If you had to pick only one to re-sign Thomas or Sherman?

[MANUNITED23]

Earl Thomas is my choice.

 

[HawkFan72]

Interesting point of view, HawkFan72. Can you explain how being exceptional at man coverage is a "system position"? It seems to me like it's kind of the opposite. A lot of corners can't play man very well, or better than above average.

If you are a professional DB you are going to have some cover skills. If you can't do it, you won't be able to sniff the NFL. At USC he had no-name guys who were 5'11" or more. I think only one or 2 of them even went on to start in the NFL. Strict shutdown coverage skill is not something he has ever prioritized.

So Carroll finds guys that are good at it, but it's not the #1 thing he looks for. He wants size with some speed. He just needs guys who are incredible physical at the LOS. Why does Brandon Browner get killed by speed WRs and never lasted on any team before us? Because he's not a great cover guy. But he fits Carroll's system.

Sherman is great because he not only fits the system, but he has become a great cover guy (something that he was not touted to be before the draft). It's a bonus he is so good at it.

Carroll lets all the other NFL teams scramble over the top CBs in the draft who are very fast and very good at coverage. He doesn't need them. If they have those things it is a bonus, but instead he targets the guys that fall in the draft: the too tall, too big, not-as-fast guys who aren't afraid to get in a guy's face and are smart enough to know different coverage schemes.

 

[Blitzer88]

Earl Thomas.

I hate to say it, but CB is a system position for Carroll. He can plug anyone in there who fits his system and they will do well. For example, look at all the no-name CBs who played for him at USC and look how many CBs have suddenly found success playing for us.

Did anyone notice a significant drop-off when Browner was out? No, because all the guys on the team fit Carroll's system and they can perform at a high level in it.

Sherman is our best CB, and there would be somewhat of a drop-off if he were gone just because he fits Carroll's system so PERFECTLY, but it would not be devastating.

Thomas, however, plays a very critical position in Carroll's defense and would be harder to replace. It's why Carroll went after a safety in the 1st round of his first draft (remember there were rumors that he wanted Eric Berry with his first pick, but he was gone before we took Okung) and why he has never drafted a CB before round 4.

Very well said and agree 100%

 

[Snohomie]

While I did vote for Earl, Earl himself ALSO benefits from knowing it's very unlikely that either corner will get burned. It allows Earl more freedom, too; kind of a mutually increasing benefit between the corners and Thomas.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. You wouldn't see Earl crashing into the line of scrimmage as often or as quickly if we had two average corners.

I'm not sure I agree. We have great corners (although Browner has been up-and-down), but when they get burned, the often get burned badly because they don't have the same recovery speed as other corners and/or are playing too aggressively. Meaning, even if they cover their man most of the time, the times they don't hurt a lot.

I do agree with you as the offense marches down the field. Once the short field starts acting as a defender, then ET really starts to benefits from the huge physical corners.

 

[seedhawk]

While I did vote for Earl, Earl himself ALSO benefits from knowing it's very unlikely that either corner will get burned. It allows Earl more freedom, too; kind of a mutually increasing benefit between the corners and Thomas.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. You wouldn't see Earl crashing into the line of scrimmage as often or as quickly if we had two average corners.

I'm not sure I agree. We have great corners (although Browner has been up-and-down), but when they get burned, the often get burned badly because they don't have the same recovery speed as other corners and/or are playing too aggressively. Meaning, even if they cover their man most of the time, the times they don't hurt a lot.

I do agree with you as the offense marches down the field. Once the short field starts acting as a defender, then ET really starts to benefits from the huge physical corners.

And, our large but not really fast corners benefit from having the end line as basically another defender.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

I can't believe I am saying this...but Earl is my choice. He's the "straw that stirs the drink" as they say.

 

[bellingerga]

Earl Thomas is an irreplaceable piece of this defense IMO.

I love Sherm, but Earl is my choice.

 

[Comeinpeace]

Thomas is the straw that stirs the drink on our defense. Great safety play is much less replaceable than great corner play.

I have to disagree. There's a reason the top corners get paid the money that they do. However, in my opinion, Thomas holds your defense together and is the best safety in the NFL right now. Sherman is a top 3 corner, and perhaps the best, but his play doesn't impact the players around him like it does for Thomas.

 

[Dick Johnson]

I think Thomas is the best player in Seattle. That said, have you guys considered what Sherman may be like five or six years down the road, converted to safety? As a niner fan, I hope you guys release both.

 

[kearly]

Thomas. His salary could be as little as half as high as Sherman's if Sherman gets a Revis type deal. He's also harder to replace, at least for this front office the way they identify talent and coach up corners. And at least for this season, he's the better player of the two. He's playing at an insanely high level this season. Anything less than all-pro for Thomas is a sham.

 

[hox]

ET. Energizer Thomas. Love watching him play. He's a like a bottle of lightning that creates his own energy and the other players feed off of it. Doesn't matter if it's a home or away game.

Not only that, he's an extremely cerebral player. QBs have thrown on him 16 times – he’s broken up six and picked off four! On top of that, he's a beast againt the run too. Those goal line stops were sick.

 

[purpleworld]

Even though I love Earl, it is hard to find corners like Sherman...

 

[Happy]

Great example of what earl brings to the table:

After Irving's interception Irving went over and thanked Thomas for calling the wheel route on the presnap read and Irving jumped in the space to where the RB was going and picked it off. Clemons never saw him dropping in the hole.

Reference: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=78449

 

[kigenzun]

I'll go with the shutdown corner Richard Sherman.
He's a warrior.
Love me some ETIII, but my pick is Sherman.

 

[el capitan]

Thomas because I already bought his jersey.

 

[Tical21]

I think if you were to review the Super Bowl champs over the years, you would find more teams relied on good corners than good safeties. You can find safeties out there, you can't find corners. Earl may be my favorite Hawk, but it is incredibly difficult to come close to replacing a corner of Sherman's level.

 

[Happypuppy]

I too love Sherman but ET is a very special player and he gets signed first. we keep both.

 

[DavidSeven]

Just to play a little devil's advocate here, there's a reason corners are paid significantly more than safeties. A true shutdown corner is both unbelievably rare and unbelievably valuable. It's no coincidence that championships just happened to follow Deion Sanders around. No coincidence that Revis was the best player on a team that went to consecutive AFC championship games. An opposing team can avoid a single-high safety and still run a reasonably good offense. It's harder to do that with a shutdown corner locking up one side of the field. Luckily we have both, and both benefit hugely from having the other. That being said, ET is balling out this season and I can't blame people for voting for him. By that same token, Sherm is playing on an incredibly high level. All four of his INTs have been either game changing or game-sealing plays.

Lock 'em both up, but I give a slight edge to Sherm because of the inherent value of the position he plays.

 

[RolandDeschain]

An opposing team can avoid a single-high safety and still run a reasonably good offense.

Not ours. That's why Earl is so special.

 

[dunceface]

ugh I'm not even gonna think about this again after I get done typing this