It has been suggested by many voices around the sport of football that defensive back is the toughest non-quarterback position in today's game, and for good reason. Wide receivers today are arguably more talented than ever, and what's not up for debate is the notion that they're more protected by the rules than ever before.
However, if you ask legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski, the secondary players of the NFL could be doing better, at least in terms of turning good coverage into interceptions. He weighed in on the topic in a recent episode of the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with former New England Patriots teammate Julian Edelman.
Gronkowski chimed in with some advice for young defensive backs in the league, stating that if he was in their shoes, he "would give Richard Sherman a call and ask him where he learned those ball skills." Of course, football historians will remember that Sherman started his career as a wide receiver at Stanford, which Edelman swiftly brought up, and Gronkowski agreed that the question could be closed with that revelation.
Even though not all cornerbacks can start their career on the offensive side of the ball before seamlessly crossing over to defense, Gronkowski still thinks there's a path for them to improve their ball skills. Gronkowski thinks more practice time needs to be devoted to drills that develop this ability, and says that if defenders were better at catching passes, there could be as many as two to three extra interceptions per game in the NFL.
Gronkowski credited Sherman's ball skills to his league-leading 8-interception campaign in 2013, and states that Sherman's outstanding play that year is "probably the reason why" his Seahawks won the Super Bowl that season. Sherman reeled in eight picks the year before that one as well and four the year after, rounding out a dominant stretch of three straight First-Team All-Pro nods.
Sherman added two more second-team nods across his career, but it's worth nothing that he stopped putting up such high interception numbers as offenses finally learned to throw the ball away from him. Of course, there was really nowhere to throw during the peak of the Seahawks' iconic "Legion of Boom" defense, and few opposing teams were able to find success even if they avoided Sherman.
One of the teams that was able to crack the code was Gronkowski and Edelman's Patriots. Both star pass-catchers recorded a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX against Sherman and the Seahawks en route to a win in one of the greatest football games ever played, so watching them pay their respects to Sherman's remarkable accomplishments was a special callback to an all-time great moment in football history.
This article originates on 247Sports.
Jameson Williams puts the final nail in the coffin with this electric touchdown-play and celebration.
The Detroit Lions' third-year wideout had himself a day.
Today the Jacksonville Jaguars entered the lions' den and got torn up. In the first half, the Jaguars' offense could only muster up six points while their defense was helpless against the Lions' offense that dropped 28 points.
In the second half the Jaguars went scoreless while the Lions continued to have their way. A play that best represents the beat down came in the third quarter. During the Lions' first drive of the second half, Jared Goff found Jameson Williams deep down the middle of the field. After making the catch, Williams took it to the house for a 64-yard touchdown.
As Williams crossed the goal line, he jumped in the air and hit the Marshawn Lynch celebration. The crotch-grabbing, electric celly is always demoralizing to the opposing team.
The wideout earned the right to hit that pose. At the end of the game, Williams finished with four receptions for 124 yards and a score.
WR1 Amon-Ra St. Brown also had a big day – 11 catches for 161 yards and two TDS. Goff bounced back efficiently from a five-interception performance in Week 10 by completing 24-of-29 pass attempts for 412 yards and four TDS. The Lions' defense held the Jaguars to 170 total yards, racked up a turnover and a sack.
The Lions improved to 9-1 and continue to look unbeatable. The only obstacle in the Lions' way comes in Week 15 when the Buffalo Bills come into town.
