Sam Shields: Shooting down the stars

Water covers 75 percent of the Earth’s surface. Sam Shields covers the rest.

While that has been applied to the likes of Charles Woodson, we felt it’s time to move it over to the Packers best cover corner in 2013.

In the past four weeks, the Packers have faced three of the NFL’s top receivers. All were blanketed by Sam Shields and held as a non-factor.

Shields has allowed only nine receptions on 20 targeted passes in the last four games. These numbers are even more exceptional looking at who he was matched up against. A.J. Green, Torrey Smith and Josh Gordon have totaled 1,698 yards and eight touchdowns this year.

Smith and Green are first and third in the NFL in receiving yards. Gordon was averaging more than 100 yards per game before he was put on Shields island.
Shields has come a long way since entering the NFL as a free agent. Ted Thompson sniped Sam Shield’s potential and made him a big acquisition during the 2010 Super Bowl run. Since then, his play has been skittish. It wasn’t until the Packers refused to sign him to a long-term contract this offseason that he reached his high ceiling.

Now, upon playing the greatest football of his career, the schedule won’t get much easier. Brandon Marshall is coming up twice with DeSean Jackson, Megatron, and Dez Bryant down the road as well. Should Shields keep up his elite performance, he will be due a monster pay-day this offseason.


(lombardilive.com)