By Tim Graham
A countdown of my top 25 AFC East players continues, one weekday at a time ...
The choice
New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie gets thrown at often, but not because he's easy to pick on. Opposing quarterbacks have to throw somewhere, and the guy on the other side is All-World cornerback Darrelle Revis. So teams take their chances with Cromartie.
ProFootballFocus.com charts every play and had teams completing just 46.4 percent of their passes against Cromartie. That was tied for eighth-best among all NFL cornerbacks. But he also yielded some mediocre stats, according to PFF's data: 72.8 passer rating against and six touchdowns allowed.
Old friend KC Joyner, the inimitable Football Scientist, noted some impressive numbers from film analysis. Cromartie allowed only 6.0 yards per pass attempt that came his way, tied for 15th among all cornerbacks. On short pass plays, Cromartie allowed 3.0 yards per attempt, fifth in the league and 1.1 yards better than Revis.
Cromartie's four interceptions tied Revis and linebacker David Harris for the team lead.
Fast fact
Cromartie averaged 24.5 yards on kickoff returns and recorded the first forced fumble of his career last season. So I guess those are two fast facts.
How acquired
2010 trade with the San Diego Chargers for a conditional 2011 draft choice (second-round).
Hint about No. 23
He's the only second-year player on the list.
