Consensus Top 5 Ravens Corners

[Ray Reed]

McAlister

Jimmy

Webb

[diamondbull424]

So heres what we have so far...

Lardarius Webb

21 games- Top 3 Corner In NFL (2011-2012)

4 games- Top 20 Corner In NFL (2009)

Ravens best corner from: 2009-2013

Competent player in: 2014-2016

 

Jimmy Smith

12 games- Top 3 Corner In NFL (2017)

8 games- Top 10 Corner In NFL (2014)

Ravens best corner from: 2014-2017

Competent player in: 2011-2013

 

Based off the above analysis, I would take Lardarius Webb. Webb and Smith have had a similar number of games where they were productive and disappointing to this point.

If Smith is able to bounce back to a competent level after his Achilles injury then I believe he overtakes Webb, but to this point, he hasn’t proven as much. He hasn’t locked down as many great receivers as Webb did in his prime/peak. He’s a worse tackler and he’s less versatile as a player (hasn’t proven to play inside and not as dominant in off-man) IMO. So while they have similar resumes, I’m currently giving the edge to Webb. Size and length only matter when they matter, those things didn’t prevent Webb from being a dominant corner in his peak.

In a way both are an antithesis to one another. Smith came in slow and turned hot, Webb came in hot, but fizzled out. Both at their peak are more talented than Chris McAlister as a lockdown cover option, but much less durable. Marlon Humphrey legitimately has a shot to be the best corner in Ravens history if he can stay durable and continue to play to his 2017 level.

[wackywabbit]

18 games in 2011 PLUS 5+ until he got hurt in 2012, Webb was still at that top-tier elite level. He didn't allow a touchdown in at least that long.

src: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-losing-lardarius-webb-hurts-more-than-losing-ray-lewis-20121016-story.html

Quote

He hadn’t been beat for a touchdown in nearly two years and opponents had started to avoid him. ...

In five full games this season plus the limited snaps before he tore his ACL during the first quarter of Sunday's 31-29 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Webb had been targeted by quarterbacks just 24 times, according to Pro Football Focus. In Week 2, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick didn't even bother throwing his way once. On those 24 targets, Webb allowed just 11 receptions for 111 yards -- a ridiculous average of 4.6 yards per attempt.

For comparison sake, let’s look at some of his fellow top-flight cornerbacks. Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets, who tore his ACL three weeks ago, allowed 5.5 yards per attempt in 2011. Chicago’s Chris Tillman is allowing 5.1 yards per attempt this season. St. Louis’ Cortland Finnegan is allowing 6.0. Arizona’s Patrick Peterson is at 6.1. Philadelphia’s Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are at 8.0 and 6.4, respectively.

When it comes to cornerbacks who have played at least 75 percent of their team's defensive snaps, Webb ranked fifth in percentage of targets completed (45.8 percent) and he ranked fourth in opponent quarterback rating (42.2, which is nearly 25 points lower than Matt Cassel’s rating). He also made nine interceptions, including three in two games in last year's playoffs, since the start of the 2011 season, which put him among the league leaders in that category.

^those are #'s from the start of 2012

I feel like people have the longevity vs peak thing backwards in this debate. Or the don't realize/remember how great that peak was for Webb. Before that injury, he was at the absolute summit of the position. I'm confident no player since has had a stretch of 9 ints without allowing a TD. He also forced 2 fumbles and recovered 3 in that stretch.

I think Jimmy has the longevity on his side. He's been anywhere from pretty good to excellent pretty much since 2013. He had a slow start in 2015 (if I'm thinking of the right year), but other than that, it's just a matter of him being on the field, and he's an incredibly valuable piece. Webb was ruined by that second ACL. 

[wackywabbit]

12 hours ago, Darth Pees said:

Jimmy's peak was higher than Webb's. Even at Webb's peak, he wasn't putting up the numbers Jimmy currently is.

What numbers?

[diamondbull424]

11 hours ago, wackywabbit said:

18 games in 2011 PLUS 5+ until he got hurt in 2012, Webb was still at that top-tier elite level. He didn't allow a touchdown in at least that long.

The 18 games part is an error. It’s supposed to be 21 games, but yeah.