Ross Cockrell

[antdrewjosh]

Ross Cockrell is a couple of interceptions away from a breakout season
20
The Pittsburgh Steelers free agency acquisition from 2015 is quietly proving to be quite the asset, as his excellent play has gone nearly unnoticed.
by Robert Hitchcock Nov 3, 2016, 5:30am EDT


Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Richard Sherman, Patrick Peterson, Josh Norman, Xavier Rhodes. Do these names ring a bell? They should. If you're a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you've likely had a moment where you've dreamt of having one of them in the black and gold. What if I told you that Pittsburgh isn't far off from having an elite corner, though? It's true, they're very close. What does Steelers CB Ross Cockrell have in common with the all-pro cornerbacks of the NFL? They all shadow opposing teams' top receivers. To everyone's surprise, Cockrell has shadowed top receivers out wide on a near weekly basis thus far, and has fared well.

While the Steelers rank 26th against the pass, their ranking doesn't tell the full story.
Week 1 @ Washington

Passing Yards Allowed: 329

WR1: DeSean Jackson - 102 yards

Week 2 vs Cincinnati

Passing Yards Allowed: 366

WR1: AJ Green - 38 yards

Week 3 @ Philadelphia

Passing Yards Allowed: 301

WR1: Jordan Matthews - 19 yards, 1 touchdown

Week 4 vs Kansas City

Passing Yards Allowed: 287

WR1: Jeremy Maclin - 78 yards

Week 5 vs New York Jets

Passing Yards Allowed: 255

WR1: Brandon Marshall - 114 yards, 1 touchdown

Week 6 @ Miami

Passing Yards Allowed: 252

WR1: Jarvis Landry - 91 yards*

*Not shadowed by Cockrell -- Landry played a lot of snaps in the slot

Week 7 vs New England

Passing Yards Allowed: 222

WR1: Julian Edelman - 60 yards

While the total passing yards allowed are less than ideal, Cockrell has done an impressive job taming teams' top receivers. Aside from Brandon Marshall and DeSean Jackson (who gained 1/3 of his total yards on one single play, with Cockrell not covering him), yardage has not come easy. Wide receivers that are atop their team's depth chart have only scored twice total against Cockrell and the Steelers. Covering AJ Green is one of the toughest tasks in the National Football League, but #31 made it look easy. Green was seemingly ineffective the entire game, as Cockrell shadowed him the full 60 minutes, allowing only 38 yards.


In Pro Football Focus' top defensive performance ratings for each team, Ross has finished top-3 in four out of seven games. Cockrell sits at 7th place on the team with 25 tackles, but leads the team in pass deflections with 7. You can't rack up the tackles if you're not allowing your opponent to catch the ball.

The lack of turnovers for the Pittsburgh Steelers is to blame for Ross Cockrell being so under-appreciated. Shutting down opposing receivers often goes unnoticed by the average viewer. What earns players media attention and being the topic of discussions on ESPN? Turnovers. Give Cockrell a couple of interceptions, and all of a sudden he's being mentioned in the same sentence as Marcus Peters, Josh Norman, Xavier Rhodes and company. Even though he is super stingy yardage-wise, Cockrell is missing a couple of big plays.

While he has been held without a single turnover in 2016, Cockrell showed flashes of a true playmaker last season. The Duke product had two interceptions and one forced fumble in his 2015 campaign, and hopes to top those numbers this season. With nine games left in the regular season, there is still plenty of time for him to achieve this missing piece.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I've said it before, if we just had another CB to go with Cockrell. Seriously.....

So another hand to go with **** then gay in the slot with Burns somewhere in the mix.......



Salute the nation

 

[paperclip]

the execution of all the board's gaycockburns jokes is fairly poor, to downright embarrassing. Not singling you out, DIC.


antdrew..... thread needs more generic statistics and sweeping generalizations before I can be swayed to see your viewpoint.

 

[Steelerfan]

I've said it before, if we just had another CB to go with Cockrell. Seriously.....

So another hand to go with **** then gay in the slot with Burns somewhere in the mix.......



Salute the nation

Talkin' dirty.......

 

[Ike Kelly]

I would like to think Cockrell will end up playing like Ike Taylor, but with better hands. He may not have Taylor's speed, but he does mirror like the best of them. Plays well on the ball too. The hands part, hopefully the light comes on and Ross doesn't need Lasik like Ike did.

 

[MTC]

I would like to think Cockrell will end up playing like Ike Taylor, but with better hands. He may not have Taylor's speed, but he does mirror like the best of them. Plays well on the ball too. The hands part, hopefully the light comes on and Ross doesn't need Lasik like Ike did.

He does mirror the best of them pretty well. It was against the Jets I think, he had Marshall covered stride for stride, but a ball went right through his grasp and Marshall grabbed it for a td. Ross will be ok

 

[obxsteeler]

the execution of all the board's gaycockburns jokes is fairly poor, to downright embarrassing. Not singling you out, DIC.


antdrew..... thread needs more generic statistics and sweeping generalizations before I can be swayed to see your viewpoint.

I think infantile may characterize it better.

 

[Coach]

Ross is not a shutdown type of corner.

The best two receivers he played in good weather conditions were Jackson and Marshall, both had 100+ yards on him. The game with AJ Green was in the rain so that could explain the yardage. I'll need to see that one again.

There is no doubt Cockrell is a smart player with some height and ball skills, but he's on the slow side and is not the most physical. He's still more of a 2nd corner. Why it took Tomlin forever to move out Blake and play/start Cockrell there is beyond me.

 

[SteelBuckeye]

Ross is not a shutdown type of corner.

The best two receivers he played in good weather conditions were Jackson and Marshall, both had 100+ yards on him. The game with AJ Green was in the rain so that could explain the yardage. I'll need to see that one again.

There is no doubt Cockrell is a smart player with some height and ball skills, but he's on the slow side and is not the most physical. He's still more of a 2nd corner. Why it took Tomlin forever to move out Blake and play/start Cockrell there is beyond me.

You do know that Blake and Cockrell were on the field together ALOT last season, right? Cockrell began seeing playing time almost immediately after signing with the Steelers. The person who should have seen playing time over Blake last year was Boykin. iirc that is.

 

[Stryker]

You do know that Blake and Cockrell were on the field together ALOT last season, right? Cockrell began seeing playing time almost immediately after signing with the Steelers. The person who should have seen playing time over Blake last year was Boykin. iirc that is.

yup, and Gay was in the slot!

 

[Coach]

You do know that Blake and Cockrell were on the field together ALOT last season, right? Cockrell began seeing playing time almost immediately after signing with the Steelers. The person who should have seen playing time over Blake last year was Boykin. iirc that is.

Yes, but Blake was on a lot more, especially early in the year. He should have been benched or relegated to dime duty.

Cockrell should have played more than Blake, taken his starter spot, and played the outside before Blake on ANY formation.

 

[Litos]

Cockrell has being dealing with the best WR on the opposing team all season long, the kid might not be a bullet proof #1 but he definitly has been our best CB this season and by far. Even if Burns keeps improving I think Cockrell will be #1 and the rook #2 next season, Willie Gay definitly is on the wrong side of 30 and it's starting to show, still he'll be the slot corner and #3 in the depth chart

 

[SteelBuckeye]

Yes, but Blake was on a lot more, especially early in the year. He should have been benched or relegated to dime duty.

Cockrell should have played more than Blake, taken his starter spot, and played the outside before Blake on ANY formation.

Agreed. Still left us with the issue that Boykin should have also seen playing time before Blake.

 

[SteelBuckeye]

Cockrell has being dealing with the best WR on the opposing team all season long, the kid might not be a bullet proof #1 but he definitly has been our best CB this season and by far. Even if Burns keeps improving I think Cockrell will be #1 and the rook #2 next season, Willie Gay definitly is on the wrong side of 30 and it's starting to show, still he'll be the slot corner and #3 in the depth chart

Happened a lil quicker than you thought. See Cope's thread about Burns getting the nod this week.

 

[Litos]

Happened a lil quicker than you thought. See Cope's thread about Burns getting the nod this week.

hope the kid holds up, he still looks lost in run coverage

 

[Ike Kelly]

Ross is not a shutdown type of corner.

The best two receivers he played in good weather conditions were Jackson and Marshall, both had 100+ yards on him. The game with AJ Green was in the rain so that could explain the yardage. I'll need to see that one again.

There is no doubt Cockrell is a smart player with some height and ball skills, but he's on the slow side and is not the most physical. He's still more of a 2nd corner. Why it took Tomlin forever to move out Blake and play/start Cockrell there is beyond me.

Coach did you even read the entire article?

Jackson had 35 of his 102 yards on one catch. And that catch Cockrell wasn't even covering him.

Marshall had 8 of the 25 catches from all NYJ receivers. 59 yards were from short passes on five catches. The remaining were on 3 catches on long plays. His longest catch was 19 yards. And BTW, we won that game handily. With prevent defense allowing the underneath throws.

Calliing Green's production being limited due to the rain....well, I'll explain with numbers....then please elaborate why rain was a factor.

J. Hill - 3 for 37 - long of 25 on 5 targets
G. Benard - 9 for 100 - long of 25 on 11 targets
T. Boyd - 6 for 78 - long of 29 on 8 targets
B. Lafell - 3 for 39 - long of 17 on 8 targets
A. Green - 2 for 38 - long of 19 on 8 targets
T. Kroft - 3 for 35 - long of 21 on 4 targets
A. Erickson 1 for 20- long of 20 on 1 target
J. Wright 1 for 10 - long of 10 on 1 target
C. Uzomah 3 for 9 - long of 5 on 8 targets

That's 29 catches for the team...of note, Pitt had only 19. Seems like there wasn't any problems with either team catching balls in the weather. Green was tied second for targets....he only came up with 2 catches and 38 yards. Dalton threw to other targets, because Green wasn't open.

Weather is part of the game. The equipment they have makes precipitation not an issue. Wind, with downpour like in Miami a few years ago, I would concur. But that wasn't the case in Week 2.

So, I see pretty solid numbers for Cockrell. If he had some picks, he would be more recognized. But like I said, playing like Ike Taylor IMO.

 

[bermudasteel]

Ross is not a shutdown type of corner.

The best two receivers he played in good weather conditions were Jackson and Marshall, both had 100+ yards on him. The game with AJ Green was in the rain so that could explain the yardage. I'll need to see that one again.

There is no doubt Cockrell is a smart player with some height and ball skills, but he's on the slow side and is not the most physical. He's still more of a 2nd corner. Why it took Tomlin forever to move out Blake and play/start Cockrell there is beyond me.

I'm almost back to logging in regularly...I haven't missed these asinine comments...

 

[Litos]

Coach did you even read the entire article?

Jackson had 35 of his 102 yards on one catch. And that catch Cockrell wasn't even covering him.

Marshall had 8 of the 25 catches from all NYJ receivers. 59 yards were from short passes on five catches. The remaining were on 3 catches on long plays. His longest catch was 19 yards. And BTW, we won that game handily. With prevent defense allowing the underneath throws.

Calliing Green's production being limited due to the rain....well, I'll explain with numbers....then please elaborate why rain was a factor.

J. Hill - 3 for 37 - long of 25 on 5 targets
G. Benard - 9 for 100 - long of 25 on 11 targets
T. Boyd - 6 for 78 - long of 29 on 8 targets
B. Lafell - 3 for 39 - long of 17 on 8 targets
A. Green - 2 for 38 - long of 19 on 8 targets
T. Kroft - 3 for 35 - long of 21 on 4 targets
A. Erickson 1 for 20- long of 20 on 1 target
J. Wright 1 for 10 - long of 10 on 1 target
C. Uzomah 3 for 9 - long of 5 on 8 targets

That's 29 catches for the team...of note, Pitt had only 19. Seems like there wasn't any problems with either team catching balls in the weather. Green was tied second for targets....he only came up with 2 catches and 38 yards. Dalton threw to other targets, because Green wasn't open.

Weather is part of the game. The equipment they have makes precipitation not an issue. Wind, with downpour like in Miami a few years ago, I would concur. But that wasn't the case in Week 2.

So, I see pretty solid numbers for Cockrell. If he had some picks, he would be more recognized. But like I said, playing like Ike Taylor IMO.

you know what? in one of those incomplete passes to Green the play was broken by super bust Sean Davis, amazing right?

 

[Ike Kelly]

you know what? in one of those incomplete passes to Green the play was broken by super bust Sean Davis, amazing right?

Nah, its because he missed the tackle.....the ball got in the way.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Coach did you even read the entire article?

Jackson had 35 of his 102 yards on one catch. And that catch Cockrell wasn't even covering him.

Marshall had 8 of the 25 catches from all NYJ receivers. 59 yards were from short passes on five catches. The remaining were on 3 catches on long plays. His longest catch was 19 yards. And BTW, we won that game handily. With prevent defense allowing the underneath throws.

Calliing Green's production being limited due to the rain....well, I'll explain with numbers....then please elaborate why rain was a factor.

J. Hill - 3 for 37 - long of 25 on 5 targets
G. Benard - 9 for 100 - long of 25 on 11 targets
T. Boyd - 6 for 78 - long of 29 on 8 targets
B. Lafell - 3 for 39 - long of 17 on 8 targets
A. Green - 2 for 38 - long of 19 on 8 targets
T. Kroft - 3 for 35 - long of 21 on 4 targets
A. Erickson 1 for 20- long of 20 on 1 target
J. Wright 1 for 10 - long of 10 on 1 target
C. Uzomah 3 for 9 - long of 5 on 8 targets

That's 29 catches for the team...of note, Pitt had only 19. Seems like there wasn't any problems with either team catching balls in the weather. Green was tied second for targets....he only came up with 2 catches and 38 yards. Dalton threw to other targets, because Green wasn't open.

Weather is part of the game. The equipment they have makes precipitation not an issue. Wind, with downpour like in Miami a few years ago, I would concur. But that wasn't the case in Week 2.

So, I see pretty solid numbers for Cockrell. If he had some picks, he would be more recognized. But like I said, playing like Ike Taylor IMO.

Well since he said he sucks he can't lavish praise on him now. Cause that would be.admitting he was wrong..but if it was Chickillo there would be ten threads and he'd be making his hall of fame bust in his basement

 

[Drink IRON City]

the execution of all the board's gaycockburns jokes is fairly poor, to downright embarrassing. Not singling you out, DIC.


antdrew..... thread needs more generic statistics and sweeping generalizations before I can be swayed to see your viewpoint.

Maybe if you added a little LUBRICANT it may not be such a DRY event?????

We are just laughing some, I'm NOT trying to offend anybody as it's just a way to BLOW....steam





Salute the nation

 

[MTC]

Agreed. Still left us with the issue that Boykin should have also seen playing time before Blake.

I thought Boykin had some hip issue which explained why he didn't play

 

[Drink IRON City]

I thought Boykin had some hip issue which explained why he didn't play

I think that hip issue was more connected to his upstairs. The dude didn't want to cooperate on what defense was called and ended up out of position due to LESS INTELEGENCE of the "D" called. Maybe a legitamite hip issue but also a above the chin issue.




Salute the nation

 

[Drink IRON City]

Oooopppss and one more thing........ For those of you who think Cockrell isn't playing good, I challenge you to show me who is playing better, on our team in the secondary?????





Salute the nation

 

[Coach]

I would like to think Cockrell will end up playing like Ike Taylor, but with better hands. He may not have Taylor's speed, but he does mirror like the best of them. Plays well on the ball too. The hands part, hopefully the light comes on and Ross doesn't need Lasik like Ike did.

Taylor and Cockrell are pretty different. Taylor is physical vs the run, and blazing fast. Cockrell is more of a finesse guy and a little on the slow side for a corner.

I'm not worried about Cockrell's hands. He catches the ball well, he does not have stone hands like Tayor had.