Sweet cross-dressing Jesus, this is some fantastic news.

The main starting job in jeopardy is the one held by cornerback DeMarcus Faggins. He accounted for 38 of the team's 78 penalty yards against the Falcons. He was moved to nickel back partway through the second half and replaced by Jamar Fletcher.

This week, the coaches will focus on [Fred] Bennett, who has missed most of the last two weeks after injuring his hamstring in Carolina. They will see how close the rookie is to a bigger role.

That's right, boys and girls, Coach Gary has seen the light (shining through the space between Petey and everyone he has been assigned to cover this year), and Coach has had enough. He has finally come to the realization that DeMarcus Faggins is not only below average at what he is doing, but is actually so bad that he is crippling our secondary. The days of "Petey Faggins, CB2" are almost over.

I think. Unfortunately, the article does not say what will happen if Bennett isn't ready. For purposes of my own mental health, however, I am going to assume that Jamar Fletcher will start in that situation. Which, in addition to relegating Petey to nickel (which can actually play at a decent level), will allow me to test my theory that ANYTHING would be an upgrade over Faggins.

Not everyone agrees with my assumptions, however, or even with the idea that Faggins should be shot released moved down on the depth chart.

Dunta Robinson has been a mentor to Bennett, his former teammate from South Carolina. The four-year veteran said he doesn't think it's time for any lineup changes.

"So far they haven't said anything," Robinson said. "Petey (Faggins) is still the starter. Petey is one of those guys where you don't have to say much to him. He handles his business. He knows what he needs to do. You've just got to keep encouraging guys in that situation."

I would like to believe that Dunta is just saying what he is supposed to say in this situation and that he doesn't actually believe that Petey should remain the starter. Otherwise, we might want to have Dunta's eyes checked, because I fail to see how anyone--let alone another NFL CB--could watch Faggins' play over the past three weeks and think that Petey was "handl[ing] his business."

Unless, of course, his "business" is "making opposing offenses look really good," in which case he is Donald Trump.

It's worth noting the list of available free agents in case Fletcher is only a slight upgrade over Faggins and Bennett is not healthy enough in the very near future. For instance, Jerametrius Butler is out there. He's old as hell, but is a veteran corner and is an established CB2. And, if we wanted to take a flier on a guy who has about one shot left before he's canned for good, Ahmad Carroll is available. I'm not sure how I feel about that situation, other than to re-affirm that I think even he would be better than Faggins. There are a few other less-known names out there, too, any of whom could be worth bringing in for a workout.

Labels: 2007 Season, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Dunta Robinson, Gary Kubiak, The Fred

Posted by matt on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 10:09 AM | Permalink