Washington Commanders need to avoid four-time Pro Bowler that's going to get cut by his current team
There are a lot of questions for the Washington Commanders to try and answer in upcoming free agency, especially at the cornerback position.I actually just wrote about three potential impending free agent fits, yet lo and behold, an opportunity to discuss a new candidate was handed to everyone on a silver platter when it was […]
There are a lot of questions for the Washington Commanders to try and answer in upcoming free agency, especially at the cornerback position.
I actually just wrote about three potential impending free agent fits, yet lo and behold, an opportunity to discuss a new candidate was handed to everyone on a silver platter when it was reported the Miami Dolphins plan to release four-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro cornerback, Xavien Howard, when the new league year starts on March 13.
The Commanders might be in need of a veteran corner to help improve the secondary, but Howard isn't the right guy.
The defensive scheme doesn't suit Howard
Quinn's scheme is mostly Cover1/3 and while Cover 3 is a zone scheme, it contains a lot of the same techniques and responsibilities that come with man coverage. This is due to the fact that outside corners mostly pass guys off when their routes break within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Outside of that, perimeter defenders are typically running with the guy lined up across from him.
At this point in his career, Howard is more of a zone corner, than anything. He can certainly follow guys and play man at times, but it wouldn't be a good idea to drop him into a defense that runs the system the majority of the time. It's a square peg in a round hole, ultimately.
That's really all one needs to shut this idea down. Sure, we're talking about NFL coaches that get paid hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to develop these guys and get the best of them, but if the skill set isn't there – the skill set simply isn't there. You wouldn't ask a science teacher to teach a class on learning the Chinese language, would you?
Howard just doesn't match what the Commanders want to do at this point in his career and that's fine. There are plenty of NFL defenses out there that run zone (think the Chicago Bears, for instance) a lot of the time, so he'll eventually find a landing spot.
