's Best

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:40:05 -0500

With the trade of DeAngelo Hall and the signing of Asante Samuel, cornerbacks have been heavily talked about during the offseason. With the growing number of high-octane offenses throwing the ball at will, the league has started to place a premium on having two (and sometimes three) quality cornerbacks to match up with receivers. With the new rules in place, we will most likely never see a complete shutdown corner in the likes of Mel Blount, Night Train Lane, and Deion Sanders but these are the best combos out there today. Honorable mentions go to Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings of the Seattle Seahawks, as well as Walt Harris and Nate Clements of the San Francisco 49ers. No. 5: Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, PHI Asante Samuel is a smaller corner but plays bigger than he is, often trying for the big hit against bigger-bodied wideouts. Samuel is not a corner with tremendous speed, but he does well in zone or man-to-man coverage. Developing with the Patriots has given him a strong sense of awareness of the ball and the field. Without the blazing speed, he occasionally gets beat in coverage by faster receivers, but usually makes up with it on cuts and angles. Another area of attack for opposing offenses is his size. At 5-foot-10, quarterbacks sometimes toss up the jump ball against him and he can be had on fade patterns, but is very willing to fight for the ball. He does take chances to make a play on the ball, but has the closing burst to close well and is a great open field tackler. He also has good hands, allowing him to pick off passes and fend off receivers. Questions about Samuel usually revolve around how good he will be now that he is out of the Patriot fold. We all saw the decline in Ty Law once he left. However, the Eagles' scheme is very similar to the Patriots. It is a pass rush-heavy pass defense. Expecting Lito Sheppard to be traded, Sheldon Brown would be the likely pair with Samuel in the Eagles' secondary. Brown is also a smaller, physical player who is a good press-cover corner, and excels in man-to-man coverage over zone coverage. He is very strong and loves to play the bump-and-run. Once in coverage, Brown has learned to get in position and is quite adept at reading routes. Working in Jimmy Johnson's defense has really improved his technique. He has excellent ball skills and is a good tackler against the run. Brown's shortcomings are very similar to Samuel in that he also lacks the size to compete with the bigger wideouts and the speed to keep up with the burners, and that remains the biggest concern in this backfield. No. 4: Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall, OAK Nnamdi Asomugha was a slow study to start his career, but has really blossomed of late. He has excellent tools to work with; excellent size at 6-foot-2, 210 lbs to go along with top-end speed. Although, he is not as fluid as some of the other top corners, his foot quickness and agility are adequate but he has a little stiffness in his hips and knees. He is a better bump-and-run corner where he can trail the receiver instead of a cover corner. He looks a bit tight in transition and often loses a step on the receiver, but has enough explosive quickness and speed to make up the difference. Asomugha struggles a bit from man-off as he is not yet good at route recognition or reading the quarterback's eyes and getting a jump on the ball. This will all come with more playing time. He is strong and has long arms that allow him to jam receivers or re-route them when he is able to get a hand on them. He is also a strong tackler and is not afraid to come up and force the run. The 2006 season was a breakout for Asomugha as he came up with eight interceptions after being shutout his first three years in the league, and he built on that last year as well. He has come a long way in terms of playing the ball he is still a work in progress. Playing with DeAngelo Hall may help his development. Hall is a corner of polarizing opinions. He is an exceptional man-to-man defender but an ordinary zone defender who uses his incomparable 4.2 speed to compensate for bad decisions. In addition to his speed, Hall also has phenomenal quickness, closing speed, and agility, preferring to play off his man to try and jump the routes. While he is not the strongest of corners, he has some upper-body strength. He is able to jam receivers and can shed a block, providing some help on run support but it is not his strength. Hall also has great instincts with the ball in his hands, and combined with his speed is a threat to take it the distance any time he intercepts the ball. Hall's coverage skills start to break down when a receiver manages to get in his head. He is brash and arrogant and will over-commit. He also needs to work on his has sloppy footwork. Not the best in the film room, Hall hasn't taken the time to work on getting proper body position and has gotten used to solving all of his problems with just his speed; this causes him to gamble and is prone to giving up big plays. Overall, this tandem has amazing speed and can keep up with any of the receivers in the league. Given they are both better as man-to-man, expect them to play limited zone coverages. No. 3: Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie, SD His development was slow, but Quentin Jammer has developed to the point where he's a Top 15 NFL corner, and one of the best pure cover corners. He is also a very physical corner (matching his name), excelling in run coverage and hits and tackles with the very best corners in the league. Now six years into the league, Jammer had to adjust to the significant rule changes that penalize corners for any intentional contact with receivers more than five yards off the line of scrimmage. In fact, Jammer led the league in flags for illegal contact in 2005, and was near the top again in 2006; last season he seemed to figure it out. The ongoing fault people find with Jammer, and what limits him from being a truly elite corner is his lack of interceptions. He has never had more than four interceptions in a season. However, with Antonio Cromartie on the other side, his team doesn't suffer from his lack of interceptions. His overall game is so rounded that his interception deficiency can be over looked. Dubbed "The Natural" by ESPN's John Clayton, he excels in man-to-man coverage and is still learning the zone schemes. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and possessing long arms, Cromartie is ideal for press coverage. Nearly as fast as Hall, he still clocks in with a 4.3 40 yard time, and his style is smooth. Cromartie uses his breakneck speed, can't-be-taught instincts, exceptional turn-and-go flexibility, and exceptional hands to control his game. Like Asomugha, he is still learning, and that is the scary part. Cromartie is an athletic freak, and his position coach, Bill Bradley, said he is becoming a student of the game. As is the knock on a lot of speed corners, Antonio isn't the most physical of cornerbacks. Working with one of the most physical in Jammer, he's improved his hitting and tackling. One AFC scout says that Cromartie will guess on some plays (going for the big play), which leaves him vulnerable to completions. He still can be beaten with some double moves, but he will improve in that area the more he plays. No. 2: Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, DEN Champ Bailey possesses the best combination of skill, instinct, and knowledge for a cornerback in the game and is the closest thing to a true shutdown corner we have today. He will blanket the other team's top receiver and will often take him completely out of the game. He is excellent in both bump-and-run coverage, as well as zone schemes. Bailey has always shown great quickness and technique, combined with excellent speed. With his talent and ball skills, Bailey could easily be a wide receiver and has been used in set offenses from time to time. He is very active in run support, and plays the run well. The biggest knocks on Bailey have been that he is eager to gamble, and will lose occasionally, like he did last year against Brett Favre for two 79-yard touchdowns. He is also not a big hitter, and once the receiver has the ball, rarely causes fumbles. Being paired with Bailey, Dre Bly had the first opportunity to be a No. 2 corner in a defense after being the top corner in Detroit and St. Louis. Bly maybe undersized at 5-foot-10, but he is a real playmaker. Seemingly in spite of his size, he is very confident and loves to challenge the bigger receivers. He gets good position on his receivers and plays tough, but he sometimes has trouble against the bigger receivers that he challenges, as they push off for separation. Another tremendous athlete, Bly doesn't waste much motion, and has very fluid hips, turning on a dime. He too will gamble, and lose more than he should because he has concentration lapses. He has a rare combination of quickness to cover the slot and top-end speed to play on the perimeter. As a contrast to Bailey, he isn't very physical and isn't much help in run support. His tackling can actually be a liability and he struggles to shed blocks while seeming a little indifferent to the play once it is out of the air. No. 1: Charles Woodson and Al Harris, GB The baby of the pairing at age 31, Charles Woodson has been a premier man-to-man cover cornerback in the NFL for about nine years, first with the Oakland Raiders and now with the Green Bay Packers. While age has caught up with Woodson. He no longer has the same speed that the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner showed, but he more than compensates for any slowdown with great instincts and awareness. He uses these skills to anticipate the receiver's route and breaks on the ball. Woodson continues to be a smart football player who combines that intelligence with a physical style and a love for the game that shows in his energetic play. The teamwork between Woodson and Al Harris is evident to each other when Woodson is quick to credit Harris' shutdown abilities for the playmaking opportunities that are coming his way with the Packers. Like Asomugha, Harris is one of the few bump-and-run specialists remaining in the game, and he can be extremely physical at the line of scrimmage. A tough, smart veteran, Harris regularly shadows the opposing team's top receiver and holds him in check. This role has led Harris to be a meticulous student in the film room to prepare. He is very quick to pick up on small signals in a receiver's game that hint at what is about to come. At age 33, speed is also a concern for Harris. Woodson and Harris face their biggest problems when faced with burner wideouts, and they resort to their bump-and-run to slow them down.

Oakland Raider analysis: What were the Oakland Raiders thinking this offseason?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:55:22 -0500

This has been a tumultuous offseason for the Raider Nation. First there was the ongoing saga of whether or not Al Davis and Lane Kiffin were playing a game of dare to see whether Kiffin would quit, be fired, or coach for the 2008 season. Nnamdi Asomugha was given the franchise tag, and then free agents were signed fast and furious to huge contracts. Meanwhile, there was not motion on locking down Asomugha long term. Chronic malcontent Jerry Porter was jettisoned, but fellow chronic malcontent LaMont Jordan remains. What the duce is going on inside that building on Harbor Bay Parkway?

Oakland Raiders News: Wrong defensive back signed long term

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:34:34 -0500

The Tyvon Branch signing is a welcomed event and any other day of his signing would have been something that Raider Nation could celebrate, just not today. Although the rookie is expected to make a strong impact on special teams in 2008, he's not expected to start and would only play defense in the worst of all situations, an injury or poor play. One defensive back expected to make an impact while starting for the Raiders was not signed on Tuesday to a long term deal and that is the overshadowing news of the day...

Oakland Raiders: Day of reckoning-Nnamdi Asomugha long term contract deadline today

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:56:24 -0500

The Raider Nation has been wringing their hands for months, since Nnamdi Asomugha was given an "exclusive rights" tag by the Oakland Raiders. The speculation has been rampant around the media and blogosphere on when and how much the Asomugha deal would ultimately be worth. Within 21 hours of this writing, or midnight eastern time, we will know the answer to whether or not Aso gets his long term deal. My guess is that he and Al Davis will come to a deal.

NFL INSIDER: Deadline Looms for Cowboys Deal

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:52:25 -0500

When he vacationed in Orlando last summer, agent Kennard McGuire brokered a long-term deal with Detroit for its franchise player, Cory Redding. McGuire hopes the same can happen for another client this week, Cowboys' franchise player Ken Hamlin, although a deadline is approaching. The Cowboys and McGuire have until 3 p.m. Tuesday to reach an agreement on a long-term deal or else the Pro Bowl safety can only play for the one-year tender offer of $4.396 million. Since putting the franchise tag on Hamlin in March, the Cowboys were able to finalize multiyear deals for fellow Pro Bowlers Flozell Adams, Terence Newman, Terrell Owens and Marion Barber, among others. Even as they vacationed, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones and McGuire kept negotiating on a multi-year deal last week, but the talks figure to take on more urgency. With more than $8 million in salary-cap room, money has not been the issue, however, the structure of the contract has because of changes in the collective bargaining agreement coming next year. Dallas Morning News

Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Special teams overview

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:04:17 -0500

As the camp battles series winds towards its close, its time to look at the one area that will make the difference between making the team and flipping burgers at the local In & Out, which is special teams. The Oakland Raiders have a couple of top flight kickers in Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski. Additionally, the Raiders have a trio of top flight players for special teams coverage in the "Bermuda Triangle" of Jarrod Cooper, Isaiah Ekejiuba, and Ricky Brown. Beyond that, there are wide open opportunities for many of the fringe players to make the team as part of this unit.

AFC West Run Down

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:08:39 -0500

San Diego Chargers: A year after making it to the AFC championship the Chargers kept their nucleus together for the most part which is hard to do in today's game. The only departures of note were FB Lorenzo Neal and CB Drayton Florence. They were both replaced with younger more athletic versions of them in CB Antoine Cason out of Arizona and FB Jacob Lester out of LSU. So one should only expect the Chargers to be more successful this season with another year with their new coaching staff. Possibly the most talented team in the NFL. The AFC west crown is merely a formality of playing the schedule for the Chargers. This could be the division clinched the earliest clearly the class of the west. Season prediction: 12-4 Denver Broncos: Mike Shanahan lately has adopted the Carl Peterson philosophy of acquiring stop gap win now free agents but he has not been as successful as Carl was at that game. His only deviation from the blue print has been his attempt to develop Quarterback Jay Cutler. This season the Broncos have brought in DT Dewayne Robertson former # 6 pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. Also brought in was receiver Darrell Jackson from Seattle who will be 30 before the season is over and Champ's brother boss from the Lions to be their OLB. Also Shanahan acquired two players from the Chiefs. Receiver Sammie " No Hands" Parker and Casey Wiegman. Does signing any of the Chiefs cast aways make sense for any team? Season Prediction: 7-9 Oakland Raiders: This off season the Raiders may have been the most aggressive team in free agency . Signing big name free agents to big time contracts. Acquiring receiver Javon Walker from the Broncos and speedy CB DeAngelo Hall from the Falcons. Also getting the best running back in the nation in Darren McFadden. It all matters not this team is in shambles from top to bottom. From a head coach in Lane Kiffin with no real authority who was asked by owner Al Davis to sign a resignation paper but refused. And the defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was asked to leave by the head coach only to be brought back by Al Davis. The Raiders have an absurd amount of talent but this situation is not conducive to winning. Season Prediction: 5-11

NFL Season Preview: Oakland Raiders, an Interview With CB Stanford Routt

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:11:51 -0500

I would like to offer a special thanks to Stanford Routt, cornerback for the Oakland Raiders, who took some time out to answer a few questions for me about the Oakland Raiders. www.rawsportsblog.com

Camping Checklist: Raiders Have Some Answers, More Questions

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:40:49 -0500

It's popular around these parts to see the glass as half full. With the first preseason game a month from today (August 8 against the 49ers), there's more "ifs, ands, & buts" around the Raider Nation than in Conjunction Junction. While there's room for optimism after a summer of spending, it's time to introduce a healthy dose of reality to the proceedings. The schedule and the roster don't suggest that these Raiders will find playoff pay-dirt in 2008. With the NFL's ever-changing personnel landscape, five-year plans are a thing of the past. What you've done for me lately is as irrelevant as what will you do for me two years from now. What's working? Rob Ryan's Defense Ryan has shown the ability to shape a top-flight defense when given the right pieces to the puzzle. It's clear with the additions of Gabril Wilson and DeAngelo Hall the Raiders' secondary is one of the best in the league on paper. Paired with Nnamdi Asomugha, Hall should form one half of the league's best man-to-man coverage team. Nickel back Stanford Routt showed glimpses of talent as a part-time starter last year, and Michael Huff, while still failing to live up to his draft hype and college performance, will be an upgrade over Stuart Schweigert. The linebacking crew has speed to burn and gives the Raiders options for coverage and pass rushing. And the defensive line returns Derrick Burgess, hoping that last year's sack total (eight) was a one-year slide. The Running Back Stable It's hard to imagine that a year ago anyone would be excited about the return of Huggy Bear, but from the second half of the Miami game until his injury, Justin Fargas was one of the league's most efficient ball carriers in the league. Add to that a healthy Michael Bush and the most exciting Raider back drafted since a guy named Marcus in Darren McFadden, and even the uncertain status of LaMont Jordan doesn't seem to matter much. Often overlooked, the Raider fullback position is as solid as it's been since John Ritchie opened holes for Charlie Garner. Fresh legs shouldn't be an issue for this group. Kicking Game Some fans will never forgive Al Davis for selecting Seabastian Janikowski in the first round nine years ago, but he rebounded from a dismal 2006 with a solid '07. And don't look now, but SeaBass is in line to become the second leading scorer in Raider history sometime in 2008. And no one has had more game practice at punting than Shane Lechler. All that practice paid off, with a gaudy 49.1 yards per kick average. It's one of the NFL's great mysteries that he's not a perennial Pro-Bowler. What's Keeping Al Up At Night? The Big Uglies Up Front Tom Cable did an admirable job last season switching to a zone blocking format and getting the most from his guys. But no single unit relies more on continuity and familiarity than the O-line. Cable will have at least two new faces in the starting group with stalwart Barry Sims switching area codes to the 415 and the undervalued Jerremy Newberry headed south to San Diego. It's clear that this line will control the success of the Raider offense. With an inexperienced quarterback, the Raiders will rely heavily on those talented running backs and keeping Russell upright. And Speaking of Upright... JaMarcus Russell can throw a football 60 yards on his knees. He's built like a defensive lineman. He can throw a football through a brick wall. He's also thrown 66 passes in his NFL career, struggled with learning a stripped down playbook last season, and enters this year as The Man for a team in desperate need of leadership. While he may end up as great as his clippings, the jury's out. The Raiders better hope the verdict is a good one! Who's Catching That Thing? Drew Carter, Javon Walker, and Ronald Curry head into the season as the first three guys on the depth chart. While no one questions the potential talent, this is a suspect group at best. Walker and Curry have a long history of leg injuries. Carter had a breakout season (of sorts) last year, but has no real legacy of success. The best options for JaMarcus will probably be tight end Zach Miller and his running backs led by McFadden. There are those that believe that with a young quarterback, screens, flairs and five-yard curls may be the best patterns anyway, but consider this—how many 15-play drives can you expect Russell to run in year two? Who's Stopping The Run? With Warren Sapp taking his mouth to the networks, the Raiders will rely on a series of gambles up the middle, including the $55-million man, Tommy Kelly. Things are so uncertain that you can look for the Raiders to bring back an old face for training camp in either Sam Adams or Grady Jackson. Gerard Warren is a potential cap hit but remains a talent tease. Greg Spires and Kalimba Edwards, both signed this offseason, have the potential to help from the end spot, particularly Spires. There are as many question marks as there are answers heading in to camp. While the potential is there, the performance is unproven. With so many new parts to these engines it's hard to imagine there won't be some rough road ahead. Next week we'll take a look at the season game-by-game and give our first prediction on the season's performance.

Asomugha Only Raider on Top 50 Player List

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:16:06 -0500

CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco is out with his annual Top 50 NFL Players list, and just one Raiders Player is on the list - CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Here is the breakdown on Asomugha: 29. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders: DeAngelo Hall might get more attention on the other side this season, but Asomugha is a [...]

Oakland Raiders news could be ready to heat up

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:02:50 -0500

Took a road trip to Reno on Saturday to hang with some friends and try to make a little cash in the process so I was understandably not available to keep up with the goings on of the Raiders. Normally when I have to divert my attention from staying up on the team, I come back and look for every tidbit of info I can find in order to catch up and get back on track...

Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Cornerbacks-Nnamdi Asomuga and DeAngelo Hall have it locked down

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:25:37 -0500

On tonight's edition of the Oakland Raiders Camp Battles series, we come to probably the strongest unit on the Raiders, the cornerbacks. The Raiders will be starting two Pro Bowl corners in Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall. There is talk in the Nation that these guys could be a reincarnation of the Lester Hayes-Mike Haynes secondary of the 80s. This unit will be a tough one to crack for anyone besides fourth round pick Tyvon Branch. Lets take a look at who will be fighting for the remaining slots:

Oakland Raiders: Five things to love about them in 2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:55:15 -0500

What a whirlwind of an offseason this has been so far! It started prior to the end of the Raiders last game of 2007 and the winds of change have continued to 'dust up' many negative insights about the Oakland Raiders as an organization. In fact, many would wonder, with all of the stories written since the end of week 16, is there any organization to the Raiders at all? It would be so easy to begin believing that there is no hope if you were to have little faith to begin with. If you don't believe, or have little belief left that the Raiders will have a good 2008, then you need to relax a little and take solace with a few reasons that the Raiders are ready for a good year.

Fantasy Football Notes - Oakland Raiders

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:20:39 -0500

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. What was once considered a very proud organization, finding its energy through Raider Nation, now finds itself on a downward spiral in which they still haven't been able to recover. Following the 2007 draft in which they drafted highly touted quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, all hopes were high for the silver and black. That soon changed though as Russell held out until almost mid-September, which turned out to be the longest holdout by the top pick in the draft in over two decades! Things didn't get much better from there for the Oakland Raiders. In fact, they won only 4 games in 2007. Free agent running back, Dominic Rhodes, bombed, and 2006 holdout wide receiver, Jerry Porter, never got back on track, with his best game being a 5 reception 88 yard effort against the Minnesota Vikings in week 11. 2007 ended on a sour note with the team losing it's last 4 match-ups after a brief two game winning streak in weeks 12 and 13, but with a few roster moves having been made during the off-season, Russell ready to take the helm, and the arrival of another offensive stud, Darren McFadden, through the draft, 2008 looks to have the makings of a season that can produce better results. Make sure to read more of what Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff writer Chris Ziza has to say about the Oakland Raiders heading into the 2008 season by clicking below...