Patrick Peterson on Mike Evans would be a ‘marquee matchup’ to watch Sunday
Sep 16, 2016, 5:00 PM | Updated: Sep 17, 2016, 10:30 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. — Much was made Monday night when the Washington Redskins chose not to have star cornerback Josh Norman follow the Steelers’ Antonio Brown all over the field.
Brown went on to torch Washington for 126 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches, with both of his scores coming against a less-accomplished corner in Bashaud Breeland.
As it goes, if Norman is so great — and he is widely viewed as one of the game’s elite cover corners — then why would he not shadow his opponent’s best weapon all game?
Here in Arizona, the Cardinals — like the Redskins — have one of the best cornerbacks in the game in Patrick Peterson. And like the Steelers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona’s upcoming opponent, have one of the better receivers in Mike Evans.
Last year, in his second NFL season, the former No. 7 selection in the 2014 draft caught 74 passes for 1,206 yards and three touchdowns. In a Week 1 victory over Atlanta, the third-year pro hauled in five passes for 99 yards and a score.
So, might we see Peterson, who has a reputation for following elite pass catchers all over the field, line up exclusively against Evans Sunday afternoon?
“I think there will be some situations where those two guys will be together, but there will be some situations where he’s on (Vincent) Jackson, too,” Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher said. “We’ll see on Sunday by how they play us and how they do some stuff, what those matchups will be.”
Bettcher acknowledged that when facing a team with a single dominant receiver, he has no problem putting Peterson exclusively on that player with the idea of taking away the opponent’s best weapon. It happened last year against the Steelers (Brown), Lions (Calvin Johnson) and Bengals (A.J. Green), and for the most part the cornerback could claim victory in those individual matchups.
“When you have a guy as special as Pat, with his skill set, and we find a way to make everything else work around him in terms of the adjustments in the back end and some of that kind of stuff, we try to make all that work, in terms of that,” he said.
The issue for this game, at least when it comes to putting Peterson on Evans, is that the Cardinals see veteran wideout Vincent Jackson as a worrisome threat, too. Though not as explosive as his younger teammate or as he was just a few years ago, Jackson is still the kind of player who can hurt you if you give him the opportunity.
Though he caught just two passes for 18 yards against Atlanta last week, he was tied with Evans for the team-high in targets with seven.
“Vincent Jackson’s been doing it for a long, long time; you’ve got Mike Evans coming off a sensational year, I believe he had 1,200 yards, three touchdowns — a deep threat guy, a big-bodied guy,” Peterson said. “I mean, they have two guys, 6-5, 230. That’s tough to cover, especially with DBs like me and Brandon (Williams) who are only 200 pounds, 6-1, 6-foot.
“Going against trees with a quarterback that believes in his guys is definitely a tough challenge for us.”
The challenge goes both ways.
Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston said the main thing to do when facing a player like Peterson, who has been a Pro Bowler five times and is a three-time First Team All-Pro, is film study. That, and being willing to take what the defense gives you.
“You try to put it in your head that you’re not going to let one guy control your whole game plan, but guys as dangerous as him, you’ve got to give him his credit,” he said. “You’ve got to give him his respect, but at the same time, stick to the rules of the game and just go out there and play.”
While he may not look to force the ball to Evans if he is being defended by Peterson, Winston and the Buccaneers would no doubt like to keep him involved in the offense. The QB called the wideout “our superstar,” and Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter praised the relationship between the passer and receiver as something that has helped his game reach a new level.
“Maybe it’s just maturity and being around Jameis,” he said. “Those two being together for a second year; we’ve wanted them to develop better chemistry and I know they sure have worked hard at it.”
Will that be enough to convince the Cardinals to have Peterson shadow Evans? Winston said he expects nothing less, though as Bettcher said, it will largely depend on in-game factors. It’s a stance Cardinals coach Bruce Arians maintains, too.
“You’ll see it, for sure,” he said of Peterson on Evans. “How much will depend on how the game’s going.”
While the Cardinals may have Peterson line up against Jackson some, the belief from many still is that he will be defending Evans most of the afternoon.
“That’s another marquee matchup for this game,” Koetter said. “Mike Evans is a high-level receiver and Patrick Peterson is a top-level corner. So, that’ll be up to them if they decide to match or not. They’ve done that some in the past. How often they line up against each other, that’ll be controlled by the Cardinals.
“That’s another one the fans should definitely be looking at.”
