Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie named amongst NFL’s ‘overrated’ corners

“Overrated” is something fans love to chant at players on opposing teams. It’s now also a word that Yahoo Sports’ Shutdown Corner blog has used to describe Arizona Cardinals cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie.

Shutdown Corner writer Eric Edholm says Peterson is a player that matches up well against bigger wide receivers such as Julio Jones in man coverage, but tried to reason why the former LSU Tiger is more hyped up than he deserves to be.

But smart, savvy and quicker receivers can give him fits. Double moves still befuddle Peterson. Yes, he can do things that 90 percent of corners cannot, but Peterson is still attacked regularly and beaten with some level of frequency that keeps him out of the elite category.

Peterson had three interceptions and 40 tackles in his third season with the team, which earned him a Pro Bowl appearance and a spot as a first-team All-Pro. Edholm also gave Peterson some credit for his confidence and that while his physicality is great, it’s not “truly elite.”

As for Peterson’s teammate, Frank Schwab explained that although Cromartie is looked at as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL, he has suffered a severe drop off in recent years.

Cromartie had a great 2007 season, with 10 interceptions, and that’s when he started being considered one of the best cornerbacks in the game. He also hasn’t done a ton since then.
Cromartie moved on from the Chargers to the Jets, and next season he’ll be with the Cardinals. Unless Cromartie can recapture his 2012 season (which was legitimately good), all Arizona will be getting is the post-2007 Cromartie, which is a corner who makes a big play here or there but generally gives up plenty, too.

While the Cardinals secondary is once again expected to be one of the toughest in the league next season, if these writers are correct, it could have a few more holes than anticipated.

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