A good quarterback/receiver combo is the Baltimore defense’s krptonite. Brady and the Pats, Palmer and the Bengals, and Favre and the Vikings (still feels weird saying that last one).
This off season, the Ravens spent a lot of money to shut down those combinations. They’ve always had good coverage from Chris McAlister and decent stuff from Samari Rolle, McAlister is out of football and Rolle likely will not return due to health issues.
The Ravens’ answer? Domonique Foxworth. Baltimore brought to University of Maryland native back to Charm City from the Atlanta Falcons. All they had to do was drop $28 million bucks.
I was skeptical when the Ravens dropped $28 million on a guy that no one else seemed to go after. Sure, it was a good story, but I couldn’t figure out why they were so interested since he really didn’t do too much in Atlanta and Denver.
So far their four year investment hasn’t quite paid off. Foxworth is getting torched by wide receivers that are 3-4 inches taller than him. His speed isn’t as bad as Frank Walker‘s, but he’s not making tackles after he gives up catches and he just hasn’t stepped up as the number one guy. Kind of reminds me of #23’s contract.
This year Foxworth has 13 tackles and a pick. New England, Cincinnati, and Minnesota have picked on him as he’s averaged just two tackles in those three games. Sidney Rice has six catches for 176 yards, Chad Ochocinco had 7 receptions for 94 yards, and Randy Moss had three catches and a TD.
The high paid cornerback can’t shut down the high paid wide receiver. Unacceptable.
