Cason Is Rolling

Unfortunately San Diego Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason is becoming a star. It's unfortunate only because his play last weekend kept shutting down the Minnesota Vikings offense. On at least three occasions I was convinced that Cason had interfered with Vikings receivers while defending a pass. Each time replays showed that he simply made a fantastic play on the ball. These were plays that you expect from Darrelle Revis, Nnambi Asomugha and maybe Champ Bailey still. Cason made these plays look routine. He's fast approaching the elite corners in the league.

There was a time when I wasn't sure that Cason had the speed and quickness for the NFL. He had a tremendous college career at Arizona. I hoped that it wouldn't end there. It was an awesome experience to watch Cason match up against Cal's dynamic, punk receiver DeSean Jackson. Cason may have been the only college corner to have any sort of success against Jackson. I should have realized then that Cason had an NFL future as Jackson has more speed and quickness than most professional receivers. Cason's modest scouting combine performance influenced me more than his stellar on field performance. A mistake I usually try to avoid. DeSean Jackson and Antoine Cason had a tremendous college rivalry. They also have a history. They are both from Long Beach, CA. Cason was a year ahead of Jackson when he enrolled at powerhouse Long Beach Poly as a freshman. When Jackson entered Poly the next year, Cason had transferred to Los Alamitos. I think that it was so that he could play against Jackson and not with him. Cason scores high off the field as well. Some friends of mine met him at a University of Arizona fan appreciation day. They were extremely impressed with the young man. He was natural with all the kids and extremely generous with his time and attention. It's often obvious when people just go through the motions. Cason was genuine and definitely stood out as an athlete that truly cares. He gets it where Jackson never will.

When the Chargers drafted Cason in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, they already had quality at the position with Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie. It wasn't long before Cromartie was gone and Jammer was looking up to the youngster. The rise of Cason has been impressive. It's made even better by the quality of person that he is. He just needs to stop making plays against the Vikings.