Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Why Champ is the real Champ!

Last Sunday, Denver Broncos played Jacksonville Jaguars and it was the first game Champ Bailey missed as a starter due to injury. I have followed the footbal circles of Denver Broncos for quite a while and I did not know much about Champ's skills till he came to Denver. Since then I watched the following elite cornerbacks:
Chris McCallister, Ty Law, Patrick Surtain, Dre Bly, Troy Vincent, Nate Clements, Lito Sheppard, Samari Rolle, Dunta Robinson,Gary Baxter, Fred Smoot, Shawn Springs and some more. I have not see Deion Sanders in his prime, hence I will state that this article covers last 2-3 years span only.

I thought when Champ came to Denver and I saw his first game as a Bronco,he was really over-hyped. I kept observing Champ each and every game, constantly comparing him to the other corners. After 2 years of observation I can safely say that Champ Bailey is the true "Champ" of all corners in NFL today.

What makes a great Cornerback( Guy who covers the Wide Receiver):
1) He has to be Physical and Strong
2) Quick feet and Recovery Speed on slight errors in judgement
3) Positioning and Poise
4) Anticipation
5) Ability to tackle/blitz effectively when required

I analyzed and rated each cornerback on the above factors on a scale of 1-10. After my observation, Champ Bailey got a 9, 10, 10, 9, 10 on the 5 factors above and McCallister is the next best at 10,9,9,9,9. I wont divulge details of all other corners unless specifically requested.

Most of you may argue with my analysis, but take a consensus judgement from Wide Receivers, Quarterbacks, Coaches in that order and you will see Champ will be right on top of most of them, if not all.

I am also impressed by Champ's leadership qualities evident in the Jacksonville game encouraging the rookie cornerbacks in the game and also helping them on their technique. My hats off to you Champ Bailey.

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