Washington Redskins: Josh Norman Criticism Overblown

Should the Washington Redskins be concerned about the play of recently signed star cornerback Josh Norman? I certainly don’t think so.

Washington shocked the NFL world when they signed the surprisingly available Josh Norman to a contract late in the offseason. The monstrous deal supplied the Burgundy and Gold with a top-tier defensive back, but, in doing so, put themselves and the talented corner under the microscope.

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The additional attention is no surprise, as the 28-year-old inked a five-year contract worth $75 million, with $50 million of it being guaranteed money, according to spotrac.com. Regardless of the player or market, that sort of cash is bound to garner a player a great deal of criticism from the media and opposing players. That being said, Norman has been on the receiving end of quite a bit of scrutiny since joining the Redskins, most of which is overblown and unnecessary.

Obviously, some level of criticism is expected when a defensive back of his caliber signs a large deal to play in a regularly underperforming secondary. Having said that, I believe that many of the people critiquing Norman are being downright ridiculous.

People are dissecting every play that he takes part in, and are seemingly under the belief that he should never allow a catch to the opposition. While that would be nice, that kind of thinking, in my opinion, is completely irrational. Just because a player receives a large payday doesn’t mean that he’s not going to make mistakes from time to time, especially entering a new defensive scheme.

His defensive struggles thus far into his tenure with the team have been well-noted, with people posting videos of his training camp performances on a daily basis. Videos of DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon beating the defender in one-on-one situations have been posted to social media outlets, causing fans, players, and members of the media to critique him.

And while some are concerned that the Washington Redskins may have overpaid for a system player, I don’t share their concern, and for a number of reasons. The first reason being that Norman is in a completely different environment, and is in the midst of learning a new defense. In addition to digesting a new defensive system, he also has to grasp the capabilities of the players around him and who he can rely on to assist him in passing situations.

Another factor to consider when looking at Norman’s performance this summer are the activities that the cornerback is taking place in when he’s getting beat.

The one-on-one practice drills are, in a sense, tilted in favor of the wide receivers, as corners don’t have the luxury of having safety help over the top. This means wideouts have to account for underneath and fly routes, something that is incredibly difficult to do, especially when you’re covering an inconceivably fast player like Jackson.

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It is my firm belief that he will be fine once he has the opportunity to settle into the defense and build a greater camaraderie with his teammates. Being able to react instead of thinking and then reacting is important, so once he becomes familiar with the system and his new teammates, everything should improve. Simply knowing where his help is and their physical abilities will allow him to comfortably play his style of defense.