Antonio Cromartie has been tested. He has yet to be toasted.
The Chargers' novice cornerback made his first NFL start last night, and against no less an adversary than Peyton Manning, and the only time he looked silly was of his own volition.
When he had picked off Indianapolis' Super Bowl quarterback for the third time, preposterously plucking a pass one-handed at maximum extension, at about a 45-degree angle and in midair, Cromartie paused to reflect on his achievement with an abbreviated hula dance.
Dude finally cracks the starting lineup because of an injury, and already he's lobbying for the Pro Bowl.
“I told him to do it,” Chargers cornerback Drayton Florence said after the Chargers' 23-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. “Two (picks) gets him on the (Pro Bowl) ballot, gets him a lot of votes. Three has got to get him in.”
K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
In his first NFL start, Antonio Cromartie intercepted the Colts three times, including this one in the first quarter.
|
Previously seen almost exclusively in acclaimed cameo roles, Cromartie emerged as a full-fledged, center-stage, coast-to-coast star on Sunday Night Football. He was credited with four passes defensed and six tackles in addition to his three interceptions.
If there's much more where this came from, Cromartie can bypass Honolulu and go directly to Canton.
“Antonio is just playing out of his mind,” said Chargers head coach Norv Turner.
“I don't know how we control him now,” Chargers safety Marlon McCree said. “He's a great one.”
Whatever he lacks in choreography, Antonio Cromartie more than makes up for in mobility. He makes tracks so swiftly, in fact, that the Chargers dared to spend a first-round draft choice on a player who was mostly projection, a guy who had made only one college start at Florida State because of injuries.
Since there's no adequate substitute for speed, teams will often take a flyer on a guy who can fly. They are rarely rewarded this richly, though, for the guy who can fly rarely comes equipped with flypaper fingers.
“Next to LT (LaDainian Tomlinson), Cromartie might be the best athlete on this team,” McCree said. “He can do it all. He can play offense, defense, special teams. He can play receiver and beat us.”
If there are any holes in Cromartie's game, they were not in evidence last evening. On a night Manning was moved to attempt 56 passes, Cromartie did a persuasive imitation of a powder-blue blanket. Targeted three times on the Colts' opening drive, Cromartie allowed a completion, was charged with a pass interference penalty, and then atoned for his transgressions with a lunging interception in the end zone.
“I think he was trying to come after me,” Cromartie said of Manning. “But I just tried to hold my own and go out and have fun.”
Cromartie snagged his second interception late in the first quarter, picking off a pass meant for Reggie Wayne and returning it 21 yards. His third swipe – a play McCree called, “The best interception I've ever seen.” – occurred on the third play of the second quarter, again at Wayne's expense.
Cromartie's three picks raised his season total to six, remarkable productivity for a guy who has played primarily in the Chargers' nickel package. It is also, incidentally, the highest total in the NFL.
Maybe the Chargers have two cornerbacks better than this guy, but the last I looked, Speedy Duncan and Dick Westmoreland were retired. If defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell can't find more playing time for Cromartie, he's not looking hard enough.
Consider: Cromartie's output over the last three games includes three touchdowns – one on a record-setting 109-yard field goal return – and five interceptions. He has picked off more passes in the space of 15 days than either Florence or Quentin Jammer (he of the tender hamstring) have managed in any full season.
Maybe this means Cromartie has been perceived as easy prey, an inexperienced corner who invites attacking. But if teams continue to target him, they must not be paying attention.
“He's playing lights-out right now,” Florence said. “He's not giving up the deep ball. He's coming up, making tackles. He's doing everything you can ask for. To top it off with three picks off Peyton Manning, the world's best quarterback, he's having a Pro Bowl year if you ask me.”
Except, perhaps, for his dancing.
Tim Sullivan: (619) 293-1033; tim.sullivan@uniontrib.com
