IcyPatriot

What he said ....

BradyManny

Co-sign. One positive out of Samuel leaving is that it gives more flexibility schematically. While two years ago I may have been on the Asante is underrated bandwagon, I was firmly on the he's-overrated bandwagon by the end of it. The hype far exceeded his value, and so did the contract he got.

Deus Irae

Hobbs was the best DB on the Patriots last season even while playing with a torn labrum and a sports hernia that were both severe enough to require offseason surgery. I think that goes a long way towards explaining why 2 new veteran starters were signed, 2 draft picks were used on corners and Samuel was let go.

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

Wax Frog

OK, I'll bite - the Eagles could be more vulnerable to Arial offense this season.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

JoeSixPat

Exactly - the "source" could have been anyone of us.

None of this is a knock on Asante - I think we all recognized him as the best fit for our system - but questioned whether he'd do as well in a man on man situation or other system.

Nor does any of this mean he won't grow more comfortable in the Eagles system either - but they should have known what they were "buying"... none of this should be a surprise to the Eagles or their fans.

MoLewisrocks

You could play to Asante's strength's at $4.5-5M per. He is a ballhawk with very good instincts, but he also benefitted from being in a defense where coaching put players in position to make plays without paying the price (took Bill a couple of seasons to convince Ty to trust you could play the position as part of a scheme rather than freelance and still the ball would find you, or visa versa because he was going to put you where that ball was likely to go). That system only works on a team where guys buy in and adhere to discipline even when it made them look less talented. 'Sante better hope his new boys have his back and his coaches have a plan or he's gonna become a scape goat.

You just could not pay $9M+ for THAT GUY. Hobbs instincts will develop, we've already seen flashes of that. So (hopefully) will the instincts of the draftees. Asante will never develop increased athleticism. In fact in 2-3 years he will become increasingly less athletic.

Deus Irae

Plus, assuming the team can keep Hobbs when the time comes, and Wheatley pans out, this is going to be an extremely fast and quick secondary (well, at 3 of the 4 spots, anyway) in the near future, which will probably mean huge changes in scheme. With shorter, faster players, we'll likely see less rolling zone coverage and more man coverage with a safety protecting over the top. And, along with the expected increase in an coverage, we'll likely see more blitzing from both the linebacker AND cornerback positions.

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

BradyManny

It'll be really interesting to see how Hobbs fares a) when he's completely healthy for the first time in two years b) if and when the scheme calls for more aggressive coverage, which we know he can handle and excel in.

NEPatriot

His teammates are not impressed with his 1-1 skill? Another big disappointment for a 50 min player?

neuronet

The memory of my rage last season when our opponent had third and short and we'd give them 5-15 yards to do what they wanted. I just about blew a larynx.

But eventually I bought into the 'bend don't break' defense scheme. It worked really well for us, after all, until the final drive of the Giants in the freaking big game, when we forgot the 'don't break' part.

__________________
Ice_Ice_Brady writes:
The difference is that Brady calmly calls audibles while Manning flaps like a chicken, barks 11 code words, and makes sure every camera in the stadium has documented his once-in-a-generation (and patented, I believe) ability to see a defensive formation and change the play. Both have the same effect, but Manning transcends measurable human intellect while Brady merely chooses a different play.