Byron Maxwell. What's Your Take?

[Basis4day]

The best i can do is trust Pete on his evaluation. When Pete get's a question he'd rather not answer, he changes subjects or gives a non-committal answer. He never flat our lies. Pete has praised Maxwell in press conferences and interviews. At a certain point, you need to tip your cap to the opposition. GB, SD and Denver are three of the roughest outings you're going to go up against and the Seahawks did it in a row. And the only game we lost was 110+ degrees on the fields and almost every player needed I.V.s. Rivers and Gates played the

Is Maxwell covering his responsibilities and are the other players around him covering theirs? If you can answer that, you have your answer. Strictly looking at if he "makes plays" is inherently problematic. Richard Sherman didn't make any plays against Green Bay, but his impact doesn't show up on the stat sheet except for targets. People complain that Irvin didn't make enough plays last year (and they usually mean sacks) but how often was he used to rush? Team's have learned that Sherman is going to stay on one side of the field. Maxwell is going to be going up against the best WR on any team much of the time. Consider the opposition, always.

The team, as a whole, held Green Bay to 16 points and Denver to 3 points for about 55 minutes of game time. When you're doing that and can still improve, you're doing plenty right.

 

[Scottemojo]

As a cover 3 press corner, he has mastered the redline deep area. He is getting killed repeatedly on the 12-18 yard outs, which receivers run just as he flips to go to his deep third assignment.

In fact, I would say Denver was comfortable with going to that play at the end of the game because they were so certain he would stick to his guy. The only pass that was his fault was the 12 yard pass on the sideline to Thomas. Which is the cover 3 beater that teams go to when they need either 10-15 yards or a clock stopper.

 

[bmorepunk]

His hand is always punching the ball when he's contesting a pass or is high enough when tackling. That forced fumble during the Super Bowl wasn't a fluke, he has a knack for it. Hopefully that will get some key turnovers this year.

 

[kearly]

I think a lot of the negative perception of Maxwell comes from the fact that he is targeted so much. But of course he is, he's drawing #1 WRs every week and teams have only thrown at Sherman something like 5 times in three games. That's a boatload of passes being dished out to the rest of Seattle's back seven, and since Maxwell is usually covering #1 WRs, he's going to get most of those targets by design.

 

[Cartire]

Awesome. Thanks for that. If you have time, could you make a clip of the All-22 TD pass at the end of the game??

Yea, give me a bit. Im in a conference call right now.

 

[TDOTSEAHAWK]

So the TD was his fault. That was certainly his zone. KJ Wright had the deep flats and nestled in nicely.

D. Thomas did a good job on this play staying tight on the skinny post. They probably watched a lot of tape and realized the Seahawks corners stay with men within their deep zone as long as they don't cross the numbers. Maxwell just held on to his man about 1 second too long without realizing what was going on behind him.

To echo others, not only do you need a high level of route precision (D. Thomas can't stray too far into the middle) but then you need a QB who can thread that 30 yard needle to be able to make this play.

I am pretty sure this gets cleaned up during the BYE week.

As for an overall score, he has above average man and ball skills. His awareness might still be lacking, but that will come with time. It is hard to play at that speed. Overall, I would take him over every Seahawk corner of the last 14 years save Trufant in his prime and Sherm. Browner got beat up his first couple games too.

 

[Largent80]

K.J. was nestled in nicely about 5 yards behind Tamme while Maxwell is with his man.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I think right now he is a slightly above average CB, Sanders made him look bad often Sunday. I would like seeing give less cushion on the WR. With that being said, I think he has the ability to be one of the better CB's and with our coaching staff it wouldn't surpise me if he reached that level much sooner than later.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

I like him.
Solid B+ from me.
Very seldom is he out of position on a play and yes Matt, he was late getting to the deep 3rd of the field after he passed off his 1st priority.
He has only given up one or two TDs that i can think of since he became a starter and has more than his share of FF's and ints.
He gets throw at a lot because of who our other starting CB is.

 

[nanomoz]

Something to keep in mind is Pete's mantra: "It's all about the ball." This defense really, really values explosive plays and turnovers. Maxwell is great with his hands, good at turning his head around, and superb at making plays on the ball. He's never going to have the quick hips or feet of a guy like Alterraun Verner, that's not his game. He's a long 6'1". It's his job to disrupt at the LOS, and make a play/deflect the ball when it comes his way. He's going to get beaten sometimes by quickness. Guys like Wes Welker and Kerley (NYJ) get paid because they can beat most people with their quickness.

Maxwell isn't perfect, but Richard Shermans don't grow on trees. Maxwell is usually an above average defender in this defense, in my opinion.

 

[enamel]

Just to throw some metrics into the conversation, Football Outsiders ranks Maxwell as the 33rd CB in the league in Win Probability Added (note: you have to get opportunities to make plays in order to contribute to Win Probability, so Sherman ranks 66th).

Maxwell ranks 10th in Positive Expected Points Added, thanks mostly to his one INT and his tackling (5th in the league with 17 tackles).

On the Seahawks D, he is 7th in contributing to Win Probability and 5th in contributing to Expected Points.

This all adds up to
1) he's involved in a LOT of plays
2) he has made a few plays (3 passes defended, 1 INT)
3) he's tackling well and limiting damage

 

[Tech Worlds]

He does his job. Sacrifices underneath stuff in favor of keeping everything in front of him. He's played three of the best QBs in the game so far, so that has to be factored in. Not in a rush to judge his play just yet.

Browner, from 2011-2012, was a difference maker. Thurmond played at a pretty high level while starting for BB last year (but also played against lesser competition). I'd put Maxwell's play somewhere below Thurmond as a starter and quite a bit below BB from 2011-2012, but again, Maxwell has played against the best of the best so far.

If he gets exploited by the likes of Cousins, Romo and whoever is QBing for the Rams, then we might have an issue.

Let's not put him behind Browner quite yet.

I am anxious to see just how Browner plays under the new rules that limit contact and grabbing. I just don't think he has the footspeed to play in any other system than the one he was in here.

 

[SeaChase]

I think he's been exploited. Last year he came in for BB and did well for a nobody. Now that he's played a few games, there's actually film to study and he's the weak point in the passing defense.

 

[DavidSeven]

He does his job. Sacrifices underneath stuff in favor of keeping everything in front of him. He's played three of the best QBs in the game so far, so that has to be factored in. Not in a rush to judge his play just yet.

Browner, from 2011-2012, was a difference maker. Thurmond played at a pretty high level while starting for BB last year (but also played against lesser competition). I'd put Maxwell's play somewhere below Thurmond as a starter and quite a bit below BB from 2011-2012, but again, Maxwell has played against the best of the best so far.

If he gets exploited by the likes of Cousins, Romo and whoever is QBing for the Rams, then we might have an issue.

Let's not put him behind Browner quite yet.

I am anxious to see just how Browner plays under the new rules that limit contact and grabbing. I just don't think he has the footspeed to play in any other system than the one he was in here.

Fwiw, I was only putting him behind 2011-2012 Browner (Pro Bowler in 2011, still a force in 2012). In 2013, BB definitely had his ups and downs. But yeah, not sure how the new rule emphasis would've affected him back then (and he was already being penalized a lot).

 

[Cartire]

I think he's been exploited. Last year he came in for BB and did well for a nobody. Now that he's played a few games, there's actually film to study and he's the weak point in the passing defense.

The weakest point in the LOB, yes. But thats kinda a duh.

A weak point on most other defenses, Nah. Maxwell is playing with the best. I'd like to see the targets for him, but I have to assume its near the very top, if not the top.

 

[-The Glove-]

If you are referring to the actual TD the Donkos scored in the 4th quarter, point the finger at KJ Wright as it was HIM that was 10 feet behind his man.

This...that was all KJ. I don't know what KJ saw, but he was covering some underneath route that no one was running and let Tamme get way behind him

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Given that he now has the privilege of being the weak point of the LOB and thus the target of every elite quarterback and wide receiver tandem in the league, I think he's holding up fine.

The long pass play was a well-designed cover beater where Jeron Johnson lost trail. Didn't expect Sanders to break deep, and Maxwell's man in the slot was actually serving to shield Sanders from the safety's view. Credit where it's due for good play design, and for Peyton buying time to make it happen.

 

[daveman918]

IMHO When he is executing well and watching the play the whole way he's effective and a solid B grade corner for me. However, when his fundamentals break down he's Jennings quality which is one of my least favorite Seahawks corners of the past. I have nightmares of Jennings back to the ball olé style that used to frustrate the heck out of me. Fortunately it's not as consistently bad but it still happens a bit too much for my taste and could use some tightening up.

On the LB / Corner / safety communication or synergy topic, we got burned in San diego too. Something that this years defense probably needs to execute on better moving forward. I ddon't necessary put that all on KJ.

 

[Tical21]

Guys, the TD was not against man coverage. You would like KJ Wright to carry the coverage deeper, but that is Maxwell's zone, there is zero doubt. He is responsible for the outside deep third. Maxwell HAS to pass the coverage off to the safety who has the deep middle third. Look at Cartire's replay again. The safety is in perfect position. Maxwell just has to pass him off. He has to. To let this slip once is a mistake. To let the same play happen again and make the same mistake again and fail to have zone discipline is inexcusable in that situation. That is a rookie mistake.

Overall, I'm on his bandwagon, although he is playing too much on his heels right now for my likings, but he'll get that swagger back.

 

[HawkWow]

I think a lot of the negative perception of Maxwell comes from the fact that he is targeted so much. But of course he is, he's drawing #1 WRs every week and teams have only thrown at Sherman something like 5 times in three games. That's a boatload of passes being dished out to the rest of Seattle's back seven, and since Maxwell is usually covering #1 WRs, he's going to get most of those targets by design.

I think the negative perception comes from the opposition completing like 80% of their passes against him. In fairness, the opposition has been Elite (with a capital E). I remain in his corner, believe he will get better exponentially and his dosage of humility will likely serve him well going forward. At the very least, JS is racking up the bargaining power for year's end.