NO CROMARTIE!!!!!!!!!

[WretchedOne]

Cromartie is the one player I would HATE, JUST HATE to see in stripes.

I don't see what's so special about him....

I look at him and this is what a see:

A player who is not motivated enough to get a starting spot, or he simply can't take the pounding of a 60 minute football game.

Everyone is running around pimping AC like he's the next best thing, but I ask, if AC is supposed to be this great CB, why couldn't he beat out Bryant McFadden or some dude name Leroy Smith for a staring CB job?

McFadden was taken 62nd overall in the 2005 draft, and a player who could not even beat BM for his spot is a 1st rounder? GIVE ME A BREAK.

I've seen "Bowden is loyal to his older players" which in my book, if he really does that, makes him AN IDIOT. Your JOB as a HC is to put the best players on the field at all times.

Just look at Teddy Ginn, the guy was on the field as a FRESHMAN becuause he had so much talent, and he was even learning a completely new position in his Fr. Season, he had been a DB before he moved to WR.

I mean, if BB has a player that is making the kinds of plays that AC is making in limited action, I would definately want him in my starting lineup, even if my other CB is a senior and AC is only a Soph. To bad for that senior, get better. If I got a better player, he's gonna be on the field, plain and simple.

So why wasn't AC given a starting role over McFadden, or even this dude Smith????

[NJ29]

There a several reasons that Cromartie never started.

Yes, loyalty to older players thing comes into account, and yes, on the surface, it sounds dumb. However, with all of the platooning that FSU does, (and anyone whoever has eer watched an FSU game knows that they platoon like crazy), the backups play just as much, if not more than the starters. At the ed of big games, he was one of the only players who was in on every single down. And don't ever question this guys work ethic or toughness, because it will come back to bite you.

Did you watch the FSU - Miami game in 2004? How about the Maryland game that same year? Florida State lost both games. And Antonio Cromartie was the only thing that kept them from getting blow out. At Miami, he scored Florida State's only touchdown and had an interception that should've sealed the game for them, had Rix and Beitia not sucked.

At Maryland, he returned a fumble, that he forced, almost 90 yards for a touchdown, to get them back in the game. Don't believe me? I was in the second row, directly in front of where I was sitting.

ANTONIO CROMARTIE MAKES MORE GAME CHANGING PLAYS THAN ANY CORNERBACK IN THE NFL. Yes, I just said it. If this guy is available when we pick, and we don't take him, we will regret it for the rest of his career. Antonio Cromartie is going to take over the NFL.

[cover2]

That's big!

[schweinhart]

How about:

NO RICHARD MARSHALL!!!!! Find a tape of Oregon-Fresno State and see if Demterius Williams hands Marshall's a$$ to him.

But the questions about Cromartie's ability to step in right away are the very thing that could keep him available at #24. He's very raw. That and his injury coupled with his style of play that could lead to more injury.

However, the upside to Cromartie is monstrous -- a really big, fast corner who can play the run, cover man vs. big or quick WRs off the edge or in the slot and play the ball like a WR. Add to it that he's a return man who could jump in or compete with Tab Perry and Antonio Chatman. Add to that that he's got the size and speed to shift to interchangeable safety and the total yield could be viewed to be greater than that promised by Tye Hill and Johnathan Joseph, much less a sucker for double moves like Ashton Youboty, a nickel CB like Kelly Jennings or a borderline zone corner like Richard Marshall.

[Stripes]

I think Rover and Schweinhart have covered all the analysis.... Gimme Cromartie!

[ArmyBengal]

I just want to add that anyone coming off an injury to run a 4.3 and has a 42in vertical is ok by me. The guy makes plays, simple as that. Not to mention he's a taller CB, so I don't see anyone outleaping him for a ball.

I just want to also add, I love watching Rover's avatar of Chad taking it to Champ "shutdown" Bailey !!!

WHODEY !!!

[Whur CHad At?]

I do think that Cromartie is a risk, but it is a risk I would be willing to take. He has twice as potential as Marshall. Just because no one is pimping Marshall doesn't mean you have to hate on everyone elses favorites

[TJJackson]

I don't like Cromartie much myself in r1, which is where he will go

Yes, he's big and fast, the so-called "prototype" body for the modern pro-bowl corner.

But I don't think he has the mental side of the game down, and he doesn't seem to have much experience.

Between that and his injury history, he doesn't excite me as a r1 prospect. Now let's say he drops to the 4th round - yeah, I know, I know, this is a freaking impossibility and all that -- then and only then would I take a risk on a player like this.

He reminds me a lot of another recent r4 pick - Andrews - a physical phenom who was (and still is, to an extent) as raw as they come. You take projects later in the draft, not day 1, when you have a playoff ready team.

Were we still a 3-13 team, I'd be more interested in Cromartie. At 3-13, you need to take more risks in order to improve your team more quickly.

[HairOnFire]

How about:

NO RICHARD MARSHALL!!!!! Find a tape of Oregon-Fresno State and see if Demterius Williams hands Marshall's a$$ to him.

I missed that one, but I'd say Marshall made millions the same night that Reggie Bush locked down the top overall pick. Marshall competed heads up with USC wideouts that night.

[kentjett]

I was never a big fan but I'm starting to lean towards wanting the bengals to draft him w/ our first round pick. To much potential to pass on, good CB's are expensive and hard to come by.

[NJ29]

I don't like Cromartie much myself in r1, which is where he will go

Yes, he's big and fast, the so-called "prototype" body for the modern pro-bowl corner.

But I don't think he has the mental side of the game down, and he doesn't seem to have much experience.

Between that and his injury history, he doesn't excite me as a r1 prospect. Now let's say he drops to the 4th round - yeah, I know, I know, this is a freaking impossibility and all that -- then and only then would I take a risk on a player like this.

He reminds me a lot of another recent r4 pick - Andrews - a physical phenom who was (and still is, to an extent) as raw as they come. You take projects later in the draft, not day 1, when you have a playoff ready team.

Were we still a 3-13 team, I'd be more interested in Cromartie. At 3-13, you need to take more risks in order to improve your team more quickly.

Inexperience in terms of time does NOT mean that he has an unpolished game. If you ever watched him play you would think that he was a polished, experienced, senior who had been running the team for years. In my opinion, the mental side of the game isn't a big issue for him. Just because he hasn't been in college for 5 years doesn't mean that he's raw and dumb. The guy acted as an extra coach for the Florida State DBs all season. IMO, without that injury, he would'e been a top 10, maybe a top 5 pick. He has all of the necessary tools; size, speed, strength, tackling, smarts, instincts, and pure playmaking ability. The only thing that can pull him down is the injury, and he has rebounded from that to run in the 4.3 and register a 42 inch vertical. He's bounced nack well, and passing on him if he's there would be a mistake. I don't think that picking him would be that big of a risk at all.

[schweinhart]

How about:

NO RICHARD MARSHALL!!!!! Find a tape of Oregon-Fresno State and see if Demterius Williams hands Marshall's a$$ to him.

I missed that one, but I'd say Marshall made millions the same night that Reggie Bush locked down the top overall pick. Marshall competed heads up with USC wideouts that night.

Well here's a snippet of that a$$-handing, not that it would do it justice.

But I hear you Hair and agree with Richard Marshall doing well enough to make bullion in this year's draft. Nor can I really dispute that he or Johnathan Joseph would be the top Round 1 and 2 canidates to be looked at to groom a year behind James -- corners with size who can deal with the run but also have the speed, especially in Joseph's case -- to recover off broken backpedals. But IMO both these are a far cry from Cromartie in what he can do to get to WRs who can break routes Chad-like plus be the big run corner.

What I responded to didn't have as much to do with Marshall really as it did with the douche bag approach of the thread. The Screaming Mimi routine hurts my ears.