Tony, Tony--aw jeez...

The following is copied from a Tony Grossi column. My corrections are in color.

Will rookie Joe Haden and veteran pickup Sheldon Brown knock Eric Wright to the No.3 cornerback spot?
Wright is entering the final year of his contract and has given off vibes of expecting a big payday. While his coverage skills have steadily improved, Wright remains a liability in run defense.
While shorter than Wright, Haden is a more physical corner -- at least at Florida -- willing and able to stick his head in against the run. The seventh player taken in any draft is expected to be an instant contributor. And the Browns didn't give Brown $5 million after trading for him to play in sub defenses.
Of course, all three will receive considerable playing time as opponents field three receivers. But corners have to play the run in Mangini's defense and Wright had the benefit last year of being the best of a weak bunch.

Tony uses salary to pre-determine starters for him. Brown will play as much as the other guys, and it doesn't matter who gets called "starter". (Tony also likes labels and titles. Everything in it's little box...)

Wright has ALWAYS been good in coverage. He is a "man" corner, like tackling machines Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield. (Uh...that was a joke, by the way.) Sure, Mangini wants everybody to tackle. But Ryan's defense will blitze a lot, and man coverage is almost neccessary for that to work.

(Tony: man coverage is different from zone, ok?)

Tony seems to think that a guy who zeroes in on a reciever, first to get a jam on him, and then to run with him (with his back to the QB), is also expected to read the backfield, as if he was a zone corner starting out five or seven yards downfield.

Tony, coverage comes first in man coverage. Wright is a man corner, will be used as such, and will start.

• Will either rookie safety crack the starting lineup in his first year?
Second-round pick T.J. Ward has more coverage ability than fifth-rounder Larry Asante and both are big hitters. Asante's selection almost seemed like insurance because of Ward's injury history.
If Ward is able to stay healthy, he could be the enforcer so lacking in the secondary and set up a competition between Abram Elam and Mike Adams at the other spot. Asante should be expected to be a core player on special teams.

Mangini grabbed Elam because he was experienced and cheap. Please stop leaping to the conclusion that Eric loves the guy and will start him over a superior player. Elam probably backs up from now on.

IF IF IF Ryan uses a conventional coverage scheme rather than a two-deep, Sheldon Brown is almost interchangeable with Rodney Adamsfield at free safety.

But let's not get bogged down in labels, titles, and boxes. The majority of the time there will be five DB's on the field, and we have just named them.