Cromartie loses a touchdown, gains stature

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Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

As it turned out, that dubious holding penalty against Eric Weddle nullifying Antonio Cromartie’s 89-yard interception return for a touchdown won’t go down as an infamous moment that cost the Chargers a playoffs victory.

It won’t claim a place in history alongside the 1980 season AFC Championship when the Chargers lost to the Oakland Raiders 34-27. That was the ill-fated game when Raiders tight end Raymond Chester caught a tipped pass and ran 65 yards for a cheap, early touchdown.

Against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Chargers scored enough points for a 28-24 win without Cromartie’s sudden extra touchdown just before halftime. The Chargers went on to make their reservations for Sunday in the 2007 season AFC Championship game at the New England Patriots.

But that didn’t prevent Chargers head coach Norv Turner from volunteering how much he regretted the penalty for Cromartie’s sake.

“That was one of great plays you’ll ever see made in a playoff atmosphere game,” Turner said. “That thing would have been shown forever and ever, and now it goes down as just an interception with a short return and a holding penalty. It should have been an interception, an unbelievable run, with great blocking and getting the thing done. But it won’t be remembered that way.”

Turner stopped short of criticizing the officials, though, in explaining what he thinks happened on the call.

“We get a little money for winning these playoff games, and I’m not giving it back,” Turner said to laughter.

Turner explained Weddle had blocked the Colts offensive lineman, but the official probably only saw the end of the play when the Colts’ player threw Weddle down as if Colts lineman was ridding Weddle from holding him.

“It’s unfortunate the call went against us,” Turner said.

But Cromartie had less to say about the play than Turner.

“It’s not a big deal for me as long as we didn’t let them get three points or seven points at the end of the half,” Cromartie said. “We got the W. That’s all I’m worried about.”

Cromartie, who led the NFL in interceptions this year with 10 and made his first Pro Bowl, said he had already moved on the Patriots game.

“We went back to work yesterday,” he said Monday at Chargers Park. “They’re undefeated and having a great season. We have to get ourselves ready.”

Cromartie may have to be more ready than most of the Chargers.

His size, 6-foot-2, 203 pounds, and speed provides the Chargers a cornerback to counter that matchup problems that Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (6-4, 210) provides most teams he faced this year en route to catching 23 touchdown passes in 16 regular-season games.

Cromartie was asked if he was looking forward to facing the 10^th-year veteran.

“Who wouldn’t be?” he said, forgetting most people on the planet don’t have his combination of size, speed and confidence.

“I look forward to a challenge every week,” Cromartie said. “It’s a great challenge for me, especially early in my career. Against a veteran like Randy Moss, I’m looking forward to it very much.”

How much Cromartie is matched up against Moss depends on the offensive and defensive calls, but Turner cautioned Moss isn’t the type of player that is left in single coverage.

“I don’t know if you want to match anyone up one on one with Randy,” said Turner, who coached Moss in Oakland. “I’ve seen him up close and personal. I’ve seen him too much. I know he’s not only got great, great speed, he’s crafty and knows how to run routes. He knows how to beat man-to-man coverage.”

In two NFL seasons, Cromartie has shown he’s one of the fastest players in the league on his returns and when he’s chased down players, especially on special teams as a rookie. He’ll need that speed against Moss.

“It appears to me the teams that played (Moss) the best have kept Randy from getting the big plays up the field,” Turner said. “If you can do that you can keep the score manageable and you have a chance to be in the game in the fourth quarter.”

Cromartie wasn’t a starter when the Chargers and Patriots met in Week 2, but he was on the field much of the night in the team’s nickel defense. He’s expected to see even more action Sunday.

Cromartie’s first two starts were against Indianapolis and Jacksonville in the season’s ninth and tenth games when he replaced injured Quentin Jammer. But by Baltimore, the eleventh game, the Chargers started him with Jammer while Florence shifted to nickel back.

“Covering Randy Moss is one of the biggest challenges for me,” Cromartie said. “It’s a big challenge to put myself out there as one of the best corners against one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.”

Even without the nullified touchdown return against Indianapolis, Cromartie’s highlight real still features a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Houston Texans and a 109-yard field goal return against the Minnesota Vikings for a touchdown.

Against Houston in the season’s seventh game, Cromartie, still a nickel back, intercepted two passes, including the 70-yard score. He also recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown, making him only the second player in franchise history with two returns for a touchdown in the same game.

The Houston game revealed to Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the team’s ultimate playmaker, that Cromartie was a maturing NFL playmaker as opposed to a pure talent.

“As he started to play more, he started to grow,” Tomlinson said. “I think it was the one game when he had two picks that I saw the playmaking ability. But it’s not only that it’s his overall ability as a football player. That momentum and confidence grew in him, and he’s been playing phenomenal.”

“Really and truly, the sky is the limit for Cro,” Tomlinson continued. “Just because of the ability that he has. He has ability and size. He’s bigger than a lot of corners in this league. Most guys that move like him are small guys. But Cro’s got the size to create matchup problems.”

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