Historical perspective on Dolphins’ cornerback situation

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, March 09, 2009  |  Comments( 5 )

Miami Dolphins
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All of the relatively high-profile free agent cornerback prospects are off the market in the NFL. For the Miami Dolphins, ex-starter Andre Goodman has been shipped off to Denver. Will Allen is still entrenched as a starter, of course, but there’s otherwise little to no starting experience left in the Dolphins’ cornerback cupboard.

Oh, and the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills just signed wide receiver Terrell Owens.

No matter, though, as despite the signs of desperation and outright doom and gloom emanating from media pundits and fans alike, the Dolphins should be just fine at cornerback And no, this is not going to be a left-field piece on how Jason Allen is going to suddenly blossom into a lock-down corner (although it could happen).

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

- Bill Parcells-style defenses are built on front-seven play that helps take the pressure off cornerbacks and the secondary in general. From the Giants (Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson, Leonard Marshall et al) to the Cowboys (DeMarcus Ware), it has typically been linebackers and linemen -- not shutdown corners -- who have anchored Parcells-built defenses.

- Despite rarely fielding Pro Bowl cornerbacks, Parcells' units are rarely a liability in terms of pass defense. None of Parcells’ three Super Bowl-bound teams (’86 Giants, ’90 Giants, ’96 Patriots) fielded a Pro Bowler, but all three had respectable pass defenses.

It’s worth noting that Parcells’ latest first-day draft selection at the cornerback position – Terrence Newman in 2003 – would be considered a bust by most standards. Newman was the fifth overall pick in that year’s draft but has not become the shutdown corner worthy of such a high selection. That said, Parcells' prior early round selection – Ty Law with the 14th pick in the 1995 draft – ended up being a borderline Hall of Famer who took home multiple Super Bowl rings. Overall, Parcells seems to be the kind of guy who avoids drafting cornerbacks early unless absolutely necessary.

Whether that’s the case for the Dolphins remains to be determined, but the bottom line is that Miami will likely shore up the position one way or another. That’s what history suggests.
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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