Top WR/CB Tandems in ‘08

By Tim Deckman
Love of Sports Correspondent

Who will be the nastiest tandem in the NFL this coming fall?

Well, that depends on what side of the ball you’re talking about. This article is going to take a look at the best cornerback and wide receiver tandems for this coming year.

There have been many changes during the offseason sofa far, and yet some of the most respected tandems in football still remain in place.

For the sake of this argument, though, we’ll only focus on wide receivers and cornerbacks. I understand some tight ends and safeties could be included to make ridiculous duos as well. Maybe next time.

CORNERBACK TANDEMS

1. San Diego (Cromartie/Jammer)
105 TOT/ 28 PD/ 11 INT
It’s hard to argue with those numbers.

2. Denver (Bailey/Bly)
135 TOT/ 28 PD/ 8 INT
I know what you’re saying, but three more INTs puts San Diego on top of these guys.

3. San Francisco (Clements/Harris)
149 TOT/ 27 PD/ 8 INT
This tandem is more balanced than people might realize, as Harris had four interceptions.

4. Philadelphia (Samuel/Brown)
114 TOT/ 32 PD/ 7 INT
The ridiculous part of this is that this totally leaves out Lito Sheppard, who might be force to their bench!

5. Buffalo (McGee/Greer)
124 TOT/ 35 PD/ 6 INT
Greer really stepped up after the Bills lost Nate Clements, but they also just drafted the first CB off the board, Leodis McKelvin.

6. Oakland (Hall/Routt)
112 TOT/ 23 PD/ 8 INT
You thought that after spending the money on Asomugha, he would be starting, but he and Routt will probably battle it out for the No. 2 slot behind Hall.

7. Pittsburgh (Taylor/Townsend)
132 TOT/ 32 PD/ 5 INT
Perhaps one of the more underrated tandems ready to take advantage of pressure created from the Steelers’ blitz.

People to Watch

Dallas – A Pacman/Henry team very well could be this year’s top tandem, but Jones is still yet to get the official OK to play this year.

Arizona – If you pair Hood with FS Rolle, they make this list, and they also just drafted a cornerback with the last name(s) Rodgers-Cromartie.

Chicago – The key to this tandem is Vasher staying healthy this year.

St. Louis – Fakhir Brown had a career year last year, but Tye Hill still needs to improve.

Tampa Bay – If Ronde Barber doesn’t retire, he’ll do wonders to teach Aquib Talib the poisition.

Seattle – Trufant’s numbers almost put him on this list by himself.

RECEIVER TANDEMS

1. New England (Moss/Welker)
2,668 yds / 31 TD / 15.2 / 10.5 avg
Moss could play with my grandma (who’s not with us anymore) and still be at the top of this list. However, he’s found the perfect route-runner compliment in Welker.

2. Indianapolis (Wayne/Harrison’07)
2,876 yds / 22 TD / 14.5 / 14.4 avg
If you take Harrison’s numbers from the year before, as he was injured last season, this is what you get. Expect very slightly lower numbers from Harrison if he stays healthy.

3. Cincinnati (Johnson/Houshmandzadeh)
2,583 yds / 20 TD / 15.5 / 10.2 avg
With Henry off the team, there will certainly be more pressure for Ocho Cinco to find the end zone this year.

4. Dallas (Owens/Crayton)
2,052 yds / 22 TD / 16.7 / 13.9 avg
T.O. has one of the highest per catch averages in the NFL. If he drops fewer balls next year and if Crayton continues to develop, they could blow away almost anyone.

5. Arizona (Fitzgerald/Boldin)
2,262 yds / 19 TD / 14.1 / 12.0 avg
It’ll be interesting to see if Matt Leinart can get the same production from these two as Kurt Warner did last year.

6. Cleveland (Edwards/Stallworth)
1,986 yds / 19 TD / 16.1 / 15.2
If there wasn’t enough pressure on Derek Anderson to play well with Brady Quinn on hold, how about adding even more firepower to the Browns receiving corps?

7. New Orleans (Colston/Patten)
1,994 yds / 14 TD / 12.3 / 14.7 avg
Hopefully Drew Brees and the Saints can get these guys moving a little earlier in the season to bring back some confidence to this team.

People to Watch

Green Bay (Driver/Jennings)
1,968 yds / 14 TD / 12.8 / 17.4 avg
While they have numbers comparable to the Saints, without Favre it’s just not the same. Expect these numbers to go down with Rogers at the helm.

Seattle (Engram/Burleson)
1,841 yds / 15 TD / 12.2 / 13.9 avg
Good numbers here despite Deion Branch being hurt for most of last year.

Detroit (McDonald/Williams)
1,779 yds / 11 TD / 11.9 / 13.3 avg
Seriously Detroit, this is all you have to show for your first round draft picks? The Lions better hope this is the year Calvin Johnson puts up huge numbers.

Oakland (Walker/Carter)
Last year’s numbers don’t matter for these two.
Al Davis might regret not loading up on offensive linemen in the draft to give his quarterback enough time to get the ball to these two.

Rookie Impact

Pittsburgh (Holmes/Ward)
1,674 yds / 15 TD / 18.1 / 10.3 avg
They just picked up Limas Sweed in the draft, who will add height to their red zone attack.

New York (Burress/Toomer)
1,785 yds / 15 TD / 14.6 / 12.9 avg
Will we see the Eli Manning of the first or second half of the season? Speaking of Mannings, they just picked up one in wide receiver Mario Manningham out of Michigan.

Washington (Moss/Randle El)
1,563 yds / 4 TD / 13.2 / 14.3 avg
These guys added their own rookie duo in Macolm Kelly and Devin Thomas, no more excuses for Jason Campbell.

Buffalo (Evans)
849 yds / 5 TD / 15.4 avg
The Bills finished the year 30th in passing last year. Look for rookie James Hardy to make an immediate impact with his size complimenting Lee Evans’ speed.

Phildelphia (Curtis)
1,110 yds / 6 TD / 14.4 avg
While the Birds finished 10th in passing, most of that included Brian Westbrook, the addition of DeSean “Flash” Jackson could be huge as Donovan McNabb feels his career clock ticking.