The Official post-Colts game secondary/pass defense/Talib thread...

[borg]

Level of fitness:

The Edelman performance reminded me of a preseason game a few years ago when I felt Edelman was the best athlete on the field. Whatever routine the E-man has in place, keep it going because his moving parts were in sync like I've never seen.

Talib lacked some acceleration. Hopefully some midseason conditioning will get him right

[TheBaronPatriot]

What was most encouraging in my opinion is the fact the secondary was competing for balls in the air rather than settle for allowing the WR to make catches and tackle them down. When a ball was coming the DBs were actively trying to make a play on it.

Second, it seems as if the overall strategy is one which will allow the opposing offense to make some plays. Short plays, and many of them thus maximizing our defense's chances to make plays. But with turnovers, they will not be able to outscore our offense.

[JMC00]

Seemed liked the Patriots could have about seven or eight ints yesterday

-Talib if he was in peak football shape might have been able to get a better break and intercept that pass in the end zone which Luck threaded in there good
-Dennard had a pass break up where it seemed like if he was about a foot closer to the middle of the field would have had a pick
-The ball Wilfork tipped if Spikes sees it and stays back he probably would have had one
-The one where Gregory broke in front of Mayo and dropped it.

I'm pretty sure there was another one that got tipped and I think it fell right in front of Dennard

[kkpat]

The best Safety play: When McCourty covered all the distance when Talib got beaten and knocked the ball out of Receiver's hands.

One of the reasons why our CB sucked was because the Safety coverage was so erratic. The coaching staff, CBs could never trust them on Pass coverage. Last year was more brutal.

With McCourty and Wilson in the back, this secondary will trust the safeties to be in a position to help them if they screw up. That makes the coaching staff and CBs to be more aggressive.

Overall, this game will help our secondary get better by the time playoffs occur.

JETSies are dreaming how bad our D is and how Sanchez can beat us. Wait until they find out, our secondary can step up.

[wistahpatsfan]

Originally Posted by BSR

99% of all interceptions are on bad throws. Even though it was clear that Wayne and Luck weren't on the same page for that throw, Dennard was clearly in a position to make a play. That means he was with the receiver and looking back for the ball.

I think the biggest difference in this game was the pressure. Once Jones when down they started bringing rushers from the middle and the corner. The results were obviously great. Now the question is if this is a regular part of their package or a one time strategy for a rookie quarterback.

Pressure on Luck was the key to the improved play of the secondary, and it seemed like it was really cranked-up on purpose by BB as he wanted to rattle the rookie and see what happened. Any secondary will benefit from a pass rush that causes the QB to throw sooner and less accurately. The routes get shortened and the balls get overthrown, right?

Put this game tape alongside the Buffalo game tape. The defensive style looks like two different teams. Fitzy had all day to throw. Luck was getting wrecked. Big difference at the end of the plays.

[jmt57]

Personally I'm tempted to ask this Colts fan if he is enjoyed those 8 first downs, and consider them to be a moral victory.

2012 NFL Week Eleven Preview: Indianapolis Colts At New England Patriots - Stampede Blue

The Colts definitely hold an advantage on Third/Fourth Down, as the Patriots are the 3rd worst Defense in the league. I can't wait to see some of the camera shots of frustrated Patriot fans when the Colts convert another third down. Should be great.

For the record, the Colts were 8-14 on 3rd down; the Pats were 8-12.

[JackBauer]

Shockingly, McCourty will remain at S for the remainder of the season.

McCourty to stay at safety for rest of season - Extra Points - Boston.com

[BradyManny]

Originally Posted by kkpat

The best Safety play: When McCourty covered all the distance when Talib got beaten and knocked the ball out of Receiver's hands.

This.

What we need is a safety who has range - and we've needed it for a while. It was supposed to be Brandon Meriweather, but his head got in the way. It was supposed to be Chung, but injuries and lack of speed have gotten in the way.

McCourty has the range we need back there. He's been our best safety back there all year, I really have no doubt about that.

McCourty to stay at safety for rest of season - Extra Points - Boston.com

And apparently he's there to stay. Good. Between McCourty - Gregory - Chung - Wilson at safety and Talib - Dennard - Arrington - Cole at corner, our pass defense issues are not going to be because of the secondary. They'll be because of our lack of any interior pass rush and our linebackers being brutal in coverage.

But at least one problem is solved.

The other two, there is some hope (maybe using Chung in the middle of the field more; maybe by the grace of the football gods Myron Pyror comes out of nowhere to provide some interior rush).

[Deus Irae]

Originally Posted by JackBauer

Shockingly, McCourty will remain at S for the remainder of the season.

McCourty to stay at safety for rest of season - Extra Points - Boston.com

I don't like his size for the position, and I'm afraid that he's got the Eugene Wilson "I'll be great until I get hurt a couple of times" psyche, but I think he has the skill set to be a quality deep safety in the Patriots system.

[KontradictioN]

Originally Posted by JackBauer

Shockingly, McCourty will remain at S for the remainder of the season.

McCourty to stay at safety for rest of season - Extra Points - Boston.com

He's going to be a liability against the run as compared to Chung, so the front seven will have to be on their game. But, against the pass, he's already starting to look much better. His range is better and he's timing the passes at a much better rate than Chung has. But, then again, Chung blows. So I guess it's not hard to look better against the pass than he does.