Could Joselio Hanson Mend the Raiders' Broken Hearts?

Joselio Hanson may not be the high profile, big money, or big dreams player (cough, Nnamdi, cough) but if I were an Oakland Raiders fan I would be encouraging you all to say, "Who cares," because the truth is he may prove to be an even more valuable player.

Why?  Because smart fans like of the Oakland Raiders know the true stat to look for when it comes to cornerbacks.

Which stat is that?  SACKS?  Umm... does he play defensive end? INTERCEPTIONS?  They may get you to the Pro Bowl but they also got Patriots Devin Mccourty there and how good was he last season, granted my boy was banged up for most of it.

Is it TACKLES? BINGO! Finally someone gets it right!

Yes, my friends, when it comes to judging the worth of a CB's worth as a position player, tackles may prove to be the most honest stat to judge such a player.  The reason being, unlike a DE or LB who are in the business of making tackles, the more tackles a CB is making unassisted each year is a good measure of how many times a QB is trusting the WR he's throwing to beat the corner defending.

So in theory, less tackles is > or equal to the amount of throws coming their way. Less means more in the CB game.

Joselio Hanson, ironically released by the Eagles, may not have the INT that make us all go crazy. But his tackles, at least for this football fan, speak even more volumes.

Over his last eleven seasons, his tackles for the season, solo, have been: 18, 26, 45, 28, 35, 31, 26. Eagles #24 past 9 seasons have been: 35, 17, 30, 33, 32, 48, 55, 37, and 20.

Nnamdi may still be arguably the better CB but is Hanson really any less? Well when it comes to the stat that for many really matter I'm sure some computer program out there may put him ahead.  I got a feeling this season Raider fans will too, finally.

Posted in: #24,Joselio Hanson,Nnamdi,Oakland Raiders