ARIZONA CARDINALS

Playing cornerback with Patrick Peterson means more than just a heavy workload

Apr 21, 2017, 5:29 PM

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) moves to the field before the first of an NFL fo...

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) moves to the field before the first of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

(AP Photo/David Goldman)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Patrick Peterson did what he could last season to shepherd his young backfield mates through the arduous process of becoming an effective NFL cornerback.

On his way home on Wednesdays and Thursdays, he’d stop by Brandon Williams’ house to watch 40 minutes of film with the rookie. He conducted drills with Justin Bethel away from the Cardinals practice facility because he was confident Bethel already knew how to study film. And when the team hit the field for games, he was always chattering in their ears to talk them up and build them up.

“He always does a good job of communicating with that guy, talking to you when you’re out on the field like, ‘OK, man we’re going to need you this play’ — just keeping your spirits up and being a good leader,” Bethel said. “That’s one thing I really like that he does.”

When it came time to man up in coverage, however, Peterson could offer no more help. The cornerback opposite him was standing in the crosshairs, a solo target for opposing offenses that were far more willing to throw that way than throw at Peterson.

“You’ve got to know coming into the situation that you’re going to get a lot of balls thrown at you; you’re going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays,” Peterson said. “It’s either you’re going to grow up or let the situation beat you.”

In Peterson’s six-year NFL career, lots of players have taken that test with varying degrees of success. Antonio Cromartie went to the Pro Bowl in 2014 when he had three interceptions, 40 tackles and a team-high 12 passes defensed. Jerraud Powers became an effective member of the Cards’ No Fly Zone. A.J. Jefferson was demoted halfway through the 2011 season.

Last season’s primary starter, Marcus Cooper, signed a three-year, $16 million contract ($8 million guaranteed) with the Bears in March which may or may not prove his worth. His departure leaves Bethel and Williams (three combined starts last season) as the primary contenders to replace him, although the Cardinals could also select a corner in this year’s early rounds of the draft despite coach Bruce Arians’ assurances (read: possible lies) to the media that such a move is not necessary.

“I think Brandon is going to be fine,” Arians said. “He got thrown into the fire, he had a couple of communication problems, that’s where that leadership back there (free-agent signing Antoine Bethea) is going to help early in the season.

“I think Justin Bethel is going to play a hell of a lot better if he can finally practice. He hasn’t practiced for two years on that broken foot, so he can now have a chance to really compete as a corner and get better, rather than just throwing him out there when we had to have him, and that’s not fair to him. But I think he’s going to really, really take off with it this spring. So I feel fine with those guys.”

In a somewhat surprising assessment, Arians downplayed the difficulty of playing corner with the Cardinals.

“Corner is a position, I don’t think you need two or three years to learn how to play bump-and-run, man-to-man,” he said. “That’s your dude, it’s dude coverage, you’ve got your dude, go get him. We’ll teach you how to bump maybe a little bit better.”

Those who have played opposite Peterson have a different take.

“Unless you’ve played the position you don’t really know,” Bethel said. “Just watching, you’re like ‘oh he should have done this,’ but there are so many other things we’ve got to do that other positions might not have to do — things people don’t know about.

“It is a difficult position, but I feel if you are a corner, you’re a competitor and you wouldn’t want it any other way. It just shows, if you can overcome that challenge, how great a player you are. If you’re emotionally tough and you can bounce back play after play, it’s definitely a fun play because when you make a play, people know you made the play.”

Bethel said there are myriad challenges to playing opposite Peterson, aside from the obvious heavy workload.

“For me personally, I would say my conditioning is a big challenge,” Bethel said. “Because I’m a starter on all the special teams, usually I’m getting double teamed on everything or sometimes tripled. When you’re fighting through one or two guys trying to stop you from moving and you’re trying to go another 60 yards chasing somebody, it kind of takes a toll on you. Then the next play, you’re guarding somebody and they run a go ball. It’s like, ‘oh man, my breath.’

“The biggest thing is when you’re tired, can you still have good technique? Can you think straight? Will you still know your assignment, know where you’re supposed to be? In the past, that has been one of my faults. Once I get really tired my technique kind of wavers a little bit.”

No matter who wins the job, Peterson has a positive spin for the challenge ahead.

“I believe it’s a great opportunity regardless of whoever’s playing opposite me,” he said. “You saw Cooper made the best of it last year. I believe he was the team interception leader last year (he was with four) and now it’s going to be a great opportunity for Brandon and Justin to grow.”

Starters opposite Patrick Peterson (excludes nickel starters)

2011
A.J. Jefferson (7 games started)
Richard Marshall (9)

2012
William Gay (15)
Greg Toler (1)

2013
Jerraud Powers (16)

2014
Antonio Cromartie (16)

2015
Jerraud Powers (13)
Justin Bethel (3)

2016
Brandon Williams (3)
Marcus Cooper (13)

* Sources: Pro Football Reference and Cardinals media guides

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Playing cornerback with Patrick Peterson means more than just a heavy workload