For those of you who do not read the Houston Chronicle, congratulations. It is, overall, an embarrassment to the fourth-largest city in the nation. One of the biggest (in terms of girth and notoriety) embarrassments is their resident football guru, John McClain. McClain went to Baylor, so you know he's not smart. He sucks off the nipple of the Dallas Cowboys in a town that hates Dallas, which shows he's really not smart. But he does play the role of company man well, and bends over to take whatever the Texans give him. The most flagrant offense in recent memory appeared this morning, when he claimed that Jacques Reeves, who may be the worst cornerback in the NFL, DOES NOT SUCK AT ALL.
"Before I put in a call to general manager Rick Smith on Tuesday to see how his pulse was beating after the Texans’ victory at Cleveland, I wanted to find out from STATS Inc. how cornerback Jacques Reeves is playing this season.
By now, you know the Cowboys couldn’t wait to get rid of Reeves after last season. Since the preseason, he’s been getting ripped by fans and media. I was stunned when I discovered how his performance compares to that of a lot of other cornerbacks’.
Smith signed Reeves as a mid-level free agent to be the second cornerback. Reeves has started every game, leads the team with three interceptions and earns the wrath of the fans more than any other defensive player.
I’m not saying Reeves has been terrific or terrible. I’m merely showing you how he stacks up against other players at his position.
Looking at statistics through 10 games, Reeves had been thrown at 55 times (ranking 33rd). He had allowed 29 completions (44th). He’d given up 468 yards (25th). He has surrendered two TDs (61st).
I don’t have the space in this column to list all of those who ranked ahead of Reeves in those four statistics, but when they’re updated this week to include the 11th game, I’ll post them on chron.com.
List long with easy prey
Today, I’ll provide some of the bigger names who’ve allowed more completions, yards and touchdowns than Reeves.
For instance, Washington’s Carlos Rogers (87), Chicago’s Charles Tillman (84), Carolina’s Chris Gamble (80), San Francisco’s Nate Clements (71), the Giants’ Aaron Ross (71), Washington’s DeAngelo Hall (69), Philadelphia’s Asante Samuel (66), Seattle’s Marcus Trufant (61) and Green Bay’s Charles Woodson (57) had all been thrown at more than Reeves.
Some who’d allowed more yards than Reeves were San Francisco’s Walt Harris (626), Ross (592), San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie (586), Hall (558), Pittsburgh’s Ike Taylor (504), Rogers (499), Trufant (495), Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber (491), Miami’s Will Allen (477) and Dallas’ Anthony Henry (473).
Some who gave up more completions than Reeves were Tillman (55), Cromartie (49), the Jets’ Dwight Lowery (49), Ross (47), Harris (44), Taylor (43), San Diego’s Quentin Jammer (41), Rogers (41), Hall (41), Clements (38), Trufant (38), Samuel (34) and Barber (34).
And, finally, some who surrendered more touchdowns than Reeves were Lowery with six; Ellis Hobbs, Antrell Rolle and Trufant with five; Barber, Cromartie, Jammer and Ross with four; and Gamble, Samuel and Allen with three.
In other words, there are a lot of big-time corners giving up more catches, yards and touchdowns than Reeves.
Anyway, I ran some of these numbers by Smith, who pointed out how hard Reeves has worked, how much he’s improved and how much better they expect him to be next season.
Wins trump stats any day
At this time of year, though, Smith isn’t interested in individual numbers. The only numbers he’s concerned with are 4 and 7.
“Obviously, the season hasn’t gone the way we hoped it would,” Smith said, “but we’re still confident in what we’re doing. I think it’s premature to reflect on the season because we’ve got five games left, and that’s where our focus is.”
Smith oversees the draft and free agency. During the season, he scouts some college games but spends much of his time watching tape of college and pro players. He meets with his pro scouts and has conference calls with his college scouts.
When the season ends, Smith will focus on the draft as well as free agency. He’ll have more cap dollars available than anytime in recent years. He plans to use a big portion of that cap space to re-sign some of his best players, beginning with cornerback Dunta Robinson.
“Right now, though, I’m going to continue to do everything I can to support our players and coaches,” Smith said. “The most important thing is trying to find some more wins over these last five games.”
My thoughts: Pure bullshit. McClain doesn't bother to discuss the systems in which the other players are in, and I will mention Carlos Rogers specifically because he plays for a team I'm very familiar with. Rogers is the Redskins #1 corner, which means he gets the likes of Terrell Owens, Plaxico Burress, Anquan Boldin, Torry Holt, Hines Ward and whoever the Eagles will peddle out there on a given Sunday. In other words, he gets the best the other team has. The Redskins also have outstanding defensive backs in Shawn Springs and Fred Smoot, and have recently added DeAngelo Hall. In other words, he's got a tough assignment, every week.
Jacques Reeves is the #2 corner on a team with a horribly bad secondary. In other words, Rick Smith threw $5 million a year at Reeves to do nothing to upgrade his defensive backfield. He should have known Reeves blew when the Cowboys, who were and remain desperate for DBs, let him go without a second glance.
That's sort of what wideouts have done this year to Reeves. Guys that are NOT stars on their respective teams have made Reeves their personal 60-minute bitch. McClain doesn't bother to mention the plays where Reeves has been beaten on deep balls where he hasn't bothered to turn around, long penalties that have resulted from him interfering with a receiver when he's been beaten badly, or the touchdowns allowed when he has FLAT BLOWN HIS ASSIGNMENT.
This takes in-depth research, the ability to analyze a game and the nerve to be honest. John McClain can do precisely zero of these things, which is why he's just known as the fat bastard wheezing on Sip 610 twice a week about Anna-Megan Raley.
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