Before he rode an imaginary horse into Jacksonville’s end zone, stole a game-winning touchdown away from Brandin Cooks and battled Odell Beckham Jr., Josh Norman was humbled a bit in the summer of 2015.
Not by his fight with Cam Newton, but by some of the things Kelvin Benjamin did against him.
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16 months later, Benjamin and Norman will meet again.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Benjamin stated Wednesday after saying he expects Norman to shadow him Monday night in Washington.
While Norman has long thought of himself as the NFL’s best corner, that’s also how Benjamin described his former teammate. What helps Norman’s argument is he’s no longer mostly confined to one side of the field.
“He’s not playing a lot of cover-2 that he played here,” Benjamin said. “But he’s shadowing guys really well, talking to them, getting in their head and making plays. Doing what Josh Norman do.”
If Norman wants to start yapping at Benjamin, it won’t take him long to find ammo.
To anyone not named Ron Rivera, Benjamin’s performance against the Chargers Sunday was tough to defend. It wasn’t that he had just one catch, but he clearly didn’t play through the whistle when a pair of passes thrown his way landed in the hands of San Diego defensive backs.
“(I just have to) make sure (I) finish,” Benjamin said, “cause what if they didn’t call it? What if they didn’t go review it?”
Fortunately for Benjamin, replay bailed him out on both occasions. But in his eyes, that’s about the only help he’s received from refs lately.
“I’m a big guy,” he said, “so they give the little DBs a little bit more leeway to put their hands on me and pull me down in certain situations.”
Still, arguing while your opponent heads the other way is something guys do in the NBA. That doesn’t fly in football where every play is magnified.
To his credit, Benjamin admitted he’s been somewhat frustrated this season by a lack of looks. As a rookie, he was targeted 9.0 times per game. This year, that number’s dropped to 7.6.
“I think that would weigh down on anybody in this league because everybody wants to be great,” Benjamin said. “You definitely want the ball in your hands as a playmaker.”
But if Norman does indeed shadow him, Monday may not be the night when Benjamin’s spirits are uplifted.