These were some of the plays we saw from Maddox, Douglas, and Jones. Each of them did a great job of getting the ball on the ground in separate situations. This brings up a bigger discussion, however, in regards to DB play. A lot of people will scream at their TV when they see a defensive back who doesn't turn to find the football at the catch point, but it's important to remember that the situation does not always call for that.

In fact, if a corner looks back too early to find the ball, instead of worrying about his man, he is prone to losing the receiver in coverage and allowing a big play down the field.

The defensive back is working on getting "in-phase" with the receiver, meaning he is running hip-to-hip with the opponent. The corner is typically taught in this situation to turn his head and find the football. When you look at Maddox on his pass breakup, he is perfectly in-phase with the receiver, and can make the play. If you look at Sidney Jones' pass breakup to help seal the victory against Dallas in Week 16, it was the same kind of play.

The thing is – it's not easy to be in-phase. No matter who you are at corner, you are going to get beaten at the line of scrimmage at times. When you're in "catch-up" mode down the field, this is what is called "out of phase." When you look at that first pass breakup from Douglas, he is out of phase. In this situation, you have to work your tail off to get back in-phase ... THEN you get your head around and find the ball. If the ball arrives before you arrive in-phase, you're reading the body language of the receiver. If he shows his hands in an attempt to go up and catch the football, that is when you take your hands and shoot them through the catch point, raking the football and knocking it to the ground. Douglas does this perfectly on these plays, as he's coached to do.