Poochie on the Market

It was February 6th 2011 and feeling the artic weather more than most was a sure-fire hall of famer who stood on the sideline after shattering his collarbone.
I am of course talking about Charles Woodson, who went down clutching his injured shoulder area before halftime of Super Bowl 45. But rather than head to the locker room and get treatment forever, he threw on a sling and willed his Green Bay Packers to win and bring the Lombardi trophy back home to its spiritual birthplace. That is the best memory I have of Charles Woodson.
And now the former Raider is fair game, one of the best of his generation available to any team who he is interested in. I’m writing this article because I admire the guy and think his career is winding down. Not over, but his release from that ridiculously fat contract he signed with the Packers does suggest to me his days are numbered.
Surely we don’t have another Darrell Green situation on our hands……
Woodson transcended the cornerback position and I feel he doesn’t receive the credit he deserves. Troy Polomalu and Ed Reed are more high profile but I’d take a prime Woodson over them any day. He played with a controlled aggression that made him an intimidating presence; he didn’t have to tell people how good he was because his on-field play showcased it.
A testament to his skills is that he is the benchmark for cornerbacks entering the NFL. Dee Milliner, the consensus number one cornerback this year is described as a cornerback with safety skills, who does that remind you of?
He really did play the cornerback position like a safety maybe that is why he made the transition so easily in his last season with the Packers. You will find it tough sledding to find many cornerbacks that are big, fast, can cover, can hit, can blitz and that have the range usually associated with those protecting the deep middle of the field.
Woodson’s legendary status is enforced even more when you consider that even high school players are being compared to him. As a Michigan fan, I can tell you that Big Blue treat him like a god and measure any two way player against the 1998 Heisman winner.
Jabrill Peppers will have big shoes to fill if he plays corner, receiver and return man for a team that has the only man to win both the Heisman and Super Bowl trophies among their alumni.
Only certain defensive players have leadership qualities that are uncommon. Sure you have supremely talented guys like Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi Asomugha who excite, but they don’t inspire the way Woodson does. In my eyes, only Patrick Willis and Ed Reed do that today now that Ray Ray has retired into the sunset.
One thing I admire is that he is a man of few words, and so of few excuses. When Clay Matthews made silly excuses, Poochie kept his mouth closed and led by example by being accountable: “I don't believe in feeling good about being close. Close ain't winning. We felt like we should have won that game, could have won that game, but just didn't come through when we had to.”

It will be interesting to see just how far Woodson can go with another team next season. He showed glimpses of his special talents last season despite being almost 37 years old, and I’m sure he will be looking to add to the already huge amount of memories people have of him.

A Defensive Player of the Year when he was already well into his 30’s, there were many plays of his that I could watch over and over, but one stood out. It happened before he was even drafted and will be in the archives of college football for years to come. It happened before my time, but having friends out in Michigan, I know it will exist in Ann Arbour folklore forever.
Quite a simple play really by Woodson’s standards, jumping a route and making a one-handed interception on the sideline. But he did it against Michigan nemesis Michigan State, once again showing that even as a student, he still delivered the moments of greatness in big games that we’d become accustomed to in the NFL.