BAT;2829765 said:
Just an fyi 41gy, but Zimmerman's All Pro is not the official one.
I seem to recall Z talking up Mario Edwards (yeah, THAT Mario Edwards) as one of the NFL's best corners one year. And he used similar metrics to back him up.
Bat, you got me to thinking about the All-Pro Team. I went back and did a little digging on Mr.
Ronde Barber. The guy has lived in the Pro Bowl.
Ronde Barber was on the AP All Pro Team three times from 2004-2006. He was first team in
2004 and
2005 and second team in
2006.
Football Outsiders (an ESPN outfit) claimed that
Terence Newman didn't make enough plays on the football or get interceptions or passes defensed. Also, they had that ridiculous claim that Newman "keeps WRs in front of him". Also, they claimed teams didn't "avoid" Newman even though
Anthony Henry led the NFL in targets, with
100+ (2006), according to
K.C. Joyner.
No, players like
Ronde Barber and
Asante Samuel have made careers out of sinking deep into cover 2 and cover 3 and jumping routes or the ball in front of them. Newman has been the guy playing heavy man to man coverage while playing for the Cowboys.
We'll, I've already compared
Newman's career interception total (totals since 2003) with the other CBs in
Pro Football Weekly's 2009 top rated CBs survey and showed a strong or close comparison, in the totals, between the highly regarded players.
Here are
Ronde Barber's and
Terence Newman's career INT and Passes Defensed Totals since 2003 according to NFL.com.
Ronde Barber:
19 Interceptions
67 PD
5 TD
Terence Newman:
20 Interceptions
77 PD
1 TD
Terence Newman has proven that he does have good ball skills just like the
2009 Pro Football Weekly survey stated. He has more interceptions and passes defensed than
Ronde Barber since 2003,
a three time AP All Pro. Plus, Newman accumulated his totals in these areas and did it playing in a
heavy man to man scheme.
Both players play the slot, but
Barber plays man concepts in a zone. He thrived by sinking deep into Tamp Bay's cover 2 and closing on the football in front of him or jumping routes. The zone scheme increases your opportunities to jump routes.
Newman has been the guy playing with his back to the football in man coverage and covering the shallow, intermediate, and deep thirds of the football field in man coverage. Plus, he does that out of the slot where there is no sideline help. Plus, the Dallas safeties have been suspect in coverage though out Newman's career.
Ronde Barber is a cover 2, zone CB. He has been responsible for the shallow flats and for a vertical area from around the numbers to the sidelines. His safety help is responsible for helping him in the deeper parts of his vertical zone.
When
Steve Smith has played Tampa Bay, he has lit them up in the past for monster games, because Barber isn't fast enough to play him all over the football field and the scheme is designed to protect him.
One player doesn't have the skill set to take a player like
Steve Smith all over the football field and shut him down, and one player does.
Furthermore, that player,
Terence Newman has shut down Smith, an All Pro himself, three times, and he did it twice by taking him all over the football field.
Again, Newman's
job description is much tougher than
Asante Samuel's, Champ Bailey's, and
Ronde Barber's. Samuel and Barber are pure zone CBs. Bailey thrives in zone, but he has played man to man during his career.
I added the INT returns for TDs.
Barber has 5 while Newman has 1.
Ronde Barber's INTs for TDs have helped him get positive recognition and Pro Bowls. That is the number one thing the media has used to crown "the best CBs" over the years. (see
DeAngelo Hall's two Pro Bowl selections 2005 and 2006).
Nnamdi Asomugha has been the exception to the rule.
Barber is a real good player; however, he's a zone CB. His job is easier, and the scheme he's in allows him to play aggressive and jump routes.
On the other hand,
Newman has been quieter in terms of INTs for TDs, but his outstanding cover skills, elite speed, and exceptional athletic ability have allowed him to make plays on the ball and erase some of the top WRs and TEs in the NFL.
Terence Newman thrives in man to man coverage.
Newman can be a silent assassin, too. He can negate a guy like
Steve Smith or
Santana Moss, and you would never know he was there.
That wins football games, because it keeps points off the scoreboard.
I wonder what Football Outsiders thinks about the three time All Pro
Barber, because
Newman is the better, more talented player.
Rafeal Vela calculated their four year average YPA (from 2004-2007) in his analysis of
K. C. Joyner's YPA stats.
Barber (
6.3 YPA) (tied for third)
Newman (
6.2 YPA) (2nd place)
One guy did it in the Tampa 2, and one guy did it playing in a heavy man to man scheme.
Who had the tougher job description?
Terence Newman
Yeah,
Dr. Z's All Pro list isn't official, but it can highlight a player such as Newman, a player the mass football media has ignored to a great degree and now likes to attack in the case of this ESPN.com article, ect... This wasn't the first attack from the ESPN outfit.