Well, the Philadelphia Eagles, an unheard of 20-plus-point underdog, nearly pulled an upset over the unbeaten New England Patriots earlier this morning when they went down 28-31 in Foxborough.
While I'm still stuck in my office not being able to watch any footage, I have a hunch feeling that the Eagles had sent out their best cornerback, Lito Sheppard, to play one-on-one with Randy Moss, the main receiving threat of the Patriots.
The result? Despite a league-high 16 touchdowns so far this season, Moss was held to just four catches for around 40 yards and NO touchdown.
Teams playing against the Patriots have been playing so many zones this season and while a zone defense is designed to prevent huge gains, teams executing it improperly (e.g., safeties failing to cover the wide receivers let go by the cornerbacks) will get burnt deep repeatedly.
That's why they have to play man-to-man against the Patriots. While occasionally they may be able to break free for a long gain, at least there will be SOMEONE close to the receivers.
And with Moss beating so many cornerbacks on "jump ball" situations, why don't the cornerbacks give him a little cushion at the line of scrimmage in obvious jump ball situations, to prevent them from being pushed aside? Playing a little off will at least give them a running start AND a shot of getting in front of Moss to break up the pass.
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