Loki wrote:One player a lot of people have the vikings targeting in free agency is Alterraun Verner (me included) but the more i look into it the more it starts to worry me we will be over paying for an average starter. If you look at his numbers his yearly interceptions were 3, 2, 1, before jumping to 5 in 2013. This is definitely a big boost over Chris Cook's 0 but is not indicative of a top notch corner. also passes deflected are 11, 8, 9, before jumping to 22 last year. If you watch the video at the bottom of his career interceptions you will notice a lot of bobbled catches, body catches along with 3 or so big play catches. I also went back and noticed the QB's he was intercepting in 2013 (Geno smith - 2, Matt Schuab - 1, Chad Henne - 1, and finally the only respectable QB Ben Rothlisberger - 1). Now don't get me wrong i still think he is a big upgrade and a quality starter but i'm worried we will give him pro-bowl money when he wont put up those numbers again.
The thing is, interceptions are not necessarily indicative of how well a player plays on the field. If we were to base his ability off stats solely, what is more impressive than his interceptions are his tackle and pass defense numbers. Verner may be small, but he is well above average in run support. Verner also has a knack for breaking up the ball.
I have watched Alterruan Verner since he was a rookie. Verner reminds me of Antonie Winfield by the way he plays. Of course, Winfield was the best in the league in run support from the outside, but Verner is impressive in his own right. Verner is only 5'10", but he plays (much like Winfield did) like he is 6'1". Trust me, Verner can ball. I would be more than happy to have him on this team.
A Randy Moss fan for life. A Kevin Williams fan for life.