Byron Maxwell wants to make this very clear if there’s any doubt: “I’m definitely a No. 1 cornerback.”
The Philadelphia Eagles --- who traded him to Miami --- might not agree, but he better be, because there’s no proven alternative on the Dolphins roster.
Fact is, Maxwell stands as easily one of the team's 10 most indispensable players, when you consider he’s the only veteran starting corner on the roster, and Miami already is relying more on young corners than perhaps any other team in the league.
Here’s the good news:
1) The passer ratings have been subpar (for quarterbacks) and good for Maxwell when he has played the type of defense Miami will employ, including some zone.
Pro Football Focus noted the Bengals played the second most cover-2 in the league under Vance Joseph (now the Dolphins defensive coordinator), and as alert NFL film analyst Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report said here, “that will allow him to use his press ability without asking him to cover in-breaking routes,” which sometimes give him trouble.
Pressing, as Maxwell said Tuesday, “is one of my strengths, what I do. Looking forward to playing that."
2) He has looked good so far, albeit in shorts. “He has done a great job of getting his hands on balls, and it makes it tough on not only the receivers, but the quarterback, because that window is tight,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. “When he’s covering a guy, it’s going to be a tight throw."
3) He was solid from Week 4 through Week 17 last season: one touchdown allowed, two picks and a 76.9 passer rating against. In his three years in Seattle (2012-14), he had very good passer ratings against: 52.4, 57.8 and 78.5.
The more unsettling news:
1) Because of his poor start (including being torched by Atlanta's Julio Jones, who can do that to a lot of cornerbacks), Maxwell allowed an overall 100.7 passer rating in his coverage area last season, and Pro Football Focus rated him 75th among all corners, noting “Maxwell might be an upgrade from [Miami’s] current situation at cornerback, but he’s still an average cornerback who they’ll have to pay $17 million over the next two years.” About $12 million of that is guaranteed, according to overthecap.com.
2) He had the sixth most penalties among defensive backs last season.3) He “struggles finishing as a tackler, at times even looks lazy,” Wharton said.4) He hasn’t had big interception numbers recently – two each of the past two years. Brent Grimes, now with Tampa, had nine over those two years for Miami.
Maxwell feels like he has “something to prove” because “you are the new guy. Everyone is looking at you like, 'What can you do?' They watch football. The season I had, the beginning of the season, just wasn’t....” He didn't finish that thought today, but everyone knew where he was going.
“It’s Year 6," he said. "Way more stuff to prove.”
Strangest thing for Maxwell so far? Has to be the fact that Gase, who also calls the plays, has been trash-talking him and the other corners.
“You would hope head coaches don’t have a side,” Maxwell said, smiling. “He clearly has a side, which is cool. When he’s trash talking me, I say I can’t let DeVante Parkerbeat me because I’m going to hear Gase in my ear. It’s fun out there. He gets me going.”
Of being the only established veteran in the cornerback room (aside from on-the-bubble corners Tyler Patmon and Chimdi Chekwa), Maxwell said: "It’s a responsibility. It has to be accepted, regardless if I like it or not. But it’s one of those things where you get these young guys, you can mold them, you could create something like how we had in Seattle.”
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...nvestment-heat-marlins-um-baseball-items.html
The Philadelphia Eagles --- who traded him to Miami --- might not agree, but he better be, because there’s no proven alternative on the Dolphins roster.
Fact is, Maxwell stands as easily one of the team's 10 most indispensable players, when you consider he’s the only veteran starting corner on the roster, and Miami already is relying more on young corners than perhaps any other team in the league.
Here’s the good news:
1) The passer ratings have been subpar (for quarterbacks) and good for Maxwell when he has played the type of defense Miami will employ, including some zone.
Pro Football Focus noted the Bengals played the second most cover-2 in the league under Vance Joseph (now the Dolphins defensive coordinator), and as alert NFL film analyst Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report said here, “that will allow him to use his press ability without asking him to cover in-breaking routes,” which sometimes give him trouble.
Pressing, as Maxwell said Tuesday, “is one of my strengths, what I do. Looking forward to playing that."
2) He has looked good so far, albeit in shorts. “He has done a great job of getting his hands on balls, and it makes it tough on not only the receivers, but the quarterback, because that window is tight,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. “When he’s covering a guy, it’s going to be a tight throw."
3) He was solid from Week 4 through Week 17 last season: one touchdown allowed, two picks and a 76.9 passer rating against. In his three years in Seattle (2012-14), he had very good passer ratings against: 52.4, 57.8 and 78.5.
The more unsettling news:
1) Because of his poor start (including being torched by Atlanta's Julio Jones, who can do that to a lot of cornerbacks), Maxwell allowed an overall 100.7 passer rating in his coverage area last season, and Pro Football Focus rated him 75th among all corners, noting “Maxwell might be an upgrade from [Miami’s] current situation at cornerback, but he’s still an average cornerback who they’ll have to pay $17 million over the next two years.” About $12 million of that is guaranteed, according to overthecap.com.
2) He had the sixth most penalties among defensive backs last season.3) He “struggles finishing as a tackler, at times even looks lazy,” Wharton said.4) He hasn’t had big interception numbers recently – two each of the past two years. Brent Grimes, now with Tampa, had nine over those two years for Miami.
Maxwell feels like he has “something to prove” because “you are the new guy. Everyone is looking at you like, 'What can you do?' They watch football. The season I had, the beginning of the season, just wasn’t....” He didn't finish that thought today, but everyone knew where he was going.
“It’s Year 6," he said. "Way more stuff to prove.”
Strangest thing for Maxwell so far? Has to be the fact that Gase, who also calls the plays, has been trash-talking him and the other corners.
“You would hope head coaches don’t have a side,” Maxwell said, smiling. “He clearly has a side, which is cool. When he’s trash talking me, I say I can’t let DeVante Parkerbeat me because I’m going to hear Gase in my ear. It’s fun out there. He gets me going.”
Of being the only established veteran in the cornerback room (aside from on-the-bubble corners Tyler Patmon and Chimdi Chekwa), Maxwell said: "It’s a responsibility. It has to be accepted, regardless if I like it or not. But it’s one of those things where you get these young guys, you can mold them, you could create something like how we had in Seattle.”
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...nvestment-heat-marlins-um-baseball-items.html
