3-Wide: Which team boasts the NFL's best secondary?
3-Wide is a weekly feature in which theScore's NFL editors debate the hot topics around the league. Grab a cold towel and brace for hot takes.
Which receiver in search of a new contract is more valuable to their team, Julio Jones or Dez Bryant?
Arun Srinivasan: Although it's hard to discern who's the more valuable player outright, Jones is the more valuable player in this scenario due to his function in the Falcons' offense. Without Bryant, the NFL's touchdown leader last year, the Cowboys still possess a number of weapons in the passing game, and could probably bring Emmitt Smith back to run behind their incredible offensive line. Without Jones, the Falcons are relying on a hobbled Roddy White, and a host of replacement-level players. The Falcons desperately need to extend the 26-year-old's contract.
Caitlyn Holroyd: While both receivers play integral roles in their respective offenses, it's Jones who is the more valuable of the two. The Cowboys have several other capable receivers beyond Bryant, and could get by without him. Jones racked up a career-high 1,593 receiving yards last season and led the Falcons with 106.2 yards per game, well over the 65.8 yards per game White produced. With White and Matt Ryan both aging, Atlanta would be wise to lock Jones up long-term.
David P. Woods: Neither team is going anywhere without these two players, but Bryant gets the slight edge in value because of his better durability and rare ability to score touchdowns. Bryant leads all receivers in TD receptions over the last five seasons with 56. Is that a fluke? Maybe a little, but the way he won't be denied when he catches the scent of the end zone is plain to see. Scoring seven points instead of three separates the good teams from the middling.
Which team boasts the NFL's best secondary?
Woods: Let's get one thing out of the way first: it's not the Browns, as their defensive coordinator suggested this week. I'm sure my colleagues will say the Seahawks remain on top, and I can't argue with that. I'll use this space to highlight the underrated Packers, who boast a very deep and rapidly improving secondary that includes recent first-rounders Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Damarious Randall.
Srinivasan: Even after Byron Maxwell's exodus to Philadelphia, the Seattle Seahawks still boast the league's best secondary. Cleveland, Denver, and the New York Jets could challenge this distinction, but no team is topping the all-world safety duo of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. The presence of Richard Sherman, arguably the league's best cornerback, makes it easier for the Seahawks' right cornerback to focus singularly on a receiver, knowing Thomas is in the backfield providing support. Cary Williams is an ideal fit for the Seahawks' Cover 3 defense, and a number of the team's backups would start on 31 other clubs.
Holroyd: The Browns' and Jets' secondaries have the potential to be the best in the NFL, but at this point, that designation belongs to the Seahawks. The "Legion of Boom" allowed 186 passing yards per game last season, 17 fewer than any other team. Thomas and Chancellor are easily one of the league's best safety duos, and then there's Sherman, the one-man wrecking crew who allowed an opposing passer rating of just 15.2 over the final six regular-season games of 2014.
Does Michael Oher have a point about being unfairly judged because of 'The Blind Side'?
Holroyd: Oher is not being judged because of a Hollywood blockbuster, he's being judged for his play on the field - which, so far, has been below par. People might be more aware of Oher's presence because of "The Blind Side," but it's ridiculous to blame his shortcomings on a film, especially one that portrayed him as an inspirational figure.
Woods: Unfairly judged might not be the right way to put it. Oher's play has been objectively poor, and accurately assessed by most analysts. Perhaps the better question is if being judged at all is unfair. Most right tackles play out their careers with relative invisibility. The spotlight on Oher is undeniably a little brighter (though probably much less so than he seems to believe), so it's not surprising that he's annoyed by that. His mistakes do garner more attention than the mistakes of his contemporaries.
Srinivasan: I'll try to get a coherent answer in before bursting into laughter. No, he doesn't have a point about being unfairly judged. If anything, the Academy Award-nominated film cast spotlight on his prodigious high school career, and how he overcame significant obstacles en route to the NFL. Oher is largely being judged for being one of the league's worst right tackles, and anything to the contrary is just an excuse for the Panthers' offensive lineman.