Having spent most of last season with miscast safety Matt Elam playing as their fifth defensive back in the slot, the sight of second-year safety Terrence Brooks in that role in the Ravens’ injury-hit secondary was one that recalled memories of 2014’s patchwork defensive backfield.
It might not be his spot for long, with the additions of free-agent cornerback Shareece Wright and the practice-squad promotions of cornerbacks Asa Jackson and Charles James.
But Brooks, who didn’t practice in that role at all last week, said it’s one he believes he can grow into — and coach John Harbaugh believes he’s well suited for it, if necessary.
For a player whose 2014 was cut short with a season-ending knee injury, any way onto the field is a good one.
“It feels like it’s just like safety,” Brooks said of playing in the slot. “It’s just another position I can play, and I can do it well if I keep getting a chance and keep getting more reps and things like that.”
Save for an embarrassing series of stumbles in coverage that led to a 22-yard completion on third-and-long for Cleveland Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins, Brooks took to his new role well. He tackled well in the run game and was frequently sent as an extra pass rusher, occupying blockers and causing confusion on three of the four Ravens sacks Sunday.
“He’s fast, he’s a very good blitzer, he plays the run well and he’s probably likening it to a strong-safety-type position in base defense, and there are some similarities there," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "I think that’s why he’s comfortable in there.
“Obviously, he can continue to improve; I’m sure he’d be the first to tell you that. But he has some skills, speed, toughness. He plays in the box well as a box safety, and that fits that role to some degree.”
Brooks made a one-play cameo as the nickel defensive back in Week 2 against Oakland, with Kyle Arrington shifting outside after Lardarius Webb tweaked his hamstring. Webb returned after one play. But Webb didn’t return from a thigh injury Sunday, and on the same play he went down, third cornerback Will Davis tore his ACL.
So from around the halfway point of the second quarter, Brooks served as the nickel defensive back. He had five tackles, including one for loss on a run by Isaiah Crowell in the third quarter.
With those two cornerbacks, plus outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, sidelined with around 35 minutes still to play, the Ravens defense struggled to get stops as the game wore on. Brooks wasn’t a major liability in coverage after that one early mistake, but perhaps having a more natural cover cornerback in the slot would hide other deficiencies.
If that’s the case, the kind of time-share that was beginning to develop between Arrington and Davis might develop between the new nickel cornerback of choice and Brooks. In Week 4, Arrington was the third cornerback in situations when the Pittsburgh Steelers were more likely to run, and Davis came in for him on many third downs and obvious passing situations.
Unless there’s a sudden swell of faith in rookie cornerback Tray Walker, Arrington and Jimmy Smith are givens to be featured Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. How Brooks fits into the equation with the influx of new faces will largely depend on how defensive coordinator Dean Pees and the coaching staff assessed his time Sunday.
Brooks’ miscue in pass coverage will be hard to forget, just as his high-profile miscues on long completions against the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints were last year. Still, that nickel role could be the best use of an explosive athlete on a Ravens defense that lacks them.