August 28, 2015
As a defensive back, there's more to having good ball skills than just getting interceptions. In the last preseason game against the Ravens, starting CB Nolan Carroll showed excellent ball skills when he was able to deflect a deep pass intended for Kamar Aiken that was intercepted by Walter Thurmond.
The first thing you see on that interception is that Carroll gets his head around on the play and locates the ball in the air. That's something that didn't happen much in 2013 or 2014, when Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher seemed to have their back turned to the ball more often than not. As noted by Chris Brown (@SmartFootball), you can get your head around to locate the ball much more easily when you have sticky coverage.
@JimmyKempski can't turn your head unless you're in phase with the WR. Good coverage leads to turning head which leads to good stuff
— Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) August 22, 2015
Additionally, when you watch the play, you can see Carroll try to tip the ball softly, instead of swatting at it. The intent was to give Walter Thurmond a chance to pick it off. Watch:
Here's Walter Thurmond and the craziest one-handed pinball interception of the preseason #BALvsPHI http://t.co/EVTkpEfJNL
— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2015
"I knew he was next to us, or behind us," said Carroll. "I kind of felt that he was somewhere around us, so I felt like if I could just tip it, he was going to catch it, and he ended up doing that."
That's something that Seahawks CB Richard Sherman has been known to do, with the prime example being in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers a couple years ago:
Thurmond made the pick, but that was stellar coverage by Carroll, and a great sense for making a bigger play than just breaking up a pass.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
