FanPost

Antonio Cromartie Pros, Cons, and Observations Compilation

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here when I post this and I'm no football expert. I just want to gather and share all my observations from reading over the past few days. Without further adieu, here we go.

Pros

- Physical Traits - Antonio Cromartie is 6 foot 2 and 210 pounds and ran a 4.47 second 40 yard dash at the 2006 combine. That was good enough to get him selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2006 draft by the San Diego Chargers. While he has lost a step in terms of speed, agility, and athleticism due to age, he is still a good height and weight mismatch especially for bigger possession receivers like Deandre Hopkins.

- Cornerback Instincts and Experience - As Josh Wilson and others have already mentioned, Cromartie has exceptional cornerback instincts due to his experience in the league. He has the third most total interceptions of all currently active players in the NFL today. His instincts and experience are extremely valuable especially given his age.Not to mention, they will help him learn the Colts system more quickly.

- Cap-friendly deal - A 1-year $3 million with with $250,000 guaranteed and $500,000 in incentives is nothing compared to the 3-year $15 million contract that Grigson gave to Greg Toler in 2013. As many have pointed out, the low amount of guaranteed money makes it easy to cut Cromartie if he doesn't pan out.

- Ability to play on the outside - Cromartie in his prime was one of the elite outside cornerbacks in the league. He has a decade's worth of experience playing as a number one cornerback on the outside. Outside of Vontae Davis and Patrick Robinson (both currently injured), the Colts have no one who has extensive experience starting on the outside.

- System fit - As head coach Chuck Pagano pointed out, Cromartie is a "perfect fit" for our system due to his imposing and physical playing style. In his prime, Cromartie was one of the best press-man corners in the league. Not to mention, Rex Ryan and Chuck Pagano both came from the Baltimore Ravens tree, meaning the terminology and basic defensive concepts should be similar and easier to pick up for Cromartie.

Cons

- Age - Cromartie is no spring chicken. He's a 32 year old cornerback coming off a bad season with the New York Jets. As others have mentioned, Cromartie will have to use his instincts and experience to compensate for his declining physical ability. Fortunately, there have been success stories. Our very own Mike Adams has done something similar and ended up as a back-to-back Pro-Bowler.

- Inury History - There is a good reason that Cromartie has been on the free agent market for so long. He is rumored to have a nagging hip issue that could affect his play. Especially last year, his injuries made it difficult to stay on the field. This could be compounded by his physical and imposing playing style. However, if you look at his career overall, he has missed very few games on the whole and has proven to be a very durable and tough player.

- Outside Distractions - Cromartie has so many children that he cannot even remember the names of all his kids. This could be a potential distraction for him especially as he must worry about paying child support on time. Fortunately, this seems not to have affected his play in the past and his new contract should allow him to pay overdue child support.

My Opinion

On the whole, when you evaluate the decision like this in depth, I believe that the decision to sign Cromartie was a good decision. He was the best available free agent on the market currently and seems to be a good system fit. If he doesn't pan out, we can always cut him with little to no cap casualty.

What do you guys think?

Please let me know in the comments below.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.