49ers studs, duds from Week 5 loss vs. Cardinals
By Peter Panacy
49ers Dud: Cornerback Josh Norman
It’s understandable why the 49ers onboarded veteran cornerback Josh Norman early during the season in the wake of losing fellow corner Jason Verrett to a season-ending ACL tear. Having a veteran presence should make a difference.
The only problem, however, is Norman hasn’t exactly been a positive, and he certainly wasn’t in Week 5 during an otherwise solid defensive output against Arizona’s top-ranked offense entering the game.
Norman surrendered the eventual game-winning touchdown to Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, which in of itself might be fine. Hopkins is pretty good at football, the last time anyone checked. Hopkins is going to make a dent in any defense, and the Niners aren’t going to be an exception.
Still, Norman had plenty of other difficulties in coverage, including getting flagged for a defensive hold and then being flagged for defensive pass interference, the latter call declined because Hopkins reeled in the 27-yard pass anyway.
Norman has always been handsy, so that’s not unusual. But he hasn’t made up for it with quality play, and such was the case again versus Arizona.