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Elite Status Is Just Around The Corner For Terence Newman
Dallas Morning News
September 3, 2008
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| Photo Courtesy of DallasCowboys.com |
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Here's a glimpse into the life of Terence Newman, the Cowboys' starting cornerback:
A Week 1 game at Cleveland against Braylon Edwards.
Week 3 in Green Bay against Donald Driver.
The next week, the Redskins' Santana Moss comes to Texas Stadium.
There's a meeting Oct. 5 against Cincinnati's Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Don't forget the Nov. 2 matchup in East Rutherford with Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer of the New York Giants.
On Dec. 7, Newman better get his long johns ready for a meeting at Pittsburgh, with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes.
For Newman, taking on some of the top wide receivers in the NFL must seem like a roller coaster. It's full of ups and downs, twists and turns.
"You got to think it is," Newman said. "It's either do or die. They are coming at you, and you are coming at them."
Playing the position
In the NFL, cornerback is one of the more demanding positions on the field.
"When I was in college, I used to look at [Charles] Woodson and Deion [Sanders] and Darrell Green and guys like that," Newman said. "You always look at Al Harris because he's the best press corner in the game right now. You take little bits and pieces of all their games and use what they have to make you better."
Newman, who enters his sixth NFL season, was impressed at how Sanders used his speed to catch up to receivers who got some distance on him. Newman watched as Harris used his hands to hold off receivers in man-to-man coverage.
Green was outstanding in man coverage, too. The backpedal, a technique employed in zone coverage, was something Newman wanted to work on when he turned pro.
Former Cowboys safety Darren Woodson said Newman was great at studying game film of wide receivers. He wanted to make sure he knew everything about them.
Woodson said Newman is a gym rat, even after meetings. In Newman's rookie year, Woodson would talk to the defensive backs about their assignments for a game. Woodson said Newman almost always had the answers.
"In the NFL, you can play the left side then the right side. It doesn't matter," Newman said. "Whatever tip you may have, you have to give it to your teammates."
Newman said there is no receiver he'd rather not face, but "you have to stay focused back there when you've got guys like Braylon Edwards and Santana and Chad Johnson who are so good week in and week out."
"You might give up 150 yards, but I feel like I can't let my teammates down. That's the biggest part of it."
Washington Redskins secondary coach Jerry Gray is a former NFL defensive coordinator. He also was a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback. He says a great cover corner can handle any receiver.
"A cover corner is someone, regardless of the type of receiver he's covering, he's got the ability to adapt," Gray said.
"If it's a big receiver, he shuts them down nine out of 10 times. If it's a small receiver, it's the same way ... it doesn't matter. Deion in his prime, he could go up against any of the top receivers and shut them down. I thought [Broncos cornerback] Champ Bailey was pretty much the same way. God threw those guys a lot of skill that a lot of people don't have."
Growing up
Newman, 30, and his older sister, Quet, grew up in Salina, Kan., an agricultural town of about 45,000 people.
The grain elevators and the town's countryside look and feel are the main reasons Newman considers himself a country boy.
At Salina Central High School, Newman lettered three times in track and basketball. He ran a 10.36 100-meter dash and a 21.6 200-meter dash. In football, he earned varsity letters his junior and senior years. He also lettered in baseball.
"My mom [Wanda] always supported whatever I wanted to do," Newman said. "She remembers when I told her a long time ago I was going to make it in baseball or football. It was one of those things as a mom when she said, 'Yeah you will.' "
College life
Newman didn't stray far from home when choosing a college. He picked Kansas State, located in Manhattan, about 50 miles from Salina.
"I think he was a pretty typical freshman coming in," former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "He grew tremendously during his time here, and he respected the values of the game of football."
When Newman arrived, he played safety, but that changed at the end of his redshirt freshman year.
"I was a third-string safety," Newman said. "I didn't start [at cornerback] until I was a junior. I always showed signs of being good at [safety], but I never really turned the corner."
From 2001 through 2002, Newman earned All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Thorpe Award honors. He also was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the collegian voted the best defensive player in the country.
In track, Newman was the 2002 Big 12 indoor champion in the 60 meters and set a school record with a time of 6.62 seconds. He also was a two-time Big 12 outdoor 100-meter champion. He set a school record with a time of 10.2 seconds.
But in football, Newman was going places.
He could have entered the NFL draft after his junior season, and probably would have been a high first-round pick, but he elected to stay at Kansas State. It was important for Newman to graduate from college to fulfill a promise he made to his mother.
The pro game
In his first draft as Cowboys coach, Bill Parcells made Newman his first pick, choosing him fifth overall in 2003.
The Cowboys were impressed with Newman's skills. He started all 16 games his rookie season, recording four interceptions and 14 pass breakups.
Newman also impressed the team with his maturity.
"He was a little older [24] than the normal rookie," said Woodson, who played with Newman for two seasons. "He was mature in how he handled on- and off- the-field situations more than any corner coming in."
Looking to avoid the lure of downtown nightlife, Newman elected to live in Southlake.
"Most first-rounders when they come in, their pockets are full of money," Woodson said. "It takes them a while to get focused on what's going on. They worry about where they're going to stay, what type of car to get and where the party is."
Newman said he didn't worry about that too much. He focused on football.
"I was trying to stay out of harm's way," Newman said. "I lived completely opposite of where everybody goes out. It's a 45-minute drive [downtown], and then I got to drive home, and it's 2 in the morning. It was my way of staying out of and staying away from trouble."
Expectations
Newman started in his first 64 NFL games, compiling 12 interceptions and 54 pass breakups but didn't earn a Pro Bowl berth.
During that time, Dre' Bly, Lito Sheppard, DeAngelo Hall and Ronde Barber earned multiple Pro Bowl trips.
"He's been so consistent in that he gets better every year," said Bailey, whom Newman considers to be the best at his position.
"I'm surprised he made his first Pro Bowl last year. A couple of years he could have made it because he starts out so good and gets better as the year progresses."
Last season, Newman missed the first two games because of a foot injury. He finished the season tied for third on the team with four interceptions. His 15 pass breakups tied for the team lead.
It resulted in Newman's first Pro Bowl. It also raised the level of expectations for him.
In April, the Cowboys traded for Adam Jones to eventually become a starting corner. A little more than a month later, Newman signed a six-year extension worth $50.2 million, with $22.5 million guaranteed.
"They just gave me a $50 million contract. Why should I worry about everybody else?" Newman said with a laugh.
But his work ethic remains. Newman's teammates say he's one of the first players to arrive at Valley Ranch and among the last to leave.
The contract, the added pressure of trying to win a Super Bowl and the addition of Jones hasn't deterred Newman.
"It doesn't matter who we have on the team," Newman said. "Pacman is going to do what he does, and I do what I do ... same with [Cowboys' other starting corner] Anthony Henry. New players on the team change nothing. It just makes us a better team."
On playing cornerback ...
Most cornerbacks in the NFL like to cover man-to-man. When a player shuts down a wide receiver on a consistent basis, he is dubbed a "cover corner." Some thoughts on what it takes to become that type of player:
Champ Bailey
"A lot of different things. You have to be a great athlete. You just can't be average. You have to have a mind-set that things go bad real fast on the corner, and you have to have that mind-set that you're great. You have to get yourself back in it and your team back in it as soon as possible."
Terence Newman
"Somebody who is smart, has good instincts and you have to be quick. You have to be able to cover the run and also have that swagger of being confident. You can't be a cover corner if you can't stop the run. I think that's a slap in the face. I'd rather be called a complete back who can cover and tackle."
Nathan Vasher
"Formations and route recognition is important. I think it just takes you being a student of the game first, understanding how things work together. Then you, of course, have to have athletic ability. Plus, you have to be a finisher, be able to finish on the ball and make big plays."
NFL'S TOP CORNERBACKS
Comparing Terence Newman to some of the other top cornerbacks in the league:
Champ Bailey - Denver
9 Seasons
42 Career INTs
8
Pro Bowls
COMMENT: Considered best in the game
Nnamdi Asomugha - Oakland
5 Seasons
9 Career INT's
0 Pro Bowls
COMMENT: Should have breakout year
Asante Samuel - Philadelphia
5 Seasons
22 Career INTs
1 Pro Bowl
COMMENT: 16 picks last two seasons
Marcus Trufant - Seattle
5 Seasons
16 Career INTs
1 Pro Bowl
COMMENT: Career-high 7 INTs last year
Terence Newman - Dallas
5 Seaons
16 Career INTs
1
Pro Bowl
COMMENT: First Pro Bowl berth in 2007
Al Harris - Green Bay
10 Seasons
19 Career INTs
1 Pro Bowl
COMMENT: On back end of career
PICK AND GRIN
Players with the most interceptions since Terence Newman began his NFL career in 2003:
Ed Reed - Baltimore
29
INTs
Champ Bailey - Denver
26
INTs
Darren Sharper - Minnesota
26 INTs
Dre' Bly - Denver
24
INTs
Ty Law - Free agent
23 INTs
Asante Samuel - Philadelphia
22 INTs
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