Rodgers-Cromartie out to change perception after injury plagued 2014

If you ask New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, his first season with the team was a failure. After being brought in on a five-year, $39 million contract to serve as the team's shutdown cornerback, injuries limited Giants fans from seeing everything that Rodgers-Cromartie has to offer. The result was an array of game tape that Rodgers-Cromartie does not want to ever have to watch again.

“Some things I saw last year, I know that’s not me,’’ Rodgers-Cromartie said, per The New York Post. “I’m looking forward to another opportunity and to just erase that.’’

Rodgers-Cromartie holds high standards for himself, and his production wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. According to Pro Football Focus, despite playing just 767 defensive snaps, he finished as the 17th-best cornerback overall. He allowed just two touchdowns in primary coverage all season and a 56.8 completion percentage against.

From an ankle to a hamstring and finally to a hip injury, Rodgers-Cromartie couldn't seem to ever get fully healthy in 2014. Rodgers-Cromartie carries a fighter's mentality, and he refused to let these naggin injuries keep him out of the Giants' lineup.  He played in all 16 games, but he was forced to sit out meaningful snaps in several games.

“If I can go a little bit I’m going to go, point blank" Rodgers-Cromartie said. "Injuries happen, you got to fight through it so I don’t think too much on that.’’

Entering the 2015 season, Rodgers-Cromartie is hoping to string together another healthy season like the one he had in 2013 with the Denver Broncos. During 2013, Rodgers-Cromartie first earned a reputation as a shadow cornerback who can shut down the top receiver on opposing teams. He finished as Pro Football Focus' fifth-best cornerback in pass coverage, allowing just 44.1 percent of passes to be completed against him and an opposing quarterback rating of just 67.8.

Rodgers-Cromartie believes that the addition of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will also help his progress.

"I truly feel that just [Spagnuolo's] whole concept and the things that he allows us to do, I feel pretty good," Rodgers-Cromartie told reporters, per Giants.com.

Rodgers-Cromartie is excited about what the new defense has in store for the secondary.

"I would say this defense is kinda corner[back] friendly," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "It allows you to use your vision a whole lot more and do some things that really play to the corners that we have, [their] skill sets, as far as vision and breaking on balls.

"As far as your reads, more trap coverages, things that throw the quarterback. Instead of just lining up and playing man."

It's too early to predict a major improvement from the Giants' defensive unit in 2015, but we can be certain that we will be seeing an aggressive and attacking defensive style.

(h/t New York Post)

Photo Credit: William Perlman/The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports