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 ...
Ross Cockrell, Pittsburgh Steelers
In his second year in Pittsburgh and third in the league, Cockrell is the only Steelers corner to start all eight games this season -- a much bigger role than last year, when he made seven starts in 15 games played. Coaches that I've talked to say Cockrell's one of the most improved players on the team. So far this season, he's allowed 28 receptions for 278 yards (9.9 yards per catch) on 47 targets for a completion rate of 59.6 percent and one touchdown, along with recording seven passes defensed and 28 tackles.
Cockrell is known as a bump-and-run corner, as he has great footwork and hands at the line of scrimmage, and he often disrupts the timing between the quarterback and receiver. His off coverage has progressed, but there's still a lot of room for improvement there. He hasn't been known for his tackling, but if you watch the tape this year, you'll see he's finally getting to the ball and making the tackle. Hopefully, in a year's time, Cockrell will be the complete corner the Steelers are looking for.
Cockrell is the hidden gem of the Steelers' secondary, where he's joined by a veteran in William Gay and potential franchise corner Artie Burns. Gay, who has notched three passes defensed in 2016, has made seven starts but was replaced with Burns in last week's divisional contest vs. Baltimore. Burns' first start was a learning experience, as he gave up five catches for 141 yards on 12 targets and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1:1. One area this entire cornerback group needs to get better at going forward is tackling.
This trio will get tested Sunday when the 7-1 Cowboys come to town. Cockrell will stay on one side, but he will see his fair share of star receiver Dez Bryant. The Cowboys veteran does a good job of stacking corners, meaning he beats them off the line and makes them run behind him instead of alongside. If Cockrell can play up to his potential in press coverage and stay with Dez, he'll be OK.
Week 10 cornerback rankings: My top 10
Though the Cardinals are coming off their bye week, Peterson maintains top-dog status based on his consistency. He hasn't given up a touchdown since Week 2 and will face a different 49ers quarterback than he saw in the first meeting between the teams this season several weeks ago. In that contest, Blaine Gabbert targeted Peterson just once. If Colin Kaepernick is smart, he'll do the same.
I spoke to former NFL receiver Chad Johnson over the weekend when he was a guest on NFL Network's "GameDay Prime," and he named Peterson his favorite cornerback in the league. As a former receiver, Johnson acknowledged Peterson's ability to play off or on the line of scrimmage, as well as his significant versatility. That's a great compliment from a former playmaker.
Sherman's passion and energy are essential to the Seahawks' defense, which is without some key players -- and regardless of the how the special teams play went before halftime in Monday's game, we saw his much-needed passion and competitiveness come through. He missed a few tackles in Monday night's win over Buffalo, but this guy lives and plays on the edge. His tackling attitude is very important as a corner, because your help won't be always be on time or even there at all.
I'm really looking forward to this Sunday night contest between Seattle and New England (aka, Super Bowl XLIX 2.0). It's going to be a chess match between Sherman and Tom Brady, because Sherman knows the Patriots' offense and Brady knows when to target Sherman. In two head-to-head meetings, the Patriots quarterback has targeted the 'Hawks corner 10 times in coverage, completing only four passes for 38 yards, zero TDs, one INT and a passer rating of 11.7. It's likely Brady will keep his distance again and work his tight end duo against Seattle's linebackers. But don't be surprised if Sherman lines up against Rob Gronkowski or Martellus Bennett, which I'd like to see.
He's continually grown since he entered the league in 2015, and I've been very pleased with this youngster of late. Last week against Jacksonville, Peters allowed three catches for 69 yards on three targets, and although that's more yards per catch than I'd like, he tackled well in that game. My former defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau always said tackling is a "want to," and I'm finally seeing Peters get into his groove. He's becoming the complete corner I want to see.
Pacman will have his hands full against Eli Manning and the Giants' receiving group on Monday night. Even if Victor Cruz, who exited last week's game with an ankle injury, doesn't play this week, the Giants are still looking at a solid receiving trio, with Odell Beckham Jr. and rookies Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis Jr. In the last couple of weeks, Beckham has been beating everyone on slant routes. The one thing Jones must do to make sure OBJ and the other receivers don't get in the end zone is make the tackle immediately after the catch.
Talib sat out for a second straight week, but the Broncossure missed him Sunday night in their loss to the Raiders. The secondary's production has dipped slightly without Talib. Bradley Roby has filled in, and while he is a solid corner, he's no Talib. Roby struggled to tackle Sunday night, something Talib does very well. The Broncos' struggles just validate Talib's case for being a top-five corner. Hopefully, he gets back on the field soon.
Newman continues to be a bright spot for the Vikings' defense, which hasn't performed in the last few weeks like it did early in the season. Against the Lions, the 38-year-old veteran gave up two catches for 12 yards to Golden Tate -- and nothing else. This defense is one of the best in the league because of its energy, effort and physicality, but these guys are being overworked. The unit will get back to providing superb production once the offense figures out a way to stay on the field. If the offense can't do that, it's going to be an uphill battle.
Norman's got to bounce back from his penalty-filled performance in London. He's playing loose right now. He must tighten up and play like he did early in the year, using his hands on bump-and-run coverage and trusting his instincts (not guessing) when he's reading the play. It's a perfect week to get back to being fundamentally sound as the Redskins host a Vikings team that ranks 27th in passing offense.
Coming off a solid performance against the Eagles, which saw him give up 42 yards on four targets to top Philly receiver Jordan Matthews, DRC faces his biggest challenge yet, with A.J. Green and the Bengals coming to town for a Monday night showdown. I think DRC will follow and fare well against Green because he's got great speed. The corner has the edge mentally when a receiver knows he can't get past him. To contain Green, DRC needs to keep his eyes on the receiver on every single play. If he gets caught looking back at the quarterback, Green will be a fantasy favorite.
Harris didn't have his best game against the Raiders on Sunday, but he didn't have his worst, either. He gave up three catches for 29 yards on four targets, but he wasn't as clean as he usually is coming in and out of breaks. His lateral movement must get back up to par to stall the Saints' No. 1 passing offense this week.
With Talib out, the Raiders were certainly targeting Roby on Sunday. He gave up eight receptions for 99 yards (12.4 yards per catch) on 14 targets -- 54 yards to Amari Cooper -- and had a pass-interference penalty against Cooper that resulted in a Raider touchdown. Even so, holding Cooper to 54 yards is a solid enough performance to stay in the top 10.
This Week 10 matchup between the Broncos and Saints features the No. 1 pass defense vs. the No. 1 pass offense. If Talib is again on the sideline, Roby will see his fair share of targets from veteran quarterback Drew Brees. Roby gave up too many yards after the catch (YAC) last week, so he must tighten his coverage against Saints receivers Brandin Cooks, Michael Thomas and Willie Snead.
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:Desmond Trufant, Atlanta Falcons; Janoris Jenkins, New York Giants; Malcolm Butler, New England Patriots; Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville Jaguars; and Vontae Davis, Indianapolis Colts.
Follow Ike Taylor on Twitter _@IkeSwagginU_.
