He was the ninth player chosen in the 1994 draft, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, an All-Pro in the making.
What happened to Antonio Langham?
The Ravens couldn't stop asking that question the first half of last season. And the third-year cornerback couldn't stop asking it, either.
"I went home every night, and I'd sit there a lot of times in the dark, trying to figure out what was going on, why I was playing so bad," Langham said.
"Was it terrible technique? Was it no confidence? Was it that I didn't know the schemes?"
It was all of it and none of it.
"It was the worst thing a player could go through," Langham said.
He got beaten for touchdown passes in seven of the first eight games. He became a gloomy figure in the locker room. He felt like he couldn't cover anyone.
What happened to Antonio Langham?
He rebounded in the second half to tie for the team lead with five interceptions, but not before repairing his confidence, his psyche, his technique.
He was one lonely corner.
Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis said that he took Langham out of his game by shifting to softer coverages.
Head coach Ted Marchibroda said Langham got caught in the rift between Lewis and disgruntled veterans like Eric Turner.
"I'm not sure he was quite sure what to do," Marchibroda said. "Players like Antonio, they're good guys. They give respect to those who are older. But maybe those people didn't really earn that respect. Now, which way does the player lean? Which way does he go?"
Langham was reluctant to discuss the issue, saying only, "There was Marvin. And there were other people involved."
Did the tension affect him?
Langham threw up his hands and smiled.
"It's hard for me to answer that one," he said.
He didn't blame anyone last season, and he doesn't blame anyone now.
Still, Lewis accepted part of the responsibility, saying he "pulled back" on his coverages after Langham struggled early, playing more three-deep zone.
Whatever, Lewis had to do something.
Langham kept getting beat on the left corner. The Ravens lacked a quality right corner. Their opponents were scoring almost at will.
"You're trying to stick your finger in a dike," Lewis said.
Of course, the injuries on the defensive line didn't help, and the secondary was unfairly exposed due to the lack of a pass rush.
But looking back, Lewis recognizes that by employing more conservative schemes, he prevented Langham from being Langham.
"Maybe you become more passive," he said. "At that point, you're scheming people, and your technique breaks down."
Lewis said that perhaps he should have treated Langham like a slumping hitter in baseball, and kept sending him "back to the plate."
It was a confusing, unsettling period.
And Langham admits he let his frustration show.
"People could kind of tell," he said. "I didn't say much. A lot of times the guys were used to seeing me laughing, smiling, joking. But for a time, every day I walked in, I had no smile, I spoke low, I just went about my business."
He finally started playing better Nov. 3 against Cincinnati, holding his own against Carl Pickens. But what happened? He injured his hamstring.
Inactive the next week, Langham spent the time off studying film, reconstructing his technique.
And when he returned, Lewis set him free.
"It was not so much changing schemes or pulling off," Langham said. "It was just when things go bad, you've still got to let a player compete. Once he can compete, he gets his confidence back and makes plays.
"In the second half, Marvin recognized what was going on. He said, 'We're going to go out and compete. If we have a bad play, the heck with it. Let's line 'em back up.' "
Safety Stevon Moore said Langham adjusted his technique, staying lower in his backpedal. The Ravens kept giving up 35 points per game. But the old Langham -- the one who could dominate a receiver -- was back.
He made four tackles and defended three passes against Pittsburgh on Dec. 1. And he recorded his first career two-interception game at Carolina on Dec. 15.
Lewis said he expects more of the same this season -- "He wants to have a big year. We need him to have a big year." And Marchibroda said, "I don't think we've seen the best of him yet."
What happened to Antonio Langham?
What happens to so many of us.
He got knocked down. And he got back up again.
"It's like when you're growing up with your parents," Langham said. "They always tell you, 'Sometimes you have to go through hard times. Sometimes without a struggle, there's no progress.'
"Over the course of time, going through what I went through helped me to learn -- how to control my emotions, how to work harder, make the best out of a bad situation.
"Now I know if it's going good, you try to keep it going good. If it's going bad, you fight. You fight to the end to make it better."
Ravens roll call
Antonio Langham
Pos.: Defensive back
Height: 6-0
Weight: 180
Age: 24
Season: Fourth
Highlights: Has started all but two games since being drafted by Cleveland Browns in 1994. Led Ravens with 21 passes defensed a year ago and tied for the team lead with five interceptions. Last season, he recorded his first career two-interception game -- against Carolina. Finished fifth on Browns with career-high 88 tackles in 1995. Named Defensive Rookie of the Year by NFLPA and Football Digest in 1994. University of Alabama's all-time interception leader with 19.
Favorite food: Chicken
Favorite TV show: "Sanford & Son"
Favorite vacation spot: Jamaica
( Leisure activities: Golf
Pub Date: 7/23/97
