Friday, December 08, 2006

Woodson's not a stiff

Remember back when the Packers were trying to decide if they should get Lavarr Arrington or Charles Woodson? Both were available and both played positions that the Packers desperately needed to upgrade. Many thought that at the time when Arrington chose the Skins that the Packers got the wrong guy in "settling" for Woodson.

You heard the critics:

  • Woodson has lost too much to injury
  • He's a loner
  • Doesn't play well with others on his team
  • Not a playmaker any longer
Well, Woodson has more than proved them all wrong. He leads the team with 5 INTs, which also happens to be near the top of the NFL. He has 15 passes defensed, again, near the top of the NFL. Add in that he has 3 forced fumbles (that makes 8 total turnovers forced) an has solid run support what you have here is a resume for an elite CB.

What was that? He's not an elite CB? Well, let's compare this to the stats of a well-known CB who is labeled as the best there is currently. This CB currently has:

5 INT, 17 passes defensed and no forced fumbles.

Who is this CB? Champ Bailey of the Broncos.

So it's perfectly clear that Woodson has come back to his pre-injury form. He's not as fast as he used to be, but that's just fine as he's still got the goods and is producing.

I've heard far too much from Packer fans that Woodson is average and is replacable. The above shows that this line of thinking is crap and completely unfounded.

Oh, and for that other guy the Packers missed out in getting? He's currently injured, has done nothing all season (only 16 tackles over 6 games) and is one of the biggest busts this year. We not only signed the right guy, but one of the best FA signings all season.
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2 comments:

John Burzynski said...

Craig:

I have not seen all of the Packers' games (we unfortunately get ther Bears here in this local area)...but the national games I have seen have been some pretty poor performances by Woodson.
Woodson has been soundly beaten several times by opposing receivers in the games that I saw on TV (admittedly a small sampling); maybe this is due to injury, but he seems to have 'lost a step'...a killer for any DB in the long run.

12/08/2006 11:09 AM
Cheesehead Craig said...

I've watched all of the Packer games this year and I've seen far worse coverage by Al Harris. There have been games where Al has been beaten but the QB simply had a bad throw or a drop by a WR.

Woodson had started off the season very slowly, I will certainly give you that. But starting with the Rams game, he's been outstanding. Given our terrible DB coach and piss poor DC, the fact that Woodson has produced how he has is phenominal.

12/08/2006 11:28 AM

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