Safety vs cornerback

[Wise]

1. Which position do you feel is harder/takes more skill to play?

2. Who is the best you've seen play those positions?

 

[luckyse7enz]

1. Corner, easily
2. Primetime/Ed Reed

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

The actual skill it takes to be a competent safety is far greater than that of a competent corner.

 

[Juggalo Fred]

corner is far tougher


Revis...before he got traded to Tampa



edit. reed or lynch for my lifetime. forgot john.

 

[Donald Trumps Twitter]

To be an elite corner it takes outstanding instincts and phenomenal body control.


safetys have a bit of a cushion and normally don't have to guard one specific man, let alone the fastest guy on the opposing team.


With that being said, Charles Woodson was just hands down that dirty dog that did everything. It would have to be him, ed reed or Troy polamalu.

 

[TrebleMan]

Both of them are probably equal.

Obviously staying man coverage as a corner is tough and takes a ton of focus every down. One juke and it's a score.

That said, so does safety. You read the play-action wrong and they take it to the house. You're not on the right side of the field and once that RB or TE breaks the next level, also probably going for another score. You're also going to man coverage a tight end or quick WR every now and then. You got to have incredible instincts as a safety, QB's give you special attention to throw you off and you got to watch where the TE is, where you think the WR's will be AND that RB out of the backfield.

Explains it very well:

With my QB and OL taken care of, I'll go to an underappreciated defensive position: safety. No defender covers as much ground or makes as many impact plays in the backfield and deep downfield. Safeties, especially the new breed who combine linebacker size with cornerback speed (think Adrian Wilson and Sean Taylor) have to be accounted for on every snap and are the defenders most likely to create seismic events, like fumbles and interceptions returned for touchdowns. They are also the ones who, should they slip up mentally, have the highest likelihood of giving up a big play. (Think of all the times you've seen a safety chasing a receiver into the end zone.)

Don't really see a clear cut answer.

Ed Reed all-time at safety. Sean Taylor for the time we saw him. Corner Darrelle Revis.

 

[XxBboyxX]

The actual skill it takes to be a competent safety is far greater than that of a competent corner.

False. Theres a reason why most corners can convert to safety then vice versa

 

[Kal El]

To be an elite corner it takes outstanding instincts and phenomenal body control.


safetys have a bit of a cushion and normally don't have to guard one specific man, let alone the fastest guy on the opposing team.


With that being said, Charles Woodson was just hands down that dirty dog that did everything. It would have to be him, ed reed or Troy polamalu.

It takes more instincts to be an elite safety than it does to be an elite corner.

Cornerback is the one position where you HAVE to be a great athlete. You're on an island versus some of the quickest, fastest human beings in the world. Doesn't matter how instinctive you are if you can't keep up with 4.4 speed. Size is starting to become imperative too with all these monster 6'3+ receivers. You can be an idiot and play corner, especially if it's a predominantly man scheme, because there's not a lot of thinking involved. Just be a great athlete and shut your man down. See Morris Claiborne.

Safety is all about instincts and anticipation. You can get away with being a lesser athlete at this position if you can diagnose route combinations quickly, take smart angles, and figure out player tendencies. Takes a more cerebral player to play the position.

As to which one is harder

On one hand, playing corner in a man scheme is simple. Mirror the WR, anticipate his break, and out athlete him. The task is simple, but the executing part is among the toughest assignments in football. Safety has more responsbilities, but trying to cover an NFL receiver on an island with quarterbacks who can fit balls into the smallest of windows is fukking difficult.

Best I've seen in my lifetime at each position:

CB: Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson

S: Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins

 

[Ghostface Trillah]

A safety is supposed to be just as knowledgeable about the whereabouts of every other player on the field as a QB and MLB. Safeties have no help if they get into a jam and are the last line of defense.

Being a corner back is honestly 95% just sticking with your man and some minimal knowledge of breaking up a catch. Running back coming straight at you? Dive at his legs. Get hurderled and get no flack for it. Safety does that and he won't have a job after the game.

 

[Wise]

PS - Why are there no white corners the same way there aint no black punters?

 

[Wise]

Ironically I was reading about Richard Sherman after I made this thread and came upon this. Talking about corner is harder than WR

One of the drawbacks of having only one camera live at a time on an NFL broadcast is that you can’t focus on the perpetual wide receiver-cornerback duel that can go from sublime to horrific to magnificent, all in the space of one play. It’s generally a hell of a lot more interesting than whatever delayed-draw nonsense is taking place at midfield, but unless something dramatic happens, it goes unwatched unless you’re one of those All-22 zombies. And that’s a shame, because receiver-cornerback battles are the best.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, one of the best in history at his position, is always good for a quote or ten, and this week at media availability he held forth on a compelling question: who’s got it tougher, cornerbacks or wide receivers?

“Corner because you never leave the field,” Sherman said, per Pro Football Talk. “You don’t get to leave the field, you don’t get to sub, you don’t get to rotate. If there’s two receivers out there on the field, you’re out there. It’s not like you get to swap, this receiver went out so somebody else comes in, it doesn’t matter. If they’re tired, they get to sub out and bring someone else in.”

Receiver is an active position, cornerback is reactive. The receiver knows where he’s going and (in theory) when the ball will arrive, the cornerback is just making educated guesses at full speed. Add to that the fact that receivers swap out while cornerbacks stay on the field, and Sherman is (unsurprisingly) Team Corner.

“That was one of the challenges when we played Denver in the Super Bowl,” he said. “They’re rotating the receivers in and out every three plays and we’re out there. They get to get fresh, they get to take a breather and take a break. Sometimes the receivers never even go back to the huddle, they’ll just run out to the sideline and you turn around, you’re 60 yards down the field and a new receiver is standing there. That’s something that some people don’t think about playing corner.”

Now, Sherman works the refs as well as anyone, so you have to take his lines about how unfair life is for cornerbacks with a shakerful of salt. But it’s indisputable that the rules as written favor the offense, and Sherman will happily break that down for you: “A receiver can push you down the field, a receiver can grab you, pull you, and there’s no penalty for that,” he said. “If you touch him, if you try to defend yourself, if you push him past five yards, illegal touching, that’s an automatic first down. Even if its third and 50, that’s an automatic first down. If you’re standing there in your own spot and they run into you, and they call that illegal contact, that’s an automatic first down. Whether it’s third or fourth and 50, fourth and 15, if you’re set up for an easy interception and they tackle you to the ground, that would be a ten yard penalty, no loss of downs, no anything. They’ll probably get that 10 yards back from another penalty or something. Holding, automatic first down. Every penalty that can be called on defense is just about an automatic first down. Very difficult to play in that position.”

And yet, somehow he manages. Sherman and the Legion of Boom may be on the backslope of their dominance, but Sherman’s verbal game remains without peer.

Richard Sherman: Cornerback is tougher to play than receiver

 

[Ruck]

Physically, corner is more demanding because you have to be the most athletic at that position. Mentally safeties have to account for more to support both the run or pass.

The best cornerback i have ever seen is aeneas williams. Deion is arguably the goat db, but he had once in a lifetime talent that would mask his flaws. Aeneas williams didnt have the same athletic gifts as deion, but bruh was the most technical defensive corner i have ever seen. If deion was roy jones jr, aeneas was mayweather. Revis is an all time great, but he aint on deion or aeneas level.

When it comes to safeties, i never cared for ball hawks like ed reed or rod woodson. I was always a fan of hard hitters like steve atwater, ronnie lott, rodney harrison and brian dawkins.

 

[Stack Money]

Revis...before he got traded to Tampa

You must be young cause no way you coulda seen Prime and say this.

 

[AITheAnswerAI]

The actual skill it takes to be a competent safety is far greater than that of a competent corner.

fukks no.


Playing corner is the hardest position to play next to quarterback.

This tells me you've never played before,which is fine, but that statement you made is ludicrous.

The skill it takes to jam a receiver, steer him away from a certain route, flip your hips around and stay with this guy like white on rice, then adhering to the 5 yard rule, looking back at the ball before breaking up the pass etc. etc.

Playing corner is rough man, that's why they get paid more than safeties, and that's why old corners can convert to safety, Deangelo Hall converted to safety this year and played well, after playing corner his whole career. You won't see a safety switching to corner at the end of his career, no fukking way.

 

[BlackAchilles]

What are we calling "skill" exactly? Cause I'd say the top corners need better hands, but safeties are more well rounded in their abilities

Best corner was Deion, best safeties Lott and Reed