Ezra Shaw - Getty Images
over 1 year ago: OAKLAND CA - SEPTEMBER 19: Stanford Routt #26 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass intended for Laurent Robinson #19 of the St. Louis Rams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 19 2010 in Oakland California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
+ Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt visited the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday. Two days later Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio published that Routt would come to a decision on his future very soon -- most likely because the interest generally wasn't there. And maybe the interest isn't particularly strong because he's not an especially good cornerback, if one were to believe the grades at Pro Football Focus.
This is one of those times my dependence on Pro Football Focus tends to be weary. I know that the film they watch is mostly television broadcasts, probably using replays from NFL's Game Rewind. In that case not every defensive back can be judged because there's a significant time in which defensive backs (along with wide receivers) are out of frame, therefore out of sight.
We can only assume that those grades are being weighted and judged by the plays in which that player is involved. Now that would mostly apply to a player's overall statistics allowed in the secondary, not the grade. For instance in 2010, Routt posted an opposing quarterback rating of 69.0 and allowed only 42.4 percent of the passes against his receivers to be completed. Seems rather impressive. Yet that year Routt earned a grade of -9.3. What's up with that?
The Pro Football Focus grade is accumulation of other grades. For instance that year Routt's pass coverage was actually scored a +1.5, but the penalties he earned cost him -7.2 points. Combine that with a -4.0 score on run defense, and you see the point. So for our purposes we list his overall grade (PFF), as well as his coverage grade (Cov.). And the final category we're calling "OQBR", which stands for Opposing Quarterback Rating.
| Season | PFF | Cov. | Pct. Cmp | TD | INT | OQBR |
| 2011 | -6.7 | +4.1 | 51.1 | 9 | 4 | 82.4 |
| 2010 | -9.3 | +1.5 | 42.4 | 4 | 2 | 69.0 |
| 2009 | -7.6 | -3.7 | 71.4 | 2 | 0 | 124.1 |
| 2008 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 48.5 | 2 | 0 | 89.2 |
Routt isn't a player that the Bengals should view as some Johnathan Joseph replacement -- Cincinnati has yet to sign that player, either from the NFL draft or free agency. That being said we wouldn't be surprised if Routt went with the one-year route, trying to rebuild his talents for another contract year in 2013.
And that's the point.
There's questions about Leon Hall's rehabilitation and whether he'll be ready for the regular season or spending the first six weeks on the Physically Unable To Perform List. Adam Jones and Kelly Jennings are entering free agency with expiring contracts, leaving Nate Clements as your only "sure thing" heading into the 2012 season. That's a 32-year old sure-thing to you, Mister.
Does this change anything for the NFL draft this year? No. Cincinnati could (and probably will) select a Janoris Jenkins or Dre Kirkpatrick (or whomever your favorite cornerback is this week). If the team signs the former Raiders cornerback, he would become a means to bridge a gap, repair a Mount Everest-sized leak in the secondary.
And that's the point.
0 recs | 44 comments
Ill pass.
Id rather wait for FA and the draft to get a corner. As far as dept, i would save that money and try to go after the Chefs Carr
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
+1
AMAS85 - February 20, 2012
Would love to go after Carr
He would pretty much stand to be the JJ replacement. But a move like that is hardly MB-like. Then again, last year up to now hasn’t really been MB-like. Still, Routt is much more likely than Carr and I’d be happy with the addition.
M Shop - February 20, 2012
just go get morgan trent or jonathan wade
Bengalsfan024 - February 20, 2012
Who would you sign in FA?
Carr? KC will resign him. They have $67 mil under cap, you think they can’t afford Carr?
Who else?
We need depth. We have none. I think we still draft a CB but how many CBs are successful their first year?
Mexal - February 20, 2012
"We have none" ?
There r 6 corners on the roster and everyones pushing to draft a corner early on
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
Carr is not a RFA. Hes anyones game
Id even take barber over routt or Gay from shitsburg
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
Who said he was?
My point is KC has the money to get him back and will. He’s too important to their defense.
Mexal - February 20, 2012
And we have the money too
However we dont have a “bowe” that we need sign. Carr is goin to go where the best offer is
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
They have 67 mil under the cap
They can sign Bowe and Carr, front load both salaries and still be set for future years. I would be very very surprised if KC let Carr go.
Mexal - February 20, 2012
And all that now changes with Routt signing a 3 year deal with Chiefs
Mexal - February 20, 2012
Yup
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
As of the beginning of 2012, that's not true
Hall is coming back from a terrible injury. Clements is a decent #2 though better suited for safety this late in his career. Jones is FA and not very good. Jennings is a FA and not very good. Who’s left? Ghee, Murray? Guys that never see the field? Ok, we’re good. We don’t need any new corners. That’s the secondary of all secondaries [/sarcasm]
Mexal - February 20, 2012
The season hasnt even begun
Thats our roster now, of course its goin to change. We need a number 1 corner and Carr would be a great fit
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
^This
Rout obviously has some raw tools, so let’s see what Carrier can do with him.
Carr is going to get resigned by KC, and it’ll take Asomugha type money to do it (5 yrs, 60 million). I’d love for the Bengals to go after him, but they balked at signing Joseph for much less (5 yrs, 49 million).
Animal_Like_Football - February 20, 2012
Dont forget they have Bowe,McClain, wiegaman andd richardson
They got a couple guys were that money is goin to go fast
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
IMO we SHOULD sign him
If it’s only for one year that’s fine but we should get the deal done. It appears he’s getting beat up because he was paid like an elite CB and even though he’s not an elite (top 5 CB) he’s an above average CB and they are pretty hard to come by in the NFL.
Plus IMO PFF is a good tool for grading lineman, but I’m not sold on there grades for skilled players. Remember, eveng though it wasn’t a grade they had Ced Benson rated as a top 50 FA
biggie22 - February 20, 2012
I agree about the grading being off a little at the skilled positions, but then again I an only go off from what I have seen them grade our players
I haven’t seen the other players in the league graded, so that might change my opinion about the grading.
AMAS85 - February 20, 2012
I think he most likely lands here, with the Oak connections and all would make sense.
We just can’t expect this guy to be a shutdown corner or anything and judging by most peoples responses, no one is anticipating this. If he’s a 1-2 year guy here, then that would be fine for us both. Draft a couple CB’s this year and we’ll be fine.
The Van Buren Boys - February 20, 2012
i think if we sign its just for depth purposes. It will be a deal very similar to what we gave clemments last year.
AMAS85 - February 20, 2012
Which makes sense, how crazy does that deal he signed with Oakland look now? lol
The Van Buren Boys - February 20, 2012
lol right
bengals are sitting pretty this offeseason, we can upgrade a few postions and add a whole bunch of depth.
AMAS85 - February 20, 2012
Which is why Cincy needs to be real careful with the "Mega" FA contracts
For ever Reggie White that changed a team – their are about 5 that did Ok and 5 that were busts – like Routt
Sign Grubbs or Nicks – more confident they will be around
Sign a Routt or other FA corner and use a first round pick on one, maybe Jones as well for depth PR
Sign Nelson and a SS FA to compete w/Mays
TX Bengal - February 20, 2012
I'd take Routt
Let him earn his way back to the big,long term contract,his skills are as good as any CB not named Hall,or Clements on this team
Of course we still have to draft a CB,and still re-sign those other 2 guys
To me,this is a no brainer,much like the Howard and Clements signings last season
keithp - February 20, 2012
i think he signs somewhere else
I think he gets a longer contract than one or two years, and don’t think the bengals do that. I think they draft one in round one and sign an older corner like clements for depth.
JCompton41 - February 20, 2012 via mobile
+1
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
I think he isa starter
Only because hall probably won’t be ready..when you look at a signing like this you ask is it an upgrade? Imho absolutely its an upgrade
beast_ - February 20, 2012 via mobile
I say sign him and draft a corner in the 1st round.
CB will then be good to go, with depth and talent.
We really need a good OG in FA too.
TCfromDubVee - February 20, 2012
If we sign him...
…our draft strategy should remain the same. We need another shutdown corner for the next 4-5 years. Routt will be a nice stop gap and give us much needed secondary depth in a pass happy league.
I can assure that Zimmer will never say “I have too many good cornerbacks”
goffchile - February 20, 2012
What about the Question
Who was that penalty on?
Bengalsfan024 - February 20, 2012
I think Zimmer and Carrier can fix that.
TCfromDubVee - February 20, 2012
I just can't imagine he'll sign for less than what Leon got last year
Oakland gave him an absurd contract and he knows he won’t get that again, but he’s probably got it in his head that he’s a #1 corner now and he’ll want to get paid that way. That means making at LEAST what the guy playing across from him is making. This is why I was actually a little worried when Hue Jackson signed on. The guy has already shown in the last 6 months he doesn’t know how to manage personell. I can see him coming in and saying “Hey you guys, Routt is great! I love him! He’s worth every penny!” and Mike Brown going along with it. I’m similarly worried about his influence when/if Michael Bush hits free agency. We dont’ have a real scouting department so we’ll rely heavily on a guy the organization trusts who has intimate knowledge of another team’s players. In this case it’s going to be taking more scraps from Oakland and relying on a guy who just made one of the worst personell moves in the history of the league for guidance.
eric nyc - February 20, 2012
He didn't sign Routt to that absurd contract
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the opposite given what Routt did last year for his team.
Now, if Jackson came in and said, “get Branch, he’s worth every penny,” then that’s what we want.
Mexal - February 20, 2012
The big Question is
Is he better than Jones or Jennings? If so then sign him. I don’t think he asks much more than Jennings will ask for. If we can upgrade at any position even backups lets do it. It shouldn’t change our draft strategy at all but it may change how they look at other FA CB depending on his cost.
Bigcatdaddy - February 20, 2012 via Android app
No, the big question is
Is he 2 to 3 times as good as Jones or Jennings because that’s probably what he’ll cost. I don’t think there’s any way that he is. I’d rather go into the season with a questionable Leon, Clements, Jennings, and a high draft pick rookie (Kirkpatrick, Jenkins, or Gilmore). Plus we still have Ghee for a bit of insurance.
eric nyc - February 20, 2012
You think he'll ask that much?
I don’t think he will but it really comes down to what other teams offer. Jennings was a starter in Seattle so I don’t think Rout gets much more. I like the list of CB you have but if they can move Jennings down to Ghees spot by adding a better CB it would be perfect. Rout deciding to jump into a new team before FA starts says alot to me. He knows his best chance to get on a team is before everyone hits the market, kind of a desperation move of sorts. Maybe not :-)
Bigcatdaddy - February 20, 2012 via Android app
I don't expect him to make it to the pro bowl
But having a starter is a no brainer even for one year. If Hall comes back 100% and the corner we get first round is a stud cover corner this guy becomes the FS to help with run stopping like hes suited. NEXT
Loaded24 - February 20, 2012
SS helps with the run
FS is more of a freelancer. NEXT
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
Thanks
for the correction. NEXT
Loaded24 - February 20, 2012
Ha just a joke guy
Loved the NEXT part. Classico
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
So Rotoworld is speculating Routt signs with the Chiefs...
And they took that further and said Carr is likely out as a result….GO GET CARR
M Shop - February 20, 2012
Like ur style sir
njbengalstat - February 20, 2012
nice
Bengalsfan024 - February 20, 2012
This really wouldn't shock me.
The point above about the Chiefs having tons of cap space is valid, but they also have Brandon Flowers, who’s even better. Do you really spend $50-60 million on a No. 2 corner? Probably not. Not after the Eagles’ defensive debacle. We’re in a different situation. Leon Hall is a really good but very imperfect corner, even when healthy. Add in the achilles injury and questions about whether he’ll EVER be able to cover top-flight WRs in this league again, and you realize how badly we could use a guy like Carr. The Chiefs have more cap space, but the Bengals may throw more money at Brandon Carr.
Pardon_My_French - February 20, 2012
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