Brandon Carr Hopes to Ease the Dallas Cowboys' Cornerback Woes: A Fan's Take
The Dallas Cowboys had a really busy free agent spending spree, and outside of the two offensive guards that might come in handy in 2012, the biggest signing has to be cornerback Brandon Carr.
With Terence Newman slowing down over the years, it was time to find someone who could step in to the cornerback role that could actually shutdown opposing wide receivers. Dallas hopes that Carr is that man. While he has played most of his career at the right cornerback position, there might be a chance he is moved to the left side and his former coach doesn't believe that will be a problem.
Romeo Crennel, who coached Carr at the Kansas City Chiefs over the last two seasons, believes Dallas got a winner. He said that Carr has improved every season and is a consistent corner. Carr only has eight interceptions in four years in Kansas City but four of those were in 2011, meaning that the best might be yet to come.
The question is whether or not he will become that shutdown corner that Dallas needs so bad.
Carr didn't come out of a big name college like other players. Terence Newman was a first round pick from the Kansas State Wildcats while Carr was a fifth round pick from Division II Grand Valley State. However, Carr started the first game of his rookie season and never lost his job in Kansas City.
In 2011, he held opposing receivers to a 49.4-percent completion rate. When quarterbacks threw his way, their QB rating was a low 61.7. In comparison, Darrelle Revis led the NFL with a 41.2 completion percentage and a 45.6 QB rating. Carr also ranks second in the NFL over the last four years in knock downs with 28.
When Newman was at the top of his game, he could keep up with anybody and intercept or knock down passes as well as anyone playing the game. However, he will be 34 when the NFL season starts in 2012 and his legs are old. Brandon Carr is 25 and has a lot of playing time ahead of him. He doesn't have the pedigree of Newman but he has skills.
I don't know if he will be the shutdown corner we need but he will definitely be an improvement in 2012 over Terence Newman.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
Source: Dallas Morning News
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