Beast of Big Blue's Defense

He doesn't make flashy plays. He doesn't talk trash to opposing teams through the media each week. He doesn't carry himself above his teammates. Antonio Pierce is a team guy who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. He is the smartest defensive player on the New York Giants that always seems to make the right call just in time to make plays.

In my opinion, Antonio Pierce is the most underrated linebacker not only in the NFC but the NFL. He doesn't have great speed. As a middle linebacker you don't need to have speed. You need to be smart enough to put your teammates in the right position to make plays in crucial situations.

And that is exactly what Pierce does. During the 2007 NFC Championship game in ice cold conditions, Pierce made a gritty play by making a big stop on running back Ryan Grant with two guys blocking him to shut down a crucial Green Bay drive. He plays with guts and swagger that set him apart from the rest.

Last season when the Giants played in Arizona Pierce called an audible that caused Kurt Warner to throw an interception to Terrell Thomas.

As well as during the Giants week 2 game in Dallas against the Cowboys, when Bruce Johnson intercepted Tony Romo for a pick six, it was Pierce who changed the play and got Johnson in the right spot. Pierce has demonstrated time and time again how smart and indispensable he is to the Giants defense. 

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Corey Webster is the Best Corner in the NFL

While watching Corey Webster over the first five seasons of his career, I couldn't help but notice a player with all of the qualities that make up a winner.

Webster was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 NFL draft out of LSU by the New York Giants. He was a cornerback that coming out of college was more comfortable and acclimated to a man defense that would press the receivers at the line of scrimmage. But once he got to New York he had to learn a whole new defensive style,  to play from then defensive coordinator Tim Lewis.   Lewis ran more of a cover 2 zone style coverage in his defensive scheme. You could tell over the first couple of seasons how uncomfortable and out of place Webster felt and because of that he was never able to climb up the depth chart.
Fast forward to 2007 when Big Blue brought in former Philadelphia Eagles linebackers coach and now St. Louis Rams head coach, Steve Spagnuolo. Spags came in with a whole new scheme that he had learned under former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. The scheme is more of a man defense that applied a lot of pressure by blitzing  linebackers from all over the field. It took Webster a few weeks to get used to the new defense just like the rest of the defense. By the time he did learn it,  he was over taken by Sam Madison, R.W. Mcquarters and Aaron Ross on the depth chart.

In Week 16 of the 2007 season against the Buffalo Bills, Webster got significant playing time due to other players being out with injuries. I believe Sam Madison was injured at the time. Webster had a huge game with an interceptionfor a touchdown. He would continue his great performances all the way through the playoffs by intercepting Brett Favre in overtime of the NFC Championship game to seal a trip to Super Bowl. XLII.

Since that time Corey Webster has done nothing but produced as a cornerback. I know you can argue that Nnamdi Asomugha, Darelle Revis and Champ Bailey are better. In this case I disagree due to the fact that  Webster's stats don't truly show how good he really is. He is one of the few modern day shut down corners in the NFL. He recorded 3 INT's last season, in his first full season as a starter. Jerry Reese and the Giants organization rewarded Webster with a 5 year $43.5 million deal with $20 million guaranteed because of the talent he has. He is overlooked due to the fact that the Giants have had the best defensive line in football over the past few seasons. Guys like Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Antonio Pierce have overshadowed him.

So far this season Webster has shut down Santana Moss, Roy Williams, Antonio Bryant and Dwayne Bowe. I know they aren't the best receivers, but as the season goes on he will continue to show how good he is. Look out in week 6 when he has to face Marques Colston and the New Orleans Saints.

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