Cornerback looked like a strength for Kansas University until Charles Gordon bypassed his final year of eligibility and suspended Aqib Talib missed the season’s first two games.
Louisiana-Monroe’s Kinsmon Lancaster, known more for his ability to run coming into Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium, passed for 377 yards. That frightening figure, coupled with Talib’s expected return in time for Friday night’s nonconference game at the Glass Bowl, home stadium of the University of Toledo, shifts the spotlight to a place it seldom shines: the secondary.
Defensive backs never have gained as much fame as linemen and linebackers. A look at the biggest names in the Hall of Fame from each position helps to illustrate that.
Excluding those inducted as two-way linemen, there are 25 inducted defensive linemen. Buck Buchanan, Mean Joe Greene, Deacon Jones, Howie Long, Merlin Olsen and Reggie White are among them.
The names are even bigger at linebacker, where 16 players, including Nick Buoniconti, Dick Butkus, Willie Lanier, Ray Nitschke, Mike Singletary and Lawrence Taylor have busts in Canton.
Of the 16 defensive backs inducted, the biggest names probably are Herb Adderly, Mel Blount, Ronnie Lott, Night Train Lane, Mel Renfro and Willie Wood. The marquee appeal doesn’t come close to that of the others.
Whereas the front seven get noticed when they succeed, safeties and especially cornerbacks are talked about when they fail. Interceptions are relatively rare and not always a meaningful indicator of a cornerback’s performance.
Exceptional defensive fronts inspire complimentary nicknames, such as The Purple People Eaters. The most widely known nickname for a cornerback was given to Elvis “Toast” Patterson, formerly of the New York Giants, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Raiders. He played his college ball at KU (1981-83), but it was during his Giants career that he was tagged with “Toast,” which caught on quickly and dogged him throughout a 10-year NFL career.
Good cornerbacks don’t need to be famous. They do need to desire fame. A big ego is a useful tool for them. A self-doubting coverage man is the equivalent of a baseball closer who sees loaded bases and begins to sweat, a salesman whose hands shake before he knocks on the door. He’s beaten before he starts. Once he’s burned once, it plays on his mind and makes him more likely to get torched again.
Convinced he’ll come out on top, Talib seems to crave confrontation.
“I like his swagger,” defensive tackle James McClinton said. “You’ve got to be confident if you’re out there on the island on your own. You can’t go out there and be scared. Just one step and you’re already beat. Touchdown.”
Talib was in the middle of the mess when the KU and Houston players engaged in a verbal confrontation at the Fort Worth Bowl banquet and drew a flag for taunting in the waning moments of the blowout victory. Such behavior might seem annoying at the time, yet the attitude behind it works on the field and should have a calming effect on the rest of a young secondary.
