In 2011, San Francisco's free agent acquisition Carlos Rogers has been showing the league that Nnamdi Asomugha and Jonathan Joseph weren't the only good cornerbacks on the market this past offseason. Upon Jim Harbaugh accepting the 49ers head coaching position, the secondary was destined for a makeover.
Harbaugh brought in three notables in Rogers, Donte Whitner and Madieu Williams this offseason in an attempt to fill some voids with some fresh faces. Rogers has been emerging as the prize amongst the group, replacing the departed Nate Clements better than I expected.
In four games, Rogers has 2 interceptions which is good enough to tie for second in the NFL and 8 pass deflections which ties him for third in the league. The cornerback played well in the memorable week four match against the Philadelphia Eagles.
On the first play of the game, Andy Reid and the Eagles thought they would take a shot at the secondary by going deep to DeSean Jackson. Rogers was there with the speedy wide out every step of the way, breaking up the slightly under thrown ball by Michael Vick.
Not long after, Rogers got his hand in on another pass, except this time he tipped it to himself for his 2nd pick of the year.
Rogers has shown the physical ability to stay with the elite receivers in the league, and even though Jackson had a monster game yards-wise, they didn't come on Rogers and he never scored. What was most impressive was that after the first half, the 49ers defense shut down the Eagles offense, holding them to 3 points.
The cornerback also respects the wide receivers he faces by playing them according to their abilities. For instance, during the Eagles game, Rogers played 7 to 10 yards off Jackson to prevent from being burned by him at the line. This shows a level of intelligence that absolutely helps him become a more complete player.
Also when Rogers was acquired, there was speculation that he would have difficulty getting interceptions due to poor ball skills he displayed in Washington. Not only is Rogers on pace for 8 interceptions this season, but he's contributed to the 49ers as a team having a +8 turnover ratio.
At the moment, I think Niners fans can be satisfied with the play from Rogers and when Whitner returns from injury, I'm sure he will prove to be another underrated value attained by Harbaugh. Rogers will have a challenge this weekend when he goes up against Tampa Bay receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn. San Francisco returns home for week five as they look to improve to 4-1.
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