Then his second season began and, instead of building on the success of his rookie year, Stokes regressed. He was riding the high of a good introduction to the NFL, overconfident by his own admission, and it showed on the field. Stokes allowed four catches of at least 20 yards and two touchdowns in nine games, often appearing lost as he wandered the secondary. He missed seven tackles in 33 chances, the worst tackle rate in the Packers secondary.
“I absolutely hate looking at that film,” Stokes said. “But it’s just something I’ve got to do. I’ve just got to learn from it. It’s pretty much just the smallest details that you miss, it’s the small, little stuff that you take for granted, small, little stuff like simple, little things. Like getting ready. Just getting lined up and being ready.
“One thing that (former defensive backs coach Jerry Gray) taught me before he left was just having your gun ready, especially as a corner. You’ve always got to be ready because the ball can easily find you, no matter what, no matter when, whatever. The ball easily finds you.”
The ball kept finding Stokes last season over and over again. When a cornerback struggles, there is nowhere to hide. Not when New York Jets receiver Corey Davis beat him for 41 yards down the right sideline. Not when Stokes covered the wrong receiver in Washington, allowing a wide-open touchdown to Antonio Gibson. Not when his holding penalty nullified a Rasul Douglas scoop-and-score fumble recovery later in the same game.
It was one calamity after another.
“Just trying to be Superman,” Stokes said. “Just trying to do everything and all that stuff, when that’s not required. The only thing that’s required from me is guard the man in front of me. Bump everything else. The thing in front of me is the only thing I need to worry about. Not the bigger picture, not anything. Just stopping the man in front of me.”
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