Carlton Davis “Overshadowed”
July 10th, 2022
Cornerback Carlton Davis.
This was an interesting and fresh comment on Carlton Davis.
We are in the thick of List Season. Everyone has lists on damn near every NFL subject you can think.
Former NFL suit Michael Lombardi is currently unveiling his red chip/blue chip lists of the best players at their positions. So far, Bucs safety Antoine Winfield is a red chip. And for slot corners, Sean Murphy-Bunting is a blue chip.
Lombardi apparently doesn’t think much of Davis because he wasn’t on any of Lombardi’s chip lists for cornerbacks.
It seems there is an AFC scout, however, who is a huge fan of Davis. Jeremy Fowler of BSPN is revealing his list of best corners based on intel he is getting from NFL suits and scouts. And while Davis never made the top 10, he did get an honorable mention. There, Fowler quoted an unnamed AFC scout who claims Davis is not just overlooked throughout the NFL, but even on his own team.
Davis has 52 pass deflections in four seasons and plays a lot of man coverage. “He doesn’t get enough credit,” an AFC defensive coach said. “One of the best press corners in the National Football League. He gets up there and takes guys away. He’s just overshadowed by the other stars on that defense.”
Joe has no idea who would be overshadowing Davis. Look, the Bucs the past three years have been loaded with stars, Pro Bowlers and possible Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball. Joe gets that. But Davis covers often the opponent’s best receiver. You don’t see Lavonte David, Bucs sack king Shaq Barrett, Devin White, Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea or Jason Pierre-Paul guarding a team’s best receiver.
So who exactly would be overshadowing Davis? It is a very strange, odd comment to Joe.
Joe can understand there are bigger defensive names than Davis, but anyone watching Bucs games can see who Davis is covering each week and how he is playing.
July 10th, 2022 at 12:36 am
Carlton is good, not great and just outside the top ten sounds about right to me. I didn’t bother commenting on that gibberish that Lomabardi spouted about SMB because it seemed so far removed from reality that it just wasn’t worth it. I know that Lombardi has football related credentials and that I’m just some podunk, peon, fan, but putting SMB on his best corners list was bat sh!t crazy and makes Ira’s (you are the best sir, outside of your goofy, yearly wide receiver rankings of course 😛) and Simmses wideout rankings look sane, fantastic, and right on the money.
July 10th, 2022 at 3:27 am
“And for slot corners, Sean Murphy-Bunting is a blue chip.”
.
.
Agree with you, Zilla. This made me much less interested in the rest of Lombardi’s lists.
July 10th, 2022 at 6:21 am
Remember when Grimes just wouldn’t tackle people?
If Jamel Dean wasn’t such a mamas boy and a pretty boy, if he was tougher and more angry like Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean would easily be a top 5 CB.
Jamel Dean plays too calmly and too relaxed. You can see it in his eyes and body language.
If Jamel Dean played “on fire” and aggressive like Davis, we would have the best CB duo in the NFL.
But Jamel is too soft and sweet. And pretty.
July 10th, 2022 at 7:16 am
All theses posts about the secondary we have watched get takin apart again and again last season. Game after game. All we have to do is go back and watch every down the Defense has played. The bottom line is they have been a week link. And the cherry on the crap cake was the dagger shot by Stafford to beat the Bucs in the playoff- courtesy of the Secondary. Its great to post these articles but we have seen the sh!t show the secondary, QB’s picking it apart. I hope new blood in the secondary coming in will cause the sevondary to not be the liability it has to many times. And the Dagger shot by Stafford to get beat is just one of many times the secondary was a liability.
GO BUCS!!!!!!!?
July 10th, 2022 at 8:07 am
Davis is good….but not great….could be great…..same as the rest of our CBs
July 10th, 2022 at 8:24 am
Delaney, Desir, Cockrell and Adams- when they were playing (and they had to play alot due to injuries last year), they were a “weak link”. Every team the Rams played last year, the opponents’ secondary got exposed because the Rams’ passing offense was that good.
Even the 49ers secondary, despite reg season success, was eventually beat down in their playoff game with Rams.
Davis and SMB missed half the regular season last year. And JPP wasn’t JPP .
Health is always most important factor.
July 10th, 2022 at 8:47 am
He’s not overlooked by Bucs fans. We know our secondary and our defense is much better when Davis is on the field. And the Bucs resigned him and paid him well, so they aren’t sleeping on him either.
July 10th, 2022 at 10:01 am
I really like CD. He gets some PI n then there was that one game cheetah went bonkers on him but overall he’s good
July 10th, 2022 at 10:05 am
Overshadowed in the sense that OCs have to worry about limiting the impact of Barrett, Vea, Bowles pre-snap trickery and the players he run that through, plus the constant attack on the A gap, along with what White & David can do to their run games, all while making sure your QB doesn’t scramble his brain trying to decipher all the looks thrown at them before they can get the ball
upfield or to the boundaries to test Dean & Davis. Dean himself, is really solid at blowing those tunnel screens to bits, and Davis’ length on those perimeter comeback routes makes it so those are kept in front of him, but we’ve also seen him break those passes up. Being a “lockdown” corner isn’t about just shutting a WR down, not with the rules making that harder for defenders, but if you can take a WRs route tree and limit his effectivity(like Slant Boy Michael Thomas) you can indeed be seen as a guy who alters an offenses’ plan of attack in certain scenarios.
July 10th, 2022 at 11:19 am
He just got paid so I don’t feel sorry for him .
Hey Todd — how about using Davis more effectively to play to his strengths?
July 10th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
CD is a solid cover corner but he has too many blown coverages when he’s in zone. I don’t know if it’s mental lapses or bad play calling but it’s hurting the team and costing us wins
July 10th, 2022 at 12:22 pm
He pressed Tyreek Hill to the tune of 7 catches, 203 yards, and 2 TDs in the 1st quarter of a game in 2020.
Hill was on my fantasy team so I’m not complaining, but spare me the underrated BS when it comes to Carlton Davis. You can’t be described as a top 5 cover corner when you can’t be left on an island.
July 10th, 2022 at 1:31 pm
PFF has Davis as the 13th best corner. It’s right about where he belongs. He’s not a true #1 shutdown guy, but not many of those guys exist. Once you get past the 7th or 8th spot, they all have deficiencies.
This is my very short #1 shutdown corner list, in no particular order. The rules have made it such that only the elite of the elite, can consistently cover a teams best wide out.
Howard
Lattimore
Alexander
Ward
Ramsey
Humphrey
Slay
White
July 10th, 2022 at 1:48 pm
Davis is overshadowed because he can’t quite get zone coverage.
He is a top man coverage guy, but he is not a complete DB.
Being able to make pre-snap changes is a great way to confuse a QB. Bucs can’t do it because that QB can just target Davis and have a high percentage reception.
July 10th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
My two biggest criticisms of Davis, are his apparent inability to get his head around, and his spacing. I don’t think he’s a perfect fit for bowles defense. He’s way too late getting his head around, and his int numbers have suffered because of it. That’s a coaching staff problem in my view. He’s also way too good to give the amount of cushion he does sometimes. I think this is a function of bowles scheme. It often doesn’t play to his best DBs strengths. Just let him play man, and blitz less.
July 10th, 2022 at 3:04 pm
Bowles is a pattern matching coach, most are these days. They basically want to morph man and zone, and get the best of both worlds.
July 11th, 2022 at 12:22 pm
Not only is Davis a top ten CB, I don’t think at this time he is the best CB on the Bucs roster. Dean is slightly better & overall thats not saying much.
July 11th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
Meant to say not a top 10 CB.
July 12th, 2022 at 3:46 am
Maybe if he caught a few licks and had a few less PI / holding calls he’d get more love