JackBauer

Who is the other starting safety?

Marqui

McCourty is going to be starting at safety next year no matter who they sign/draft.

manxman2601

Okay, need some help from DB scheming gurus here, but doesn't it make sense to play Mccourty and Reed as two deep safeties. The big LB's mitigate against the need to put a safety in the box, having safeties with outstanding range and/or ability to read the game takes the deep pass away which is what BB wants to achieve anyway and Dennard/Talib/Arrington are good in enough in man to take away the short to intermediate pass.

So I see them playing cover two with Reed/McCourty and man with the Corners. That looks like a very good secondary to me. What's the downside? Not enough of a pass rush? Seams not being covered?

Lanuch1110

Whatever move the Pats make in the secondary, I hope it doesn't involve moving Dennard and DMc out of the positions they finished in last year. Dennard has shown more then a few flashes of being very good, just needs some development. And I think reiterating the impact DMc made a safety is redundant now. I love the thought of Reed coming here, But I would more so love to see them get a Bernard Pollard type of SS, because lets admit it, he is the kind of guy you hate when he is on the other team, but just like Rodney if he played for us we would love him. The Pats need someone that put the fear of God into people coming over the middle. Spikes is that guy up front but not 10-15 yards downfield. Were Flacco and the Ravens ate them alive.

stelfans

Moving McCourty back to corner would completely negate an ed reed signing. (or any other safety for that matter)

Lets try not to ruin one of the good things we accomplished this season.

DocHoliday

One of the reasons having a SS is desired to help the LBs cover the outside runs/tosses/passes to the flat. Rice and Foster were getting big yardage there.

Would love to have an SS (or a CB like Sheldon Brown) jack up some RBs in the flat. Anyone remember this?

Reggie Bush Jacked Up by Sheldon Brown - YouTube

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JackBauer

Going off this point, I think having two such safeties as you describe will mitigate some of the deficiencies we've seen with our LB pass coverage. I don't think it's a coincidence that in games where Talib/Dennard/McCourty/Gregory lined up, this problem was less glaring. Now imagine that with Reed or some other equivalent...

KontradictioN

Keep in mind that this is a hypothetical dream scenario for me. Let me explain...

I don't think Reed is coming here. I would love to see it happen, but I don't think it will. The reason is that I think he's going to want more money at the age of 35 than what the team will be willing to pay him. That being said, if I'm wrong, I would love to have him. Elam is my binky. IMO, he's the best safety in the draft. He has range, isn't a liability in coverage, is excellent in run support, and can hit. Those two together, with McCourty coming in depending on situation or package, would make this defense a damn hard one to throw on.

It's my opinion that this defense needs to get nasty and physical again if we're going to get Brady another Lombardi. We have that blueprint up front in the front seven with Wilfork, Mayo, Spikes, and Hightower. It's the back end that's still soft. Pulling in Reed while drafting Elam would completely re-tool the safety position and would be one of the best tandems in the NFL. But, like I said, if not Reed, I would gladly take a McCourty/Elam tandem. IMO, their skills play well off each other. Elam takes care of the nitty gritty in run support and McCourty's range makes him a threat for a turnover while being solid against the pass. Add Mathieu to the mix and throw him into the slot and you have three people in the secondary with very nasty dispositions.

As for the offseason/draft, here are the needs I see with only safety being in order of importance...

1. Safety

2. WR
3. 3-4 DE/4-3 DT
4. RG
5. CB
6. LB (coverage specialist)

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CREDIT - Sicilian

Palm Beach Pats Fan

cameraman: Hey Ed Reed, you just won the Super Bowl! What's next?

Ed: I'm going to Foxboro!

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It is what it is, so just go out there and do your job!

102 Pat

Just the fact that it's being talked about publicly makes me think it won't happen, but if it did, that would be sweet.

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This offseason, it's almost like Belichick is saying, "I'm never going to let that happen again."

Mike Reiss 7/19/12