Refocused: Walter Thurmond 2011 season retrospective

This article was originally published over the summer, but in the light of the fact that Walter Thurmond is going to be making his first start of the season in the place of now-suspended starting CB Brandon Browner, I thought it'd be good to revisit. Nate put together an excellent video retrospective of Walter Thurmond's 2011 season, and it's a great tool for further discussion and analysis. Thurmond is an exciting, albeit frustrating player in that he's made some great plays over his first two years in the league, and improved a lot in that time, but has had some very tough luck with injuries. He played well six games for the Seahawks last year - first at LCB then at the nickel cornerback spot that we've been talking about so much recently, but he started the 2012 season on the PUP list after suffering a setback in his recap from an awful leg injury suffered in Week 7 last year. He played 14 snaps last week in the slot.

Thurmond is a very good corner - showing versatility enough to play outside (check out the play at 1:43, for example) or at nickel, in man or zone (here, for example). He plays up on the line or 15-yards off, almost like a safety. He's got the quicks that some of the Seahawks' other cornerbacks lack and when on the field in conjunction with Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, could conceivably do some damage. A lot of the tape below you'll see Thurmond in off-coverage and it might be a little bit frustrating, much like Marcus Trufant's tape is frustrating to watch, but with most of these looks, he's doing exactly what the defense calls for. Keep the receiver in front of you, prevent the big play, stop the run and blitz on occasion.

The lowlight is probably when he gets beat for a touchdown against the Giants and Hakeem Nicks on a perfectly thrown pass from Eli Manning, but even on that play, Thurmond is in position and right with Nicks - he just doesn't get his head around quick enough or his hands up fast enough. Overall, the gametape cutup is pretty positive. Watch below too for a better idea on how the Seahawks plan to utilize guys like Jeremy Lane, Marcus Trufant, Byron Maxwell, Deshawn Shead - depending on who ends up playing the most in the nickel spot, and it's a good look at some of the requirements needed for that position. Right now, it looks like Lane will be getting the nod there.

Thanks again to Nate for putting these together, too.