Breeland is on the Rise
By Waleo
Coming into Washington Redskins’ training camp, all
the talk was about newly signed cornerback Josh Norman. Norman signed a 5 year $75 million deal
making him the highest paid cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). To some, Norman is the Redskins’ absolute
number 1 cornerback, but to me Bashaud Breeland is right there with him.
Breeland is a cornerback on the rise. Last season, Breeland grew into a number 1
corner, battling with the likes of wide receivers Odell Beckham and Dez Bryant
to name a few. Two games last season
come to mind and both were against the New York Giants. September 24, 2015, the Redskins played Giants
in New York on prime time television.
Odell Beckham had his way with Breeland.
Beckham finished with 12 catches for 143 yards—not all were on
Breeland. Many cornerbacks would shy away
from the challenge of competing against Beckham but not Breeland. In the rematch, November 29th
2015, Breeland played Beckham pretty well.
Odell Beckham finished with 9 catches for 142 yards. Yes, another stellar game but only three
catches came against Breeland . “Beckham
was targeted 17 times but averaged only 6.75 yards per target against Breeland,”
according to NFL Spin Zone. NFL Spin
Zone added that Breeland “had more passes defended (four) than receptions
allowed to OBJ (three);” the big plays were on cornerback Will Blackmon. Breeland competed and showed up. Throughout last season Breeland grew into the
Redskins premiere cornerback. Last year,
Pro Football Focus named Breeland to their pro bowl among the cornerbacks. Breeland has sent a good foundation for
himself coming into the 2016 season.
Training camp has started and many observers and
experts are saying that Breeland is looking like the best cornerback in camp so
far. According to Fox Sports Radio 1340
AM Hopewell, Virginia Redskins’ beat writer Anthony Raposa, Breeland is
“playing with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s out to prove that he’s a top
level talent in this league.” He also added
that Breeland on “multiple times was able to stay step for step with the
Redskins’ wide receivers and had a nice diving break at one point” during day
one of camp. I’m not going to get into
Josh Norman getting beat by Redskins’ wide receiver DeSean Jackson during camp
but I will say that it’s the overall consensus that Breeland has been the star
on defense in camp. Breeland has had a
couple of interceptions and a number of pass breakups. Having Norman on the team has motivated
Breeland play so far. Hopefully this
continues and the Redskins will have two shutdown corners this season.
Check out Soul N Sports on Fox Sports Radio 1340 AMHopewell, Virginia Monday-Friday from 5-7 pm ET. Also check out the Urban Sports Scene podcast show every Tuesday at 8:00 pm ET.
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