Champ vs. Deion

[dj_stouty]

I was sitting here thinking about the Redskins offering to make Champ Bailey the highest paid CB in the league and I kept asking myself if he is truly worth that type of money.

After all, most people comment that "QBs don't even throw his way, so he gets less INTS than most cornerbacks". Ok...That sounds fair enough. But, on paper, can you REALLY see how well a shut down cornerback does for you? Especially if he covers over 1/2 the field and rarely gets thrown to?

Well, I thought I'd do some comparative analysis with Champ to see just how well he has done in his first 4 years in the league.

So...I decided to compare him to the guy who revolutionized the "shut down cornerback" position. The guy we all love to hate, Deion Sanders.

Deion, in his prime, was the architype cornerback. He had blazing speed...he shut down more than 1/2 of the field, he was considered the best in the game...and most NFL quarterbacks were scared to throw his way. Sounds like the PERFECT person to compare CHamp to...

Deion's first four years in the leage:
1989: 5 INT, 0 TD, 18 passes defensed
1990: 3 INT, 2 TD, 18 passes defensed
1991: 6 INT, 1 TD, 14 passes defensed
1992: 3 INT, 0 TD, 4 passes defensed
TOTAL: 17 INT, 3 TD, 54 passes defensed

Champ's first four years in the league:
1999: 5 INT, 0 TD, 17 passes defensed
2000: 5 INT, 1 TD, 14 passes defensed
2001: 3 INT, 0 TD, 18 passes defensed
2002: 3 INT, 0 TD, 24 passes defensed
TOTAL: 16 INT, 1 TD, 73 passes defensed

Looking at both, their INTS are almost identical, and Deion has 2 more TDs while Champ has 19 more passes defensed. Its pretty damn similar to me. Like I said, love him or hate him, Deion is a lock to become a Hall of Fam Cornerback. The simple fact that Champ's career is mimicking a future Hall of Famer's is pretty extraordinary.

I'm a skeptic turned believer....lets give Champ his money.

[Skinzaholic]

Originally posted by dj_stouty

I'm a skeptic turned believer....lets give Champ his money.


Good work! I agree... pay him!

[hail2skins]

Excellent work DJ. Champ just isn't the marketer that Deion is and I for one am glad he isn't. He let's his game do the talking.

[J33Edwards]

as long as hes reasonable I have no problem with the team making him the highest paid CB. If he refuses to budge from his 18-19 million bonus demand then I say tag him and try to get picks...

[SkinsKY]

It's hard for me to say that we shouldn't give him $18 mil bonus. You don't find corners like him anywhere. I think the next best would be Charles Woodsen when he's healthy... and there are a bit more who are almost to that level. We got a player who will be a first ballot HOF'er in my opinion whether he finishes here or anywhere else. You can't let a player like that go.

I'm not a capologist, but I think if we give him a higher signing bonus, we can give him a lower base salary to help out the contract down the road. Barring injuries, we'd have no reason to cut him and while it might make the contract a little heavier now, it will help avoid a 'Davis scenario' where the backload became too much for us to bare. This contract NEEDS to be one for life...not one we think will be one for life.

[BigCountry]

Say what you want about Dieon but I think Champ has only been getting up to his level (at his prime) over the last season or two.

[JoeDaSchmoe]

Wow, very nice DJ, definitely convincing.

[RedskinsDave]

Interceptions are always misleading. It's usually the mediocre corners who get the most picks because teams throw at them more often. Barry Wilgetburned always got picks because he was opposite Green and stunk up the joint.

[SkinsCT]

Pay the man! He IS a shutdown corner, even if has trouble from time to time with bigger receivers (Boston and Toomer had their way with him last year, for example). The definition of a shutdown corner is someone who not only makes plays, but also forces the other team to tamper with and plan their own offense around him. This year, with Smoot a year older and wiser, and Bowen's speed at free, Champ will get the opportunity to make more plays. I guarentee he won't disappoint. He is nearly injury free, can spell in at special teams, and can even be used at times as a offensive decoy or weapon. Only one other corner, Charles Woodson, can say he does two of those three things, but he has been injury prone the last two years.

[dj_stouty]

Lets not forget that the "so called" defensive genius, Marvin Lewis, put SMOOT on the #1 receivers and Champ on the #2 receivers for the majority of last season. Although I'm not sure if these were the games in which Boston and Toomer outperformed.

Anyone remember this?

[SkinsCT]

Yeah DJ, especially agains the Giants, I should have remembered that. I went to the game at the Meadowlands last year, and at times Toomer would go in motion, away from Champ, leaving Darrell Green in coverage against Toomer on many plays. I guess I should have thought about that before my last post. As for the "defensive savant," I think he relates to and can motivate players very well, but has been aided by incredible athletes at most of his stops as a DC in the NFL. For reference, look at the defensive roster of the Ravens Super Bowl team.

[dj_stouty]

Originally posted by Ol'BallCoach
Yeah DJ, especially agains the Giants, I should have remembered that. I went to the game at the Meadowlands last year, and at times Toomer would go in motion, away from Champ, leaving Darrell Green in coverage against Toomer on many plays. I guess I should have thought about that before my last post. As for the "defensive savant," I think he relates to and can motivate players very well, but has been aided by incredible athletes at most of his stops as a DC in the NFL. For reference, look at the defensive roster of the Ravens Super Bowl team.

I never understood why Lewis continued to put Smoot on the #1 WRs...

And you are right...the Ravens were an amazing squad of players...much more talented than the group we had last year.

[Skins57]

OMG...DJ how could you put those two names onthe same title on a Skins board. Curse you my friend.... curse you :D:D:D

I expect Champ to become better than Sanders ever was but that may be my dislike for Deion

[BOBDIGS]

We paid Deion 56 Million over 7 years, with I believe a 7 million signing bonus and that was Deion on the decline of his career.

Champ has just begun and he is only 25 years old, pay the man his money!!! Good points DJ!

[Chief Seeway]

Originally posted by dj_stouty
Lets not forget that the "so called" defensive genius, Marvin Lewis, put SMOOT on the #1 receivers and Champ on the #2 receivers for the majority of last season. Although I'm not sure if these were the games in which Boston and Toomer outperformed.

Anyone remember this?

I remember it a little different. I believe Champ played on the left, Smoot on the right. Whoever they lined up against wasnt a choice.

[dj_stouty]

Originally posted by seeway
I remember it a little different. I believe Champ played on the left, Smoot on the right. Whoever they lined up against wasnt a choice.

Right...but most defensive coordinators make the Corners float to whatever side their assignment is on. Lewis made them say put.
So many Off. coordinators knew this...and switched their WRs. (like Toomer...Owens...etc)

[Shabba]

Originally posted by hail2skins
Excellent work DJ. Champ just isn't the marketer that Deion is and I for one am glad he isn't. He let's his game do the talking.

That could hurt him in the long run ala Art Monk.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Originally posted by seeway
I remember it a little different. I believe Champ played on the left, Smoot on the right. Whoever they lined up against wasnt a choice.

Seeway is correct. The OC's from the opponents therefore always put their top receiver on Smoot's side to get a more favorable matchup. So it would SEEM that Marvin Lewis was assigning Smoot to the #1 receiver.

[WRSK1NS]

Great job DJ! I think he should be the highest paid cornerback in the league because he is the best. Lets just hope that greed does not get the best of him and ruin his play on the field.

[dj_stouty]

Originally posted by robert11273
Seeway is correct. The OC's from the opponents therefore always put their top receiver on Smoot's side to get a more favorable matchup. So it would SEEM that Marvin Lewis was assigning Smoot to the #1 receiver.

If that was the case in the NFL...then there would always be mismatches on the field. BUT...most DC's make the choice to have their #1CB go to the side of the #1WR. Lewis did not.

[Patrick]

Excellent research DJ.
IMO there is no better DB than Champ right now. The Skins have may an offer that makes him the highest paid with a little room for some adjustments. The fact that it has been stated that Bailey and his agent are at a "Could take it OR rejected stage" is proof enough to me that they both realize it's a fair offer. If they do a full rejection of this offer I don't think the Skins will do anything. The "Franchise Tag" move is starting to sound like the direction the FO will go. What seems to be straight forward is going to get ugly if it gets into next year.

BUT regardless of what I think of Champ, a smart coach and GM would put the money into quality DT and DE. Bottomline, IF you build a great D-line with good LB, you can get away with having average DBs. IT NEVER works the other way around!!!!

[Seebs]

I'd really like to have him as long as Darell, but don't break the bank!

[Brokenstriker]

its a team game and paying him too much hurts the team ....

name teams that won a championship with one world class CB and minor-league defensive tackles ... hard to do

name teams that won with good DTs and average CBs ... its a safe bet there will be more than the first list

the question is ... how much is too much