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Antonio Cromartie: Debunking the Myth of a Poor ’08
Published: June 2, 2009
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Antonio Cromartie is one of the most athletically gifted players in the NFL.
Although he only started one year in college and was coming off a major knee injury, the Chargers took him with the 19th overall pick in the 2006 draft.
In 2007, the man they call “Cro” began to pay dividends. He recorded a team record 10 interceptions, highlighted by a three interception effort against Peyton Manning on Sunday night football in Cromartie’s first career start.
Cromartie also proved to have a knack for finding the end zone. He scored on a fumbled snap and an interception return in one game against the Texans, and his 109 yard return of a missed field goal against the Vikings will live on in football infamy.
Expectations were high for Cromartie entering the 2008 season. Cromartie even publicly announced a goal of 15 interceptions.
Unfortunately, 2008 was nothing like 2007.
Cromartie finished the season with only two interceptions and had a notoriously bad game against wide receiver Brandon Marshall in Week Two. Fortunately, referee Ed Hoculi stole some of the attention.
Fans seemed to blame him for all of the teams poor pass defense. Even when Cromartie wasn’t to blame, he was blamed.
For example, the quick-snap touchdown against the Colts in the playoffs.
That play was the fault of defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who tried to substitute players when the Colts did not substitute. When an offense substitutes players the defense is given time to do the same.
On TV Cromartie appeared lost on the play, when in fact he was looking to the sidelines for signals from the coaches.
Many Charger fans wanted Cromartie benched, calling his play horrible on Chargers message boards. There were even rumors in the offseason that Cromartie was on the trading block.
Taking a closer look, however, reveals that while Cromartie struggled at times, he wasn’t nearly as bad as some think. In fact, in the second half of the season, Cromartie was again one of the leagues best, despite the fact that the Chargers still lacked an elite pass rush.
I reviewed every game from the ’08 season and Cromartie simply wasn’t as bad as many people believe. I believe that lofty expectations and one very bad game against the Broncos stuck to firmly in the minds of most fans.
In my review of the ’08 season, Cromartie had one terrible game, which was really more of a terrible half, against the Broncos. Despite this, Cromartie only gave up one touchdown. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw three other touchdowns in that game, all in the middle of the field.
Cromartie had two other games that could be labeled below average—against the Panthers in Week One and the Chiefs in Week 10. Although Cromartie didn’t play his best in those games, he did not give up any touchdowns.
On the year Cromartie only allowed three touchdowns. In Week Two to the Broncos, Week Three against the Jets (he also had two INT’s), and Week 12 against the Colts—which was actually a communication breakdown between Cromartie and Antoine Cason.
Fellow corner Quentin Jammer actually allowed more touchdowns on the season—in Week Five against the Dolphins, the Bills in Week Six, the Chiefs in Week 10, the Chiefs in Week 15. Against the Buccaneers in Week 16, a communication breakdown between Jammer and safety Eric Weddle led to six points.
In fact, Jammer was more frequently targeted by other teams. Other teams almost always lined up their number one receiver on Jammer, such as New England’s Randy Moss, Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward, Atlanta’s Roddy White, and Tampa Bay’s Antonio Bryant.
A bigger problem to the Chargers porous pass defense was the play of the safeties and the linebackers. Opposing tight ends had career days against the Chargers in ’08.
Dante Rosario, Tony Scheffler, and Zach Miller all scored their only touchdowns of the season against the Bolts while seven different tight ends had season highs in yards, touchdowns or both against the Chargers in ’08.
Cromartie’s sometimes up and down play in the season’s first half can be attributed to several things, including an anemic pass rush and a hip injury which limited his ability to plant and close out of his backpedal.
To compound the problem, former defensive coordinator Ted Cotrell continued to play cover three and off-man coverages. These coverages force a cornerback to backpedal, plant and close on virtually every snap. Cromartie’s hip injury prevented him from playing these coverages to his abilities.
Cromartie’s second half was much improved, as his hip healed and the pass rush improved. Another factor was Ron Rivera, who put Cromartie in more press coverages, both man-to-man and Cover Two.
This difference in coverages greatly reduced the amount of times Cromartie was forced to backpedal, plant, and close on receivers. Cromartie was allowed to play to his strengths while limiting the effects of his hip injury.
The difference showed, as teams rarely threw at Cromartie in the second half of the season. Cromartie finished the year particularly well, with strong outings against the Raiders, Buccaneers, Broncos. Against the Colts in the playoffs Cromartie was a true shutdown corner—the Reggie Wayne touchdown was Rivera’s fault.
The only thing Cromartie didn’t do in the second half of the season was deliver big plays, mainly interceptions. Again, many fans perceived this as poor play, when in fact he was rarely tested.
While Cromartie didn’t have his best season in ’08, it shouldn’t be considered poor.
The whole unit struggled, especially the pass rush. Opposing offenses realized that Cromartie was not the weak link, and spent more time attacking the rest of the Chargers defenders.
2009 should see the return of big plays from Cromartie and the Chargers.
The pass rush should be ferocious. All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman returns and the team added first round draft pick Larry English, who is another pass rushing demon.
And coach Rivera gets to install his defense in training camp, which will be predicated on pressuring the quarterback and forcing turnovers.
Expect Cromartie to regain his form, as both an interception machine and fan favorite.
Rivera, Chargers Look To Improve Defensive Playbook in ’09
Published: May 20, 2009
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The San Diego Chargers’ defense headed into the 2008 season with high expectations. The team was loaded with Pro Bowlers and playmakers, able to stuff the run, sack the quarterback, and force turnovers at an alarming rate.
But expectations and performance don’t always coincide, and what was supposed to be a strength became a liability. The Chargers limped to a 3-5 start due mainly to a defense that played uninspired at best, horrific at worst. They were so bad that defensive coordinator Ted Cotrell was relieved of his duties at the midway point.
The man who took over, and who will lead the unit in ’09, is Ron Rivera. Rivera has guided one defense to a Super Bowl, and looks to double that number this year.
Helping Rivera will be a couple of former assistants from Chicago in Don Johnson (defensive line) and Steve Wilks (secondary). The team will also benefit from two pass-rushers in the lineup; the return of three-time Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman and first-round draft pick Larry English.
So how will the Chargers return to their nasty ways on defense? Let’s explore how a full training camp under Rivera, along with the additions to the coaching staff and roster will tweak the Chargers playbook in ’09.
Ron Rivera worked for some of the best defensive minds in football, including Buddy Ryan as a player, and Jimmy Johnson of the Eagles and Lovie Smith of the Bears as an assistant coach. He is well-versed in virtually every defensive scheme.
Rivera will keep the base 3-4 defense in San Diego. What will change is some of the techniques used to better use the strengths of his players.
With the addition of line coach Johnson, expect less two-gap technique, where defensive lineman are responsible for containing both gaps to either side of them. San Diego’s linemen’s strength is speed, so expect to see them lined up more frequently in the gaps, penetrating into the backfield, similar to how defensive linemen in a 4-3 defense play.
Under Cotrell, the defensive backs played a lot of cover three zone and off-man coverage, allowing receivers a free release at the line of scrimmage. San Diego’s cornerbacks are big and physical. Rivera and Wilks will put more emphasis on press coverage, both man and cover two zone, where the corners challenge the receivers at the line of scrimmage, trying to disrupt their routes and buying time for the pass-rushers. Defensive backs will also get more blitz opportunities under Rivera and Wilks.
Other changes will occur in sub packages, both nickel and dime packages. Under Cotrell, the Chargers used a straight four-man rush, with Phillips and Merriman lining up at defensive end in a three-point stance. Too often this allowed better offensive lines to get in the proper blocking assignments, and for backs and tight ends to get chip-blocks on Merriman and Phillips.
Rivera knows he has a wealth of pass-rushers in Merriman, Phillips, Tucker, Applewhite, and now English. Instead of lining up four guys that can be easily spotted, expect Rivera to use three and four of his pass-rushers at the same time, with only one or two defensive linemen in obvious pass situations. Sometimes two will come, sometimes four will come, but offensive linemen will have a difficult time figuring out which ones are coming and from where.
The Chargers will remain a 3-4 defense, despite speculation otherwise. What Rivera and his assistants will do is incorporate some of those defensive techniques from the blitzing 4-3 and Tampa 2 into the 3-4 base. Many of these techniques, such as gap penetration and press coverage, better suit the strengths of San Diego’s defenders. Rivera wants a defense that is fast, aggressive, and physical, and he has the players to do it with.
