Shawn Springs, Ohio State

  
via JAMD

Springs was ever that most underappreciated player, the true cover corner. People: fans, coaches and commentators love the pick, but though Springs tallied a glossy 12 over his 2nd and 3rd seasons, ball-hawking was never Springs game. No, Springs dominated like KGB: The unseen hand that quietly disappeared opposing receivers.

Even in the emerging world of modern football analysis, "cover" is among the hardest to qualify abilities. Coverage is about time. Eventually, all coverage breaks down, but good cover buys the pass rush time, making a hustle and motor pass rush work (See: the 2007 Seahawks). Good cover frees personnel, when Seattle matched Marcus Trufant with Kelly Herndon, Trufant’s ability to adequately play single coverage allowed the Hawks to shift zones right or assign a second DB to Herndon’s assignment. Sometimes it seemed Trufant was getting torched, but his failings were often just evidence of Herndon’s inadequacies.

For 11 seasons, 6 with Seattle, Springs has quietly done DB dirty work. Locking hips, running astride and doing everything he can to avoid airtime.