This Sunday the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions will meet in a game that will feature one of the juiciest one-on-one matchups the NFL has to offer; Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson vs. Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Earlier this week Arizona head coach Bruce Arians turned some heads when he called Johnson the best receiver in the NFL, eschewing a chance to crown his own elite pass-catcher, Larry Fitzgerald, as the league's No.1.
"You have to watch what you wish for sometimes," Arians said. "I think an elite player like Patrick, in my opinion, who is probably the best corner in the league, is going against the best receiver in the league."
If anyone expected Fitzgerald's feathers to be ruffled by his coach's remarks they were wrong; it turns out Fitzgerald is on board the Calvin train. "Calvin's the best," Fitzgerald said. "I mean, look at his numbers. It is what it is."
It's hard to argue the numbers, as Fitzgerald noted. Johnson broke the NFL single-season record for receiving yards last year with 1,964. He also hauled in 122 passes and scored five touchdowns, all for a team that won four games with one of the league's most impotent rushing attacks.
Still, Peterson begs to differ with both his teammate and coach.
"He's done a lot of great things for his team, and he had a huge success last year hooking up with [Lions quarterback] Matthew Stafford and gaining all those yards," Peterson said. "I would never put another guy in front of my guy. I believe Larry's still the best receiver in the game."
The bolder claim may be Arians calling Peterson the best cornerback in the league, with Darrelle Revis of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks alive and well. Revis is coming off of a torn ACL last season, but Sherman has no such injury issue.
Peterson did pick off seven passes in 2012, but he was bested by Sherman's eight. Their total tackles were in line with one another; Peterson had 121 while Sherman recorded 119. Sherman also had 24 pass defenses as opposed to Peterson's 17.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.