The Redskins’ 0-2 start is far from perfect, but cornerback Josh Norman has been nothing short of it.
According to Pro Football Focus, Norman completely shut down Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant any time he was lined up across from them.
When Norman covered those two receivers, they were each targeted twice. Both times, Norman defended the pass.
Norman, playing the “best football of his career,” according to the analytics site, didn’t allow a single catch by either of the league’s elite receivers.
But the issue with the Redskins’ pass defense is the fact that Norman isn’t constantly shadowing the opposing teams’ top receivers. Against the Steelers, Brown was simply lined up on Bashaud Breeland’s side of the field. Breeland struggled and Brown was able to record 126 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s because, according to Redskins’ defensive coordinator Joe Barry, in order for Norman to shadow a certain receiver, several different adjustments need to be made from every defense back, a difficult task in a coverage defense.
“It’s easy for you to get lined up but the other guys, it’s difficult and that’s why most of the time, people get talked out of it, especially with offenses that move their guy around,” Barry said last Thursday. “And [the Steelers] do a really phenomenal job because people try to do that and they make it difficult just because of all of the different places that [Brown] aligns. It is hard for the other guys to get lined up in a timely manner, especially in a no-huddle offense with the tempo.”
But, by the time the fourth quarter rolled around against the Cowboys, Norman followed Bryant all over the field. According to Pro Football Focus, Norman covered Bryant 13 times, 10 of which came on Breeland’s normal right side of the field. All but three total times Bryant lined up for the play in the fourth quarter, Norman was staring him in the face.
Bryant finished with a single catch in the fourth quarter. It was one of those times Norman wasn’t lined up across from him.
Norman is a different breed, a different weapon for the Redskins to utilize. He thinks he’s the best, he’s paid to be the best and he wants to be the best.
“My ego reeks,” Norman said after the game. “It stinks. On the football field I don’t believe I’m touched by nothing but God and what He allows me to do. Every time I set foot on the field I feel like I’m the best athlete out there. If you don’t, what are you doing here?”
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