Cornerback

Typical American football line-up with the cornerbacks on the outside

Cornerback is the name of a position in American football and Canadian football on the defense of a team.

Cornerbacks occupy the outside and defend against the opposing wide receivers and other possible pass recipients either in direct man coverage or together with the remaining defensive backs in a zone defense that divides the space and assigns individual players certain zones that need to be defended ( flat , Short or deep zone ). They must also be able to stop opposing running plays on the outside.

Due to his task of preventing the opponent's passing game, a cornerback must be able to read the play like a safety ; Just as important is speed in order to be able to keep up with the opposing wide receivers. Not least because of the restricted field of vision caused by the helmet, it is difficult for the cornerback to follow the receiver, its changes of direction and at the same time observe the ball and the rest of the game.

A popular technique used by cornerbacks is the so-called bump and run coverage . Here cornerbacks take advantage of the fact that they are allowed to give their opposing wide receiver a push within the first five yards in order to disrupt his path. After the shot, the cornerback runs after his opponent as usual or defends his zone. A well executed bump and run forces the wide receiver to run inaccurately, which increases the cornerback's chance of an incomplete pass of the quarterback or even an interception . Therefore, a cornerback not only has to be quick, but also has to have a certain amount of physique to throw a charging wide receiver off balance with a strong push. Willie Brown and Mel Blount are considered to be the pioneers of this technology .

Cornerbacks are the least diverse position in the modern National Football League . Between the 1997 season and the season 2016 played only seven white player on the position of cornerbacks in a regular-season game, including the mainly wide receiver playing Mike Furrey . Last played in the 2002 season with Jason Sehorn a white man as a starting cornerback.

Web links

Commons : Cornerback  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Cornerback  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael McKnight: The White Cornerback: NFL players past and present open up about race at the position. Sports Illustrated, April 26, 2017, accessed March 3, 2018 .