Who is the best CB in the game?

[JonLP24]

A lot of the best corner talk has me thinking and this goes back to the twitter feud Sherman had with Revis saying his season stats look like his career stats. He was pointing to his interception & forced fumbles to say he was better than Revis but I imagine there is more to the position that you can't simply grade based off of ESPN statistics and that goes for defenders in general and lineman.

I remember in the week leading up to the match-up against Detroit Bruce Arians said that he felt Calvin Johnson is the best receiver in the game but he felt Patrick Peterson is the best CB in the game. I remember during the broadcast of the Arizona game in San Francisco a broadcaster mentioned he is tied for most picks with Sherman in the last 2 seasons but Sherman went on to grab 6 more and Peterson 0. Deltha O'Neal got 9 picks in a season w/ Denver and 4 picks in a game he wasn't elite, at-least when he was with Denver. I have no idea how he did for Cincy or any other teams he may have played for he was burned all the time. They traded for Champ Bailey and cut O'Neal.

I've been wondering without game film how can you really tell who is the best? The top shelf cornerbacks rarely get targeted so interceptions don't mean much but it is very impressive Sherman still nabbed 8 if QBs do stay away from him . There are passes defended but they don't differ much from what I see from Revis, Sherman, Peterson, Haden, and Talib. Between 13-20. No real method in comparing those 5 except for hype, I put Talib in that group because he can cover Jimmy Graham. He might be the best because it seems like no one can cover Jimmy Graham.

I guess one way is too see how often they are burned or how often receivers make receptions on passes targeted in there general area but that doesn't seem exact either like how do safeties fit into that?

Pass defense isn't the only way CBs should be graded, how do they defend against the run and do they tackle well. I'm not sure Rodgers-Cromartie changed in Denver but in Arizona he was a great cover man but one of the poorest tacklers I ever seen, a lot of times he didn't even try.

Also you have to factor in the scheme and players around them. Seattle's defense is truly special, they have either the best front 7 or the second best 7 in the 4-3 hybrid. They have what are probably the best pair of safeties in Chancellor and Earl Thomas, Maxwell forced 5 turnovers taking over the suspended Brandon Browner. They play a lot Cover 3 Zone so Sherman sits back. He stays on the left side pretty much whole game. With Peterson, Mathieu lines up at safety in base formations but is used as a corner more often in nickel or dime and he has shown he is already one of the better versatile corners in the league. Peterson covers the best receiver the whole game and is used everywhere and is the definition of a shutdown corner, I think he is better than Aaneas Williams but has a long way to go to matched what he did over a career.

Now it isn't Sherman's fault he has a specific job in the defense and he does it well, I just think when he keeps bringing up his interceptions that the defense is set up is where there is no good option to put the ball. In that secondary I think Earl Thomas is the most important player while Peterson is for Arizona's secondary.

This post was much longer than I intended, I just thought Sherman's comments were interesting, I want to see how he does taking on the best receiver every game the whole game but I do feel he is in the discussion . I really don't know who is the actually the best if I go based on something other than hype, I wouldn't trade Patrick Peterson for any corner as I don't see any noticeable upgrades and if anything, he might be the best athlete in the NFL. Even when he gets burned he still catches up to the receiver, I rarely seen anything like that.

Bet based on what I seen I think Aqib Talib might be the best corner. He is very important to New England's defense like Peterson is to Arizona but more so. I remember when he shut down Jimmy Graham and when he got hurt you clearly saw how his injury opened up things for the Saints offense. I think the top corners are probably Talib, Revis, Peterson, Sherman, Haden. I know there are probably others as shutting down receivers doesn't show up on the stat sheet. That is just current, when it comes to active players over what they done over a career the best are Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson.

So who do think is the best CB in the game and why?

[PeteSelman]

1. Corners are only as good as their pass rush.

Lots of guys are above average players but leave them on an island long enough and everyone eventually gets burnt.

[JonLP24]

2. It certainly makes things easier

Sherman plays with the best pass rush in the NFL but I was thinking if all things were equal who is the best. Obviously no one can cover someone forever so I agree with you.