Feisty Corner

A few years ago, Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan grabbed my attention. Game after game, he was making big plays. I had never heard of him. He was quickly becoming one of the top corners in the game. He's currently there. Finnegan was largely unknown as a seventh round pick out of Samford. Unlike most top corners, Finnegan had to earn his NFL attention on the fly. Top cornerbacks typically come out of the first round, and they typically come out of the big schools. Top players at the other positions come from all over the draft and all levels of collegiate competition. Even considering Finnegan's level of competition at Samford, it's shocking that he slipped by the NFL scouts and coaches. Even playing safety the majority of the time, his speed and anticipation were clearly evident. He had a stellar college career. The type of career that ends with a selection well before the seventh round. The cornerback position is possibly more dependent on natural ability than any other position. There are aspects that can be learned; little tricks, tendencies of the receivers. Players can't really learn anticipation. They can enhance it, but you either have or you don't. Nobody has ever figured out how to learn speed. The skills needed to play corner in the NFL can usually be easily seen in college. This leads to the quick grab of corners in the first round of the draft. Zone schemes, like the cover-2, can mask some of the coverage flaws in a cornerback's game, but the position still requires great natural skills.

The most startling aspect of Finnegan's game is the aggressive, feisty manner with which he plays. Cornerbacks are rarely able to play like that without a steady stream of penalty flags. The position of cornerback simply doesn't allow it. Somehow, Cortland Finnegan can do it. It's amazing. Sometimes his feisty play can go a bit far as seen in his ridiculous fight with Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson last year. This Johnson-Finnegan rivalry demands watching over the next several years. Cortland Finnegan is an excellent football player and one of the best corners in the game. Beyond that, he has a fantastic name.