Ike Taylor is no stranger to being on an island. The former Steelers cornerback helped Pittsburgh win two Super Bowls during his 12-year career. In this series, Taylor will feature one pertinent cornerback on "Ike's Island," where he breaks down the player's on-field play and significance heading into the coming week. In addition, he lists his updated top-10 cornerback rankings.
Featured on Ike's Island this week ...
Jason McCourty, Valentino Blake and Brice McCain, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee's road to a hopeful playoff berth goes through Kansas City this weekend, and in order to compete with the AFC West-leading Chiefs, the Titans' cornerbacks better be ready to go. Although Tennessee is third in run defense, it has the league's second-worst pass D, giving up 274.9 yards per game. The secondary specifically is allowing a catch rate of 57.2 percent and 12.7 yards per catch, while recording a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22:11 in coverage this season.
I've seen an improvement in this cornerback group since the team cut veteran Perrish Cox, who played in 24 games for the Titans in two seasons. Cox recorded three interceptions this year, but he had issues in coverage far too often. McCourty, Blake and McCain are the team's primary cornerbacks, with McCourty facing the majority of the targets. He's given up a 53 receptions on 96 targets (55 completion percentage) for 668 yards (12.6 yards per catch) and a 78.8 passer rating, while posting a 3:2 TD-to-INT ratio. The eighth-year pro is a technician and plays well on and off the line of scrimmage. He's having one of the better seasons in his career, but one thing that can help him make the leap to the next level is better tackling.
I got a chance to play with Blake and McCain in Pittsburgh, and I'm not surprised they've continued to play under coach Dick LeBeau. Blake (or "Zilla," as we called him in Pittsburgh) hasn't made a start this season but has played in 13 games, giving up catches on 48 percent the targets thrown his way (at 11.2 yards a pop). He always seems to be around the ball and positions himself well, but he just needs to finish and make more plays. McCain runs like a deer and has great feet. He reminds me of a younger Terence Newman and is another guy who puts himself in good position to make plays. For Blake, who's somewhat struggled and given up six touchdowns this season, the key is tackling and finishing plays when he has the opportunity.
This group is facing a Chiefs offense that ranks just 24th in total yards, but the rise of rookie Tyreek Hill has garnered a lot of attention. He leads all rookies in targets (40), receptions (34) and receiving yards (313) since Week 10, and Hill is the first player in the Super Bowl era with a receiving, rushing, kickoff and punt return for touchdown in his rookie season. If the Titans want to stall Hill and the other Chiefs receivers (Jeremy Maclin and Chris Conley), they must tackle and and stay on top of the receivers. Tennessee's corners can afford to give up short, immediate completions, but not deep plays. As far as star tight end Travis Kelce is concerned, it's likely he'll be covered by a safety in this contest.
Week 15 cornerback rankings: My top 10
The Cardinals' sixth-year star is the definition of a shutdown corner and he continued to ball out Sunday. Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore almost entirely avoided Peterson, as he was targeted twice and gave up one catch for 6 yards when lining up against Jarvis Landry. He also added a pass defensed. But this guy needs more help.
It'll be interesting to see whom Peterson lines up against this week when Drew Brees and Co. come to the desert. If I were a betting man, I'd say Peterson lines up against the surging rookie Michael Thomas(if, of course, he returns to the field this week). Thomas, who has a team-leading seven receiving TDs, is Brees' new favorite target, but Brandin Cooks also poses a threat to opposing defenses. If Thomas can't go, Cooks will be Peterson's guy. Peterson has the edge in speed, bar none, but Cooks has the edge in lateral movement.
Without Earl Thomas on Sunday, the Legion of Boom was the Legion of Doom as the secondary struggled against Aaron Rodgers in prime time. But while his teammates gave up big plays, Sherman didn't. He played all over the field and allowed just two receptions for 15 yards on three targets in the game. Sherman should put up another great performance against Los Angeles at home, but the Seahawks can't sleep on the Jeff Fisher-less Rams, who have beaten the Seahawks in three straight meetings.
The Chiefs took the lead in the AFC West with their 21-13 victory over Oakland, and Peters was a blanket out there. He gave up six catches for 31 yards (5.2 yards per catch) on nine targets. His effort is contagious and we're starting to see his teammates play with the same enthusiasm and aggressiveness. The Chiefs host a Titans team that's trending up this weekend. No disrespect to Marcus Mariota and Co., but I don't see any threat for Peters. The key for the Chiefs' secondary in this game will be tackling.
You heard what Jones said about Terrelle Pryor following Sunday's divisional game. Jones clearly wasn't impressed with Pryor's performance (one catch for 3 yards), but I again was impressed with what I saw from Jones in the game. He gave up one reception for 4 yards on five targets and allowed just a 39.6 passer rating in Robert Griffin III's return.
He'll have a much tougher task this week with Antonio Brown. In their first meeting, Brown had one catch for 17 yards on two targets against Jones, who also had an interception. The Steelers receiver was open quite often and dropped a few passes, so Jones must be tight in coverage to have a chance this time around.
As the Broncos lost to the Titans, making the AFC wild-card race a tad more interesting, Harris was fuming over Harry Douglas' "dirty" hit. Harris, who didn't allow a catch on three targets to the Titans, luckily wasn't hurt -- he's a piece the No Fly Zone surely needs when looking ahead to Denver's remaining schedule. And who's first on the list? None other than Tom Brady and the Patriots. Brady can put the ball anywhere he wants even when the coverage is tight. The Broncos' cornerbacks need to take it up a notch and play super tight coverage.
Yes, Newman gave up a few yards against the Jaguars (three catches for 70 yards on five targets), but he's still not letting anybody in the end zone. He's like a fine wine, getting better with age. Newman has clean feet and will need to keep continuing his dominant play against the Colts this week. He will have a chance to go against both T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief. Newman must watch for the deep ball against Hilton and outrebound the big-bodied Moncrief.
Joseph was inactive Sunday with a rib injury, but he's staying put because of what he's done this season for the Texans' defense. He hasn't given up a touchdown in coverage in 12 games. The Texans need this guy to play this weekend because Blake Bortles and his receivers are starting to click. You can't sleep on this offense because any of the playmakers -- see: Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee -- could go off at any given time.
Sunday, we again saw why Talib is one of the leaders of the Broncos when he defended Chris Harris Jr.in Denver's loss in Tennessee. But Talib is more than an emotional leader -- he's producing on the field. He gave up one catch for 26 yards on four targets. He'll have to be sharp against Tom Brady this week and think like a receiver because Brady is going to put the ball where only his targets can get it.
Norman needed a good game after struggling the last four weeks and he had one against the Eagles. He was targeted once by rookie Carson Wentz -- a pass that was incomplete. Now, Norman has bigger fish to fry this week when he and the Redskins host his former team -- the one that rescinded his franchise tag in the offseason and couldn't agree on a long-term deal. Norman has a big chip on his shoulder; you can bet he wants to prove his worth in this game. He's going to need to win on jump balls against Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess to be successful.
Jenkins was a huge reason why the Giants defeated the Cowboys. He didn't let Dez Bryant's size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) dictate the game -- he matched Bryant's physicality and won the battle. With this performance (allowed two catches for 17 yards on seven targets and had an INT), I see why the Giants paid him big money in the offseason.
The Giants face another tough offense this weekend and I'm guessing the cornerbacks won't travel against the Lions. They're playing a hot quarterback in Matthew Stafford who is not locking onto one guy. Jenkins and the Giants' secondary can't have a mental lapse on any play because Stafford constantly hits the open receiver.
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:Casey Hayward, San Diego Chargers; Brent Grimes, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Bradley Roby, Denver Broncos; William Gay, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Follow Ike Taylor on Twitter _@IkeSwagginU_.
