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There have been multiple discussions (arguments) on WCG regarding the play of CB Charles Tillman. He's had his ups and downs (no pun intended), and certainly has his supporters, as well as critics (myself included).
Tillman probably won a lot of the crowd over with his late-season surge, but I wanted to find out Neil's take on the veteran cornerback. Make sure to check out Pro Football Focus right here, and Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview right here.
Dane: Another hot-button issue has been the performance of CB Charles Tillman. He's been very good at times, and very poor at times. How is his 2010 season grading out, and how would he stack up against the rest of the CBs in the league?
Neil: Tillman is rated as slightly above average but that incorporates a well above average run defense grade and a below average coverage grade and I’m guessing that’s the area that most of your fans will be upset about. The bottom line here is he needs to do better but you’ve got no one else to replace him and It’s not your biggest need for me. I think a DT should be your focus on defense next year (after you’ve taken linemen with every first draft pick in the first two days)
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This interview was done December 19th, or after week 14 (the beat-down by NE) of the NFL season.
Looking at PFF's grades of Tillman, they gave him neutral grades for ten games, negative grades twice (Seahawks and Patriots), and positive grades for seven games. Surprisingly enough, Tillman's pass coverage didn't grade out that badly for the most part, and he really turned it up starting week 17.
So, maybe I need to back off a little bit... just because I may see Tillman fall down every other game, doesn't mean he's not doing his job a lot of the time.