tombonneau

Would be curious to see what kind of picks each of those 10 was.

A lot of times, INTs can be a specious number as a pick can sometimes just require a DB to catch a ball a QB threw to him by mistake. Of course, other times a DB makes a great read, breaks on the ball just right, adjusts while the ball is in mid-air, and makes all sorts of fantastic physical plays to get the pick.

The question is, how many of Asante's 10 were Grossman-like Gifts, and how many were great plays?

brdmaverick

to be fair, we should probably include Asante's playoff picks as well (2)

I will have to give my breakdown later as I am heading to an Easter gathering, but I will list his INT's for those that may forget them

2 vs. Miami Dolphins

1 at Buffalo

3 vs. Chicago

1 vs Detroit

1 vs. Houston

2 at Tennessee

1 vs. New York Jets (Wild Card playoff)

1 at Indianapolis (AFC Championship)

right off the bat I will say that his greatest athletic picks had to be the one in the AFC Championship Game and the first one agains the Bears.

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Remix 6

i think most of Asante's picks were gambles..he jumps a lot of passes.

holyredeemer

I dont understand why what kind of picks he got even matters. I mean, im sure it does to BB and CO. for leverage, but c'mon, the guy caught the balls when they were there. Whether they were gambles, gimmes, or off of deflections. He still caught the ball when we needed him to. Does he deserve as much as hes asking? IMO no. But, I can see how this thread was intended, and I honestly dont understand why.

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"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
-- Vince Lombardi on football

solman

It goes to the question of how valuable Asante is.

Remember, Asante's primary responsibility on the field is to defend against the pass. That means preventing catches, and limiting yards after catch.

To the extent that generating those interceptions means comming up short in his primary responsibility, Asante's value to the team is diminished.

Remember that in 2006 Asante was an unknown. In 2007 he will factor prominently into opponents' game plans. Opposing QBs will study Asante and learn his tendencies. If there are moves that consistently cause Asante to jump routes (or prevent him from doing so), teams will use these against him.

JoeSixPat

My perception is just the opposite.. the zone defense as played by the safeties frees him up to take chances... the "gambles" are by design and they only happen when someone is covering behind him

The playoff INT against the Colts is a classic example - Sanders was covering deep specifically so Samuel could go after the ball, and not worry about the player.

One might say this is a knock against Samuel - that he's the product of a system... but I would disagree with that too. Samuels FITS our system well - in that respect he's more valuable to us than I believe he would be to many other teams... of course, he'd fit in well with the Jets, or possibly the Browns for obvious reasons.

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Box_O_Rocks

Well said.

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pats1

I'll break them done one-by-one:

Week 5, Miami @ NE, 2nd quarter:

3-10-MIA28(8:43) (Shotgun) J.Harrington pass short left intended for W.Welker INTERCEPTED by A.Samuel at MIA 36. A.Samuel to MIA 10 for 26 yards (J.Harrington, J.James).

Shotgun 3 WR, 2 RB vs. 3-3 nickel zone. Samuel press on LWR, Hobbs press on left slot, Scott off RWR. Harrington under minimal pressure, stares left side, pass on target. LWR goes outside, Samuel follows only in his zone. Welker is on a 10-yard square-out with Hobbs peeling off (zone). Samuel and Welker converge on the ball – Samuel has inside position and wins the battle.

Pat_Nasty

You'd have a point if there were any evidence that Samuel truly did "come up short" in terms of preventing completions and YAC. He didn't. As impressive as his INT total was last year, the stat that really sticks out in my mind is that he lead all starting corners in yards allowed per pass attempt against (per footballoutsiders.com).

So even if it turns out that many of Samuel's INTs were "gifts," it still doesn't change the fact that he had a great year last year.

pats1

Week 5, Miami @ NE, 4th quarter:

3-5-MIA17(10:54) (Shotgun) J.Harrington pass short left intended for W.Welker INTERCEPTED by A.Samuel at MIA 26. A.Samuel to MIA 24 for 2 yards (V.Carey).

Shotgun 3 WR, 2 RB vs. 3-3 nickel. Samuel off LWR, Hobbs showing blitz right slot, Scott off RWR. Harrington under no pressure, stares middle, pumps, pass behind Welker underneath and deflects off Welker’s hands. Samuel is in the right place at the right time – following underneath a crossing route by the LWR - and catches the tip.