Daily Positional Breakdown: Part 9: CB

[sosa39rams]

2011 - CB's

Cortland Finnegan (With Titans):
16 G, 75 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 0 FF, 1 INT, 11 PDF

Ron Bartell:
1 G, 1 tackle, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 0 PDF

Justin King:
12 G, 58 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT, 5 PDF

Bradley Fletcher:
4 G, 23 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 1 PDF

Josh Gordy:
14 G, 43 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 3 INT, 5 PDF

Roderick Hood:
9 G, 20 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 1 INT, 5 PDF

Al Harris:
9 G, 15 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 6 PDF

Marquis Johnson:
3 G, 5 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 3 PDF

As we all know, last year we literally week in and week out recycled CB's. We had a total of 10 on the IR. Thats ridiculous. Guys would come in for their first practice on a Tuesday, and start on the Sunday. We got some strong play from Josh Gordy who really impressed. Bradley Fletcher was injured early; I was looking forward to a pro bowl season from him. Ronald Bartell broke his neck in the first game. Jerome Murphy broke his foot in pre-season. That was our 3 starting corners all lost within the first 4 games of the year. Many more got injured during the year.

2012 - Projections

Cortland Finnegan:
16 G, 82 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 0 FF, 3 INT, 11 PDF

Janoris Jenkins:
16 G, 59 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 5 INT, 9 PDF

Bradley Fletcher:
16 G, 48 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 0 FF, 2 INT, 7 PDF

Jerome Murphy:
16 G, 27 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT, 3 PDF

Trumaine Johnson:
16 G, 14 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 3 PDF

Josh Gordy:
16 G, 11 tackles, 0.0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 INT, 0 PDF

I think the strongest position on the team right now is the CB crew. 2 newly drafted rookies in Ja. Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson are going to be huge. Ja. Jenkins will most likely start right away, whereas Johnson will be sprinkled in for the #3, #4, or #5 spot, also playing ST. We also get Bradley Fletcher returning from injury. The addition of free agent Cortland Finnegan is going to pay dividends. I see us as a top 5 CB crew in the NFL right now.

"The Edge"

I believe by FAR the 2012 CB's have a MASSIVE edge over the 2011's. The health, and the level of skill and competition has increased immensely. It really isn't even a comparison.

[Rambos]

This is the break down I've been waiting: by the way Sosa did you see that Turf Times picked up your series Sat.

I agree with the assessment that this is the strongest unit we have. From worst to first. I think Trumaine Johnson may play a bigger role. Finnegan is so good in the slot, Johnson could see more playing time on the outside. At 6'2" he can man up nice against the bigger wide outs. We face AZ and the niners twice, he will be needed to cover some of these WR we face in the west. I would like to see him get a few INT's. That being said we had 12 INT as a team last year.... I would think this group could double that. And th fact we will be up in the forth quarter tams will be passing trying to get back in it! We can hope.

[Ram Mar Ram]

Since we got about 4 yrs worth of injuries out of the way last year, heres hoping for a healthy year at CB. Im hoping Bradley Fletcher has a chance to shine this year as i really would love for him to stick around in a Rams Uniform. Although unproven, on paper, looks really good to me.

[sosa39rams]

This is the break down I've been waiting: by the way Sosa did you see that Turf Times picked up your series Sat.

I agree with the assessment that this is the strongest unit we have. From worst to first. I think Trumaine Johnson may play a bigger role. Finnegan is so good in the slot, Johnson could see more playing time on the outside. At 6'2" he can man up nice against the bigger wide outs. We face AZ and the niners twice, he will be needed to cover some of these WR we face in the west. I would like to see him get a few INT's. That being said we had 12 INT as a team last year.... I would think this group could double that. And th fact we will be up in the forth quarter tams will be passing trying to get back in it! We can hope.

Yeah I did, thanks bro! And the reason why I've got Trumaine Johnson's stats as a little bit down is because I think 2 rookie CB's out on the field for the starting 3 is too much. I realized Finnegan moves to nickel when the offense has a slot WR, I just figured the CB's would be Bradley Fletcher and Ja. Jenkins on the outside, with Finnegan in nickel. I could be wrong though, Johnson could be the #3 CB. He is extremely talented, but I figured why rush him out there when we have Bradley Fletcher and Jerome Murphy (if they are healthy).

[RAMarkable]

Sosa,

Good job as always but what do you think of Trumaine Johnson moving to safety at some point.

Some say his skill set may be better suited for an in-the-box safety.

This position switch may actually get him on the field more depending on what happens with Mikell and Stewart et al.


WHAT SAY YE?

[sosa39rams]

Sosa,

Good job as always but what do you think of Trumaine Johnson moving to safety at some point.

Some say his skill set may be better suited for an in-the-box safety.

This position switch may actually get him on the field more depending on what happens with Mikell and Stewart et al.


WHAT SAY YE?

Thanks a lot! I actually agree with you. Trumaine Johnson ran a 4.61 40 yard dash at the combine, thats considered slow for a CB. Also, he measures in at 6'2, and 204lbs. He could make a deadly weapon at safety. I don't think he is limited to "in-the-box" because of his good range. He could play at FS or SS. Some think SS because of his ability to lay the wood on someone, jar the ball loose, and just be a sure tackler. I would by no means be against Johnson playing at SS or FS. I think he can succeed at both S or CB. The only issue like you mentioned is playing time. Were stacked at the CB position. I'd think he'd play scarcely at the S position too, due to the consistent play of Mikell and the steady improvement of Stewart.

Johnson may be the #3 CB on this team, and he may be the #5 CB. Not a knock on him, were just loaded. I'd like to see him play a hybrid S role, where he can operate as a part-time CB and S.