Midseason All-Overrated Team: Defense

[Hurricane Season]

Defensive end -- John Abraham(notes), Atlanta Falcons: After a Pro Bowl season, Abraham has fallen off. His three sacks and 13 tackles make it unlikely that he will make it to Hawaii again this year. He was particularly off in the Falcons loss to the division rival Buccaneers.

Corey Wootton(notes), Chicago Bears -- Playing behind Julius Peppers(notes) and Israel Idonije(notes), Wootton was expected to rotate in to give both players a break. Known as the man who sacked Brett Favre(notes) into retirement, Wootton's coaches raved about him in the pre-season, but he has not turned into the reliable back-up the Bears need.

Defensive Tackle -- Barry Cofield(notes), Washington Redskins: (Note: Though we broke this down into a 4-3 defense, Cofield plays nose tackle in a 3-4.) The offseason acquisition for the offseason champs has barely made a blip this season, with just two sacks and 13 tackles. Does that sound like someone worth a six-year, $36 million contract?

Albert Haynesworth(notes), New England Patriots: Remember how Haynesworth signed with the Patriots, and that Bill Belichick was going to change him? How the Pats got a great deal on this one-time great player, and how he was going to return to his All-Pro form? The Pats cut him today.

Linebacker -- Bart Scott(notes), New York Jets: The man behind the best post-game interviews has a lost a step this season. He had big games against Baltimore and Dallas, but that's about it. The last two games have been particularly bad, with Scott getting just six tackles and zero sacks in the Jets wins over Buffalo and San Diego.

A.J. Hawk(notes), Green Bay Packers: The long-haired man with the penchant for flipping the bird is also not playing up to his billing. Last season, he had 111 tackles and 10 pass deflections. At the midway point of this season, he has 30 tackles and 1 pass deflection. The Packers defense is great, but it's not because of Hawk's efforts.

Takeo Spikes(notes), San Diego Chargers: The Chargers have many problems, like a QB who is making dumb mistakes at the worst times, but it doesn't help that their best defensive player is not playing all that well. His 56 tackles is low for a player leading his team, and he has one sack, two pass deflections, and that's it. He hasn't created any turnovers, which his team needs when the QB is so fond of turning the ball over himself.

Cornerbacks -- Nnamdi Asomugha(notes), Philadelphia Eagles: The top free-agent acquisition signed a $60 million, five-year contract. In return, the Eagles received 20 tackles, two interceptions, and zero forced fumbles. Looks like Nnamdi got the better end of this deal.

Ike Taylor(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers: There was a point in his career where Taylor helped the Steelers defense to be one of the league's most feared. Now, he has just 24 tackles and hasn't forced a single turnover.

Safeties -- Antrel Rolle(notes), New York Giants: First off, it's probably not the best thing for the Giants to have a safety lead the team in tackles. Maybe that's why they give up 365.6 yards per game. Secondly, Rolle isn't doing much to disrupt offenses, with just one interception all season long.

Sean Jones(notes), Tampa Bay: Like the Giants, the Buccaneers are giving up way too many yards, and a safety is making too many tackles. He is also not doing much to take the ball away, forcing one fumble and zero interceptions.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-Corner-Halfway-Point-All-Overrated-?urn=nfl-wp11384&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[elcheato]

Why is he using tackles to judge CBs?

 

[Elite]

Bart Scott really hasn't been that bad this year.

Nnamdi is looking bad because the Eagles are playing a lot of zone and a lot less man-to-man this year. Don't know how you can have him on your team and still play a lot of zone.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Wasn't aware that Sean Jones was held to that high of a standard.

Also don't agree with Bart Scott. I like stats, but sometimes they are overused.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Yea there's no reason for Nnamdi to be on that list.

 

[Mooche]

Ike Taylor has had a solid year if anything.. He can't intercept a ball to save his life, though.

Cofield was a guy I wanted so bad for the Colts, aha.

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

How the fuck did he come up with Corey Wootton as overrated?

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

Alright, whoever wrote this is seriously an idiot.

The Packers defense is great, but it's not because of Hawk's efforts.

The Packers defense is terrible.

 

[Hurricane Season]

According to the link, it was written by a woman... assuming "maggie" is a woman in this case.

So yes, this article is awful. I regret posting it.