ALP

Targets: McCourty settling in - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

shows here that throughout the season so far McCourty has been particularly targeted, and has been playing the worst

Kyle is our best CB by far

Molden has played pretty good in his little time, and Dowling is doing pretty good too, though only targeted very little

Bodden has done OK

but the most reassuring part is that they are ALL improving it seems, Devin is playing much better the last two weeks, hopefully he has a strong showing against Miles or Dez tomorrow, whoever he draws

not sure who will be playing the RCB spot, but they will also have their hands full, at this point it seems as any of Dowling, Bodden and Kyle would be able to hold down the fort on that side reasonably well

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Last time I lived in New England the Pats became a Dynasty

Then I moved away and they haven't won since

...now I'm moving back, and a Lombardi I predict

JackBauer

I was all excited until I read:

Regardless, I tend to agree with their findings, source notwithstanding. Arrington has played well... probably the best #4 in the league.

JR4

Ah ... statistics.
One problem I see here is it doesn't take into account who was covering
who and what conditions.

If Arrington's play was against 2nd and 3rd WRs vs McCourty who was drew teams number one WR then how valid are these statistics for drawing
conclusions like Arrington is our best corner.

drew4008

You can't argue the fact that McCourty is playing much, much worse this season. I don't know what it is... and yes, he has improved a bit... but I sure hope this is just a blip in his overall progression as a #1 CB for years to come. We really need one.

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NEPatriot

McCourty has played a lot outside against taller WRs with Bodden in the slot. I wonder if it would make more sense to switch them, as Bodden has better size.

lamafist

Not true. You can't argue the fact that the outcomes of passes in McCourty's direction have been worse this year. You're assuming that this directly correlates to how well he's played. It's not nearly that simple.

A corner's coverage is only one of many factors that determine whether a pass is completed. The opposing receiver and QB's execution is equally important. The effectiveness of the pass rush is another important factor, as it has a big effect on the QB's ability to execute. Then there's the question of defensive assignments. If the corner is getting help over the top, he can play under the receiver, and be in better position to break up passes. If he's getting help in the flat, he can be in better position to break on an out pass, or avoid getting beat deep.

One thing I've noted is that 2 of Arrington's INTs were created by other db's tipping passes. He certainly deserves credit for being in position and able to capitalize, but it also indicates that there have often been other dbs in his vicinity, suggesting that less might be being asked of him.

Deus Irae

1.) PFF sucks

2.) McCourty's improved play corresponds with the team's decision to revert back to using much more zone coverage in the past two weeks.

3.) With the increased zone coverage and the improving health of Haynesworth (and, hopefully, Bodden and GlassI Dowling), we should see those numbers improve significantly after the bye, because the Patriots will be facing a lot of teams that either have lousy QBs or some other issues hampering their offenses.

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BradyMossWelker

Cornerbacks is not a weakness in our team. We have had problems against pass because McCourty has been terrible but is getting better so that's not a problem, our safety play is atrocious, and our linebackers cant cover.

ALP

ahh, that, i reread my post, i meant to say that according to the stats Kyle has played like our best CB, of course he isnt better overall player than some of the other guys, but i like Kyle


and im not going to give Devin any excuses, he is too good for it, last year the QB didnt matter, the WR did not matter, Devin was incredible, this year he is not, no matter the QB no matter the WR (but is improving)

i dont know what we played last year, but i see ppl mentioning Devin and how he is good at zone but bad at man, this conversion did not exist last year, the guy was good at everything, and i especially remember him being an extremely good man coverage CB....something is off with Devin, in another couple of games hopefully itll change to normal, b/c now in man he just cant keep up with his wr anymore, and i dont know why

__________________
Last time I lived in New England the Pats became a Dynasty

Then I moved away and they haven't won since

...now I'm moving back, and a Lombardi I predict

ausbacker

I for one am happy the defensive backfield has reverted to a formation that allows the players to accentuate their strengths. Given BB's comments regarding the defense, I wonder if he was playing press trying to keep the formations simple thanks to the lockout. I'm hopeful that as the season progresses, the exotic looks on defense continue to show up.