Pro Football Focus rates Antwon Blake # 167 among 172 CBs

we should bring back gerod holliman!

we have the worst tackling CB in the league, one of the worst tacklers at safety (allen), why not bench mitchell for holliman and we'll have the worst tackling secondary in the league, bar none!

hell it seems like we're trying to do that, by starting allen over golden. why not go all the way lol

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Is he ranked 172 yet?  I say they leave him in until somebody ranks him as the absolute worst CB in the  Nfl.  The standard is the standard!

no, not yet. Brandon Browner is still ranked dead last.

but assuming Blake keeps up his consistent pace of sucking he should be able to claim the #172 spot by season's end...

_________________

Any word on if Blake allowed enough receptions to be ranked #172 yet? I think Greg Toller from the Colts closed some ground on him last night.

Damn Boykin taking snaps away from Blake. He is stunting Blake growth of being the worst CB in the NFL.

I remember Boykin doing good things last night. Any word if Tomlin's gonna bump him up the ranks?

Not sure if this game proved an awful lot for our defense, but I honestly hope the Boykin Bandwagon is right, even though he probably won't be playing outside the slot.

The_Joker wrote:

I remember Boykin doing good things last night. Any word if Tomlin's gonna bump him up the ranks?

You mean actually be in position to knock down passes from receivers and record 2 passes defended?? Yes, that was decent of him to do.

I think Gay will be injured and Blake will get a chance to regain his ranking as the worst CB of the week like he earned vs the cardinals, Raiders and Seahawks. With his limited snaps this week, I think Greg Toller and Brandon Browner have jumped ahead of Blake in the race to the bottom.

Who's worse, Alvoid Mays or Twan Blake?

I thought Blake looked better last night sharing snaps with Boykin. Perhaps a cornerback rotation will keep these guys fresh instead of putting an immense amount of pressure on a guy that's been getting routinely burned. Boykin looked pretty decent, minus the one missed tackle I saw.

I think Blake did enough today to worsen his ranking. Greg Toler of the Colts was out, so could not get burnt like Blake. The only competition for Blake to rank as the worst CB in the NFL was Brandon Browner, who looks like he tried hard to suck today.

Lets hope that Blake can still achieve the goal of being the worst ranked CB in the NFL by PFF.

by Jim Wexell

* Back to Blake's tackling, or lack thereof. He missed a tackle on a sweep one play before he was beaten deep for a touchdown. Why this guy refuses to wrap up, after being publically embarrassed the last couple of weeks, is beyond me. He's out there because he's a tough guy. Tackle already.

* Last week, the Steelers waited until the third series to begin using Brandon Boykin and Ross Cockrell in place of Blake (and the nose tackle) in the nickel. From then on, Blake only played cornerback with the base, or on downs with offensive run personnel on the field. It seemed to work. But this week the Steelers used Blake on the first three series in the nickel, and he eventually got beat deep by A.J. Green. The Boykin-Cockrell combo wasn't used until the fourth series, with 2:23 left in the half.

* Is it about being unpredictable? Are the Steelers that worried about teams running at Boykin and Cockrell?

* Boykin at one point came up hard to make a solid tackle of Marvin Jones. It wasn't a running back, but Boykin sure didn't look soft.

* It looks like the Steelers are one cornerback shy of a full load. There's always going to be a last position in any unit overhaul, so I refuse to blast Kevin Colbert about not addressing the position in the draft. It's becoming obvious that he's done a pretty good job drafting another guy at another position, whomever that guy or position may be.

* Now, if he doesn't address the position in the next draft -- beyond another slot cornerback -- then I'll be the guy screaming on Twitter.

http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1622834-just-my-opinion

by Alex Kozora

Losers:

Antwon Blake: In the same way I’ve run out of ways to describe AB, I don’t know what to say about Blake anymore. The words you use on him probably can’t be repeated on here. For the life of me, I don’t know why the team starts him with the knowledge they will eventually bench him. But don’t let Blake dominate the comments section. Enjoy the win. That is so much more fun.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/12/quick-hits-steelers-vs-broncos-winnerslosers/

I think this week Blake will finally rank as the worst CB overall this season by PFF. I look forward to posting congrats when its official.

Still no clue why he starts, or even plays nickel when the other 3 guys are healthy.

Blake to start again against the Ravens... We don't live in our fears, we just put them at starting CB.

I'm convinced that we have Blake in there for vegas reasons. Gotta make sure the ravens at least cover the point spread then throw Boykin in there

DesertSteel wrote:

Blake to start again against the Ravens... We don't live in our fears, we just put them at starting CB.

yup, hard to understand...

Tomlin says he'll start Blake over Boykin against Ravens

December 22, 2015
By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Antwon Blake continues to be the most targeted cornerback in the NFL and opposing receivers continue to post big numbers against him, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this afternoon that Blake will continue to start ahead of Brandon Boykin.

After the Steelers gave up 27 points to the Broncos in the first half Sunday, Boykin played more than Blake in the second. The Steelers shut out the Broncos after halftime, but the rotation will not change for this week’s game against the Ravens in Baltimore.

“We’re going to continue with the rotation we’ve had,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes the numbers may change over the course of a game, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

Boykin played more than Blake against the Broncos. He was on the field for 50 of the defense’s 76 snaps. Blake and Ross Cockrell, who has been the nickel back for most of the season, played 44 snaps.

to read rest of article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/12/22/Steelers-coach-Mike-Tomlin-says-he-ll-start-Blake-over-Boykin-against-Ravens/stories/201512220167

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Look at that god damn play! This guy's one redeeming quality was supposed to be tackling, and he could not have made more of a sorry attempt at a tackle on that play, easily giving up a TD.

He didn't even almost make the tackle, it looked like he couldn't even get a hand on DT! HOW is that a starter for you, Mike? How?

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/12/steelers-sub-package-cornerback-rotation-raw-passing-stats-through-week-15/

Gay - Blake - Cockrell: 210-314 (66.8%) 2580 yards (8.22 ypa), 15 TD 8INT Rat: 97.4

Gay - Cockrell - Boykin: 33-64 (51.5%) 318 yards (4.96 ypa), 2TD 2 INT Rat: 63.2

I know it's a smaller sample size but just playing the averages, the secondary is much more effective when adding Boykin and removing Blake. A valid argument could be made saying that Boykin hasn't gone up against the elite QB's we faced earlier in the year, but the 2nd half defense against Denver also had Blake only playing 4 snaps when they went to the dime defense. End result? The team that hung 27 points on us got shut out in the 2nd half, I don't think that's pure coincidence.

I like Tomlin, but the problem I have with him is he never seems to make personnel changes until someone's F-ups result in a loss. Scobee was terrible and a liability & really should have been cut after the SF game, instead he waits until a baltimore loss to find a new kicker. And now it's close to playoff time, we can't afford to make a change after a loss, because a loss means you're watching the rest of the playoffs at home. If Blake is a problem, he needs to be dealt with now and not later, he has had the entire season to rebound and has not. So what's the hold up?

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

Blake to start again against the Ravens... We don't live in our fears, we just put them at starting CB.

yup, hard to understand...

Tomlin says he'll start Blake over Boykin against Ravens

December 22, 2015
By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Antwon Blake continues to be the most targeted cornerback in the NFL and opposing receivers continue to post big numbers against him, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this afternoon that Blake will continue to start ahead of Brandon Boykin.

After the Steelers gave up 27 points to the Broncos in the first half Sunday, Boykin played more than Blake in the second. The Steelers shut out the Broncos after halftime, but the rotation will not change for this week’s game against the Ravens in Baltimore.

“We’re going to continue with the rotation we’ve had,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes the numbers may change over the course of a game, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

Boykin played more than Blake against the Broncos. He was on the field for 50 of the defense’s 76 snaps. Blake and Ross Cockrell, who has been the nickel back for most of the season, played 44 snaps.

to read rest of article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/12/22/Steelers-coach-Mike-Tomlin-says-he-ll-start-Blake-over-Boykin-against-Ravens/stories/201512220167

Here is the only line of thinking I can come up with. Tomlin has an enormous amount of confidence in the offense. If Blake gets burnt for a TD, he has enough confidence that Ben and co. will respond with a TD ourselves.

Blake seems to be high risk / high reward player. He gets burnt, more often than not, but he makes a splash play now and again. If Blake is putrid, or the O isn't getting the job done, Boykin comes in to play better pass coverage.

Or it's Colbert's line of thinking, "You don't make a change unless you have to." We're playing for a spot this weekend, and are in if the Jets lose. We're riding a hot streak, if all that matters is winning. Why change?

That's all I got...

jak341 wrote:

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

Blake to start again against the Ravens... We don't live in our fears, we just put them at starting CB.

yup, hard to understand...

Tomlin says he'll start Blake over Boykin against Ravens

December 22, 2015
By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Antwon Blake continues to be the most targeted cornerback in the NFL and opposing receivers continue to post big numbers against him, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this afternoon that Blake will continue to start ahead of Brandon Boykin.

After the Steelers gave up 27 points to the Broncos in the first half Sunday, Boykin played more than Blake in the second. The Steelers shut out the Broncos after halftime, but the rotation will not change for this week’s game against the Ravens in Baltimore.

“We’re going to continue with the rotation we’ve had,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes the numbers may change over the course of a game, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

Boykin played more than Blake against the Broncos. He was on the field for 50 of the defense’s 76 snaps. Blake and Ross Cockrell, who has been the nickel back for most of the season, played 44 snaps.

to read rest of article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/12/22/Steelers-coach-Mike-Tomlin-says-he-ll-start-Blake-over-Boykin-against-Ravens/stories/201512220167

Here is the only line of thinking I can come up with. Tomlin has an enormous amount of confidence in the offense. If Blake gets burnt for a TD, he has enough confidence that Ben and co. will respond with a TD ourselves.

Blake seems to be high risk / high reward player. He gets burnt, more often than not, but he makes a splash play now and again. If Blake is putrid, or the O isn't getting the job done, Boykin comes in to play better pass coverage.

That's all I got.

The only splash plays he makes are for the other team. He's the most targeted CB in the league, but on the flipside, 0 passes defensed in the last 5 games. In 3 games, Boykin has 3 and 1 INT. Blake also leads the NFL in missed tackles. He's garbage, and should be yanked.

Is Blake ranked the worst in the NFL by PFF yet? I think that is what Tomlin is doing....trying to get him that recognition.

Hopefully this doesn't cost us the game.

Tomlin's winning his fantasy league by starting no-name QB's who go up against Blake. Even for half a game, brilliant if it's working

Guess I have to state again for the record, this whole Boykin vs Blake comparison is invalid because when Boykin is inserted it's not Blake he's replacing, it's Gay. So to be absolutely crystal clear, Boykin does NOT play CB on the outside and is strictly a slot CB, so in order to bring him into the game you have to move Gay to the outside. The man who's replacing Blake is Cockrell, who I don't see as being any better or worse than Blake honestly, so the real improvement comes with the far better and more experienced Gay playing on the outside. If you like Cockrell better than Blake fine, because that might have something to do with preferring his play style over Blake's. But, if you say he's vastly better then you're smoking crack or something, and have clearly ignored all the completions he's allowed, or all the times he's no where near the guy he's supposed to be covering. Again, Boykin NEVER replaces Blake, and only Cockrell can.

On the subject of Blake being the most targeted CB, upon considering what I'd previously established, and that Blake would mostly be covering our opponents #1 WR when he's in the game, then our opponents would almost certainly target him more. Does that say anything good about him, other than Tomlin and Butler had a ridiculous amount of confidence in him? No. But considering the task at hand, and that he came off the bench to replace Cortez last year, I'd say he didn't do too bad for a guy thought of by most to be a non-starter before this year.

The only thing about this situation that I can logically surmise, would be that neither Cockrell nor Blake are very good in the slot CB position, but Gay actually is. So now, you're left with a tough decision of potentially putting a guy in the slot who'll be a liability, while having your best CB (Gay) play outside, VS putting your best CB in the slot while having 2 serviceable CBs on the outside, and our coaching staff chose the latter.

Now that Boykin has proven very capable in the slot, and in my eyes better than Gay is, then it's a no-brainer to keep him there, while rotating Gay back to the outside where he can cover our opponent's #1 guy. This leaves either Cockrell or Blake on the other side, which is just peachy with me.

One last thing I want to address is that stiff-arm GIF you guys have been so happy about posting above, where Blake gets shoved into the ground. Do any of you guys going off about this think that the Broncos are stupid for not firing Bradley Roby after AB stiff armed him into the ground? Do you need a video to refresh you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUJR2U8kNiU


Roby is 1st round draft pick in his 2nd year as a starter, which basically matches the playing experience that either Blake or Cockrell has. So, if you're the Broncos HC, do you fire Roby?

Steel Peon wrote:

Roby is 1st round draft pick in his 2nd year as a starter, which basically matches the playing experience that either Blake or Cockrell has. So, if you're the Broncos HC, do you fire Roby?

People aren't saying to "fire" Blake simply because of that one stiff arm play, that's just more icing on the cake. It has more to do with the title of this thread, the bigger picture of his play this season in it's entirety. Blake has been painfully bad, all season long. On most other NFL teams he'd be warming up a bench at the most, and probably wouldn't get a hat on gameday to be quite honest. There is a reason he's rated as nearly the worst CB in the entire league. Week in, and week out this guy gets routinely burned and gives up big chunks of yards, or easy touchdowns. It's at a point where I literally cringe every time the ball is thrown in the direction of the receiver he's covering, he's that bad. His poor coverage this season is only made worse by his inability to tackle effectively.

That's not to say that I hate Blake, or that I don't wish that he'd better himself. I wish that he'd come out and show us that he's better than what he's shown us so far this season, but he's been absolutely awful, and I don't know of a player that's been given more chances than he has. It doesn't matter if Boykin is directly replacing Blake or not... The fact of the matter at the end of the day is that the play of the defensive secondary is better when it's William Gay, Brandon Boykin, and Ross Cockrell out on the field than when it's Antwon Blake, William Gay, and Ross Cockrell on the field. With Blake playing most of the 1st Half snaps against the Broncos the Broncos scored 27 points and looked to be pretty well unstoppable offensively. Fast foward to the second half when the secondary tightened up  a bit, Blake got benched for all but a handful of snaps, and Boykin steps into the rotation... The Broncos score 0 points, the defense generates numerous 3 and outs, the coverage is better so the d-line and the backers start pressuring Osweiler, and our offense has all the time in the world to make a big comeback... I'd also point out that the defense stopped the Broncos in crunch time after a critical mistake by Roethlisberger. That's not just a coincidence, that's due in part to adjustments made in the defensive secondary.

I used to defend Blake, there is simply no defending this kid anymore. It's painfully obvious he isn't getting the job done, and the production of the defense while he's sitting on the bench is proof positive that these changes need to be made on a more permanent basis. With Cockrell playing in his place the defense gets better, plain and simple.