I'm going to pile on Gary...with praise. I've been a fan of Gary Gray since all of last season when I finally got to watch his whole body of work. Gary Gray was superb consistently last year ---and NO you can't just dismiss previous performance when evaluating a player. If a player was acknowledged by everyone [with any sense] as having had a great 2010 season, and then is involved with some clunker plays in 2011, it would seem reasonable to look more closely at those plays and the player before looking down ones nose from the distance of a computer screen at a great athlete. Some things to consider:
A). The job of a corner consists of many tasks, and is probably the second most difficult in football. Casual [i.e. without close analysis] b!tching about performance is probably unfair.
B). One of the tasks is open-field tackling. It would be a difficult argument to make that Gary does not excel at that. And that task is of great importance and shouldn't be dismissed.
C). A second job is to stay with your assignment, and not get confused in coverage. I believe that Gary shows that he's one of the smartest in this area.
D). While "on assignment", you must "cover" for a reasonable amount of time while your pass rush makes the QB get rid of the ball. How many of Gary's so-called "bad coverages" were "coincidental" with very poor pass pressure? I say several, even the majority.
E). Even in situations of poor pass pressure, a very good corner will still be physically "in the guy's shirt" or close to it. I find it astounding on how often Gary is almost literally in the receiver's shirt. In such situations, and particularly after extended seconds of coverage, you are going to have your back to the ball sometimes. Watch Gray closely. At the signal of the receiver's head turn, he begins his turn as best as his foot placement allows at that moment [and this is to some degree the luck of the split second], and has the physical presence to flail his arm into the area that he hopes the ball will be --- he's micrometers from tipping some of those things out of there. I've marveled at how WELL he continues to "fight the play" at those moments.
F). Add that Gary has not been 100% physically from all hints and this seems to border on cheap-shotting a fine athlete whom I shudder to think what we'd do without.
