Pro Football Focus rates Antwon Blake # 167 among 172 CBs

Blake actually played pretty well last weekend. I hope he can keep that up, he picked a good time to start playing decent ball.

Wondering why so little snaps for Cockrell though. Experience factor?

Undisclosed injury? Perhaps something in the way he plays gives a big advantage to the Bengals?

Could have asked Tomlin at the presser, but I'll answer the question for him.

"We play our CBs in the best way we think we can get a win. Obviously, Cockrell plays hard and practices hard and he'll get his snaps. Our standard is the standard so to speak, and we'll continue to rotate in and out as the situation presents itself."

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

lotas wrote:

I was happy with Blake's performance in the last game. He was breaking on the ball with a fierce energy, something we haven't seen much in the past.

He made a nice heads up play on that deep ball, it's too bad he can't make that kind of adjustment while turning and running with a receiver. But overall, I give Blake a B+, I think he held his ground just fine.

I saw Will Gay giving a huge cushion most of the game, and then on the Green TD he ran up to the LOS to play press man coverage and I thought "Oh shit....Green will get behind him for a TD" and sure as shit that's what happened. I think Gay knew he made the wrong move right after it happened.

Blake has always been able to break on the short passes in front of him.  Its when the WR runs him on a 10-15 yard dig route and cuts inside, that Blake is normally so far off that its an uncontested reception.  Green did just that on one of his targets, but McCarron threw it behind Green.

I saw what you described of Gay.  He showed off coverage, then ran up to what looked like press coverage....but if you watch him, Gay turned around to where he was slightly outside of Green and was going to run in the same direction as the WR.  That is called a "bail technique".  Good to disguise the tech with the young QB.

I think you're right about the bail technique. I got the sense that Gay was playing the flat and trying to prevent an easy 1st down ... passing along a WR who was going deep. I thought Gay didn't stay deep enough (maybe another few yards) and Mitchell failed to take the WR (didn't do his job because McCarron looking in the opposite direction). So if Gay starts to turn with Green for a few yards and Mitchell comes over to cover, the Bengals don't get that easy TD. If memory serves me right, I think the Bengals floated a TE or RB into the flat and had Gay held at the 1st down line. So it was a zone coverage with a CB under to prevent the 1st down with safety playing deep. I give the Bengals credit that they attacked the weak spot in the scheme and McCarron looking the safety off paid dividends for them. Hard to criticize a well executed, well called play.

So.., does Blake suck or not?

This is the playoffs, we need to know for sure.

Yes he sucks. He did okay Saturday but I still don't trust him at all.

Pittsburgh's Antwon Blake missed 28 tackles in the first 15 games of the season. He hasn't missed any in each of the past two weeks.

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 12, 2016

Maybe Blake is getting healthier now, he has been playing hurt. I don't know. I just want him to play well if he's going to be out there, but I kind of scratch my head at Cockrell getting less snaps, the kid outplayed Blake all season long.

Maybe Blake is in the 150's (for now)?

jak341 wrote:

Undisclosed injury? Perhaps something in the way he plays gives a big advantage to the Bengals?

Could have asked Tomlin at the presser, but I'll answer the question for him.

"We play our CBs in the best way we think we can get a win. Obviously, Cockrell plays hard and practices hard and he'll get his snaps. Our standard is the standard so to speak, and we'll continue to rotate in and out as the situation presents itself."

Obviously.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Maybe Blake is getting healthier now, he has been playing hurt. I don't know. I just want him to play well if he's going to be out there, but I kind of scratch my head at Cockrell getting less snaps, the kid outplayed Blake all season long.

I hope that's the case

Ron Cook: Blake's turnaround began vs. Bengals Saturday night

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2016/01/15/Blake-acknowledges-slump-says-things-began-to-turn-around-vs-Bengals-Saturday-night/stories/201601150143

I saw one thing that made me smile regarding Blake last Saturday..............when he intercepted that pass he acted like a football player instead of a first class asshole............. by carrying it like a football instead of a smelly diaper.

Sorry if I posted this here before, but I didn't have the time to sift through 10 pages of the thread!

I had posted this in an end of season article about our corners:

The Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake broke PFF records for yards allowed in coverage (1,074) and missed tackels (28) this year.

At the same time:

Only starting CB not to allow a TD this season was Steelers William Gay

Not Richard Sherman. Not Joe Haden. Not Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, Darrelle Revis or Josh Norman. William Gay. The only starting CB in the NFL to not allow a touchdown this season. Combine that with Ross Cockrell and Brandon Boykin grading higher than the likes or Revis or Talib on PFF’s cornerback rankings (at 21st and 23rd respectively) and you have yet another head-scratching, crazy statistic!

The rest of the crazy defensive statistics I compiled are listed here, along with PFF's rankings tweet:

http://www.steelcityunderground.com/2016/01/05/the-crazy-bad-crazy-good-steelers-defense/

Gay is ok!

Pittsburgh Steelers free agency: Antwon Blake must go

By: Curt Popejoy

I’m sure that when it comes to free agency, NFL often labor which players to offer contracts to, and which ones to cut loose. That almost certainly also applies to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This franchise is like a family, and it shows. So when Pittsburgh chooses not to re-sign a veteran, it is often a difficult decision.

But this one shouldn’t be. Cornerback Antwon Blake came to the Steelers in 2013 after spending his rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Blake made his way to the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Blake was primarily a reserve in 2013, and settled in as a nickel/dime cornerback in 2014.

In 2015 Blake was given the opportunity to start opposite veteran cornerback William Gay. This was primarily due to the total lack options. The hope was that cornerback Cortez Allen would step into the starting role, but he once again fell flat and was lost for the year. That put Blake front and center as the next man up. How did he perform? This tweet sums it up.

According to @PFF, Antwon Blake allowed the most yds by a CB in coverage 1028 in NFL history with 28 missed tackles

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) January 5, 2016

These numbers should seal Blake’s fate when it comes time for the front office to decide who is getting a new contract and who isn’t. Blake has zero leverage with the team, and it is doubtful any team is going to look at his 2015 film and pull out the old checkbook. When you figure in that Senquez Golson is coming back from injury and both Brandon Boykin and Ross Cockrell stepped up when called on this season, there is just isn’t a spot on the roster for a cornerback that can’t cover and can’t tackle.

http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2016/01/21/pittsburgh-steelers-free-agency-antwon-blake-must-go/

Coincidentally, I wrote an article about the secondary yesterday: http://www.steelcityunderground.com/2016/01/21/steps-steelers-need-to-take-to-fix-secondary/

In short, Cortez and Blake should both be gone. Our depth chart could be Gay, Cockrell, Golson, with perhaps Grant and/or Boykin filling in the remaining 2 spots we'll likely keep. Boykin might not be resigned. Grant could move to safety.

And of course, this assumes we don't sign or draft another corner.

I just don't see room for Blake, no matter how much this staff likes him.

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Coincidentally, I wrote an article about the secondary yesterday: http://www.steelcityunderground.com/2016/01/21/steps-steelers-need-to-take-to-fix-secondary/

In short, Cortez and Blake should both be gone. Our depth chart could be Gay, Cockrell, Golson, with perhaps Grant and/or Boykin filling in the remaining 2 spots we'll likely keep. Boykin might not be resigned. Grant could move to safety.

And of course, this assumes we don't sign or draft another corner.

I just don't see room for Blake, no matter how much this staff likes him.

I agree. I think we see Gay, Cockrell, Golson, Grant and a top draft pick. Would like Boykin, but I think he finds more $$ elsewhere. Will Gay has 2 seasons left tops, so drafting somebody that is ready to play in their 2nd or 3rd season makes sense.

Cockrell just signed a 1-year extension an hour ago. So one down...

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Cockrell just signed a 1-year extension an hour ago. So one down...

Thanks for the update.

I was hoping for a multi-year deal.

Nice on Cockrell, he and Boykin on the field = NICE! Now if we can somehow pawn Blake off to the rat's or bungles...

pczach wrote:

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Cockrell just signed a 1-year extension an hour ago. So one down...

Thanks for the update.

I was hoping for a multi-year deal.

He's a restricted free agent so it made the most sense money wise to extend him for the minimum. I'm sure if they are working out a multi year deal if they want to keep him on.

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Cockrell just signed a 1-year extension an hour ago. So one down...

Steelers sign Cockrell to contract extension

2016-01-22

The Steelers have signed cornerback Ross Cockrell to a one-year contract extension, the team announced today. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Cockrell appeared in 15 games (7 starts) with the Steelers in 2015 and totaled career highs in tackles (43), interceptions (2) and pass breakups (11).

A Duke University product, Cockrell entered the NFL as a fourth-round (109th overall) draft selection of the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and appeared in seven games during his rookie year. He signed with Pittsburgh on September 5, 2015 after being released by Buffalo.

The Steelers also signed quarterback Dustin Vaughan to a Reserve/Future contract. Vaughan spent time on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad during the 2015 season. He was also on the Dallas Cowboys' active roster for the entire 2014 season, serving as the team's third quarterback. Vaughan played collegiately at West Texas A&M.

http://m.steelers.com/news/transactions/article-1/Steelers-sign-Cockrell-to-contract-extension/6bed5832-5d69-48d2-babb-e8200a4fb98a

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Cockrell just signed a 1-year extension an hour ago. So one down...

Steelers sign Cockrell to contract extension

2016-01-22

The Steelers have signed cornerback Ross Cockrell to a one-year contract extension, the team announced today. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
 
Cockrell appeared in 15 games (7 starts) with the Steelers in 2015 and totaled career highs in tackles (43), interceptions (2) and pass breakups (11).

A Duke University product, Cockrell entered the NFL as a fourth-round (109th overall) draft selection of the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and appeared in seven games during his rookie year. He signed with Pittsburgh on September 5, 2015 after being released by Buffalo.

The Steelers also signed quarterback Dustin Vaughan to a Reserve/Future contract. Vaughan spent time on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad during the 2015 season. He was also on the Dallas Cowboys' active roster for the entire 2014 season, serving as the team's third quarterback. Vaughan played collegiately at West Texas A&M.

http://m.steelers.com/news/transactions/article-1/Steelers-sign-Cockrell-to-contract-extension/6bed5832-5d69-48d2-babb-e8200a4fb98a

Well done! Tomorrow is the East-West Shrine game and Cockrell had a great week there 2 seasons ago. I was hoping the Steelers would draft him and he ended up here anyways.

Interesting that Cockrell had the same amount of pass breakups (11) and INT (2) as Blake, in much fewer snaps. Blake had more tackles (64) than Cockrell (43), but I bet he had a lot more missed tackles and yards allowed. I know Blake should not be here next season, but he likely will as he will likely haunt this fan much in the way Carey Davis was embarrassing to watch and they signed him.

now all we gotta do is re-sign gay and mclendon and the defense should be on a par course. any other additions would be upgrades, but those 2 are big ones imo.

Fire Arians wrote:

now all we gotta do is re-sign gay and mclendon and the defense should be on a par course. any other additions would be upgrades, but those 2 are big ones imo.

Yeah, I think they need McLendon, as McCullers hasn't shown much. Gay or Boykin IMO should be signed and I think Gay will be easier. Safety is the question too, as Will Allen should be moved on from, but they don't have anybody else that can play and Robert Golden is also a UFA.

Sharknado seems like the bust of all busts. The 2014 3rd round pick the Steelers traded away for him could have landed them any of these players... Donte Moncrief, John Brown, Crockett Gilmore, Richard Rodgers, Philip Gaines, Devonta Freeman, Justin Ellis.