reamer

Lester is 6'2 #210, which would make him a good deal larger than Meriweather. So it's not that he's "on the smaller side," but rather that he doesn't always break down properly and line up his hits. If he improves his tackling, I'll clamor for us to draft him. Until then, give me a more consistent player.

patchick

I would LOVE to see Tate on this team. He was one of my favorite targets for this past draft, I was a little surprised he didn't declare. Maybe he sees himself as a LB long term and wanted a season to show his value at that position?

Tasco

Looking at the videos it was like watching a younger BM...he had some brilliant plays in coverage, had some mental lapses where he completely blew his assignmente, had some nice reads and tackles for loss, then again he took some really bad angles and tackles...

but that was only what my untrained eye saw...might be completely wrong.

In any case we absolutely need a S in the 1st round next year imo (coupled with a C in the 1st, a DE and an OLB in the 2nd).

s3antana5757

Hate to break this to you, but Lester is going to be just as frustrating as Meriweather. The man is the worst tackler. He's much better in coverage, but loves to gamble and go for INT's.

reamer

Um. Yes? I agree with you. That's exactly what I said on page one. I posted video of his season as well as my analysis that his tackling is insufficient. I was simply correcting another poster who opined that Lester was "on the smaller side."

I like Meriweather better than any safety in next year's draft class. I think he's got a lot of talent, and I'm excited to see how he'll perform this season.

For the record, I had Butler, Chung, and Dowling in my mock drafts before each of their respective rookie years, and McCourty was at least on my radar as a Pats-style DB, although I had him pegged as a late second rounder. I also thought Arrington would stick long term as soon as I heard we'd signed him. I think I have a good idea of what the Patriots are looking for in a defensive back, and other than Delano Howell, whom I posted about earlier (and who remains an unfinished product), I don't see any safeties in this upcoming draft class who fit the Patriots profile.

We'll see what happens.

Off The Grid

You may be right about Lester, my good man, but I cannt imagine why you addressed that post to Brother Ream, who'd already made precisely the point that you chose to repeat.

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Wilfork#75

I just went back and watched some tape on these safeties from 2010. The guy that really stood out to me was TJ McDonald from USC. He's got a good blend of size, strength and athletecism at 6'2" 205lbs. He's got great insticts and plays the run well, wrapping up the ball carrier unlike a lot of college safeties, but he can also put on a big hit. He's decent in coverage, and should improve with playing time. Overall I think he is the best safety in this class at the moment, with an early 2nd round grade.

The other safety I really like is Mark Barron from Alabama. He's a big, violent hitter, strong against the run and has great insticts. He's decent in coverage but lacks the closing speed to be elite. One thing he does do is make WR's think twice about going over the middle. I'd love to get him in the 3rd or 4th round as a solid rotational safety. If he had elite speed I think he would be the top SS in this draft.

I really wan't to love Robert Lester but I just can't at the moment. I love his speed, athletecism and coverage abilities, but his complete refusal to tackle really deters me. Its not that he's a bad tackler, he just refuses to tackle properly. (To be fair to Lester he did have 1 beautiful tackle 1 on 1 against Cam Newton in the Auburn game.) I don't know what it is with some of these guys, but they refuse to tackle with any technique and just throw themselves at the ballcarriers legs. I don't know if its the pads and helmet that make them feel invincible, but these guys just throw themselves around looking for big hits instead of trying to wrap up the ball carrier. If he can learn to tackle I think he can be a 1st rounder, but at the moment I don't see any safeties worthy of a 1st round grade.

The other guy I'm really interested in is Kenny Tate, but he will be tough to evaluate this year because he will be playing linebacker. Although that could help the Pats because I think not playing safety will hurt his draft stock. Like BelichickFan said, Tate would be an animal in this defence and I'd love to grab him in the 2nd or 3rd round.

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Frick

Assuming Bill buys us a pony for xmas, that is, he drafts Mike Brewster C, OSU and trades a couple of picks to bolster the 2013 draft (we have only five picks in '13: a 1st,2nd,3rd,4th and 7th), do you see a good prospect that we could grab with say a late 2nd, 3rd, 4th or some combination of these ?

Picture this for a moment- resign Koppen for 2 yrs., draft Brewster, our O-LINE would be: Light, Solder, Koppen, Brewster, Mankins, Canon, Connelly, Vollmer, Maneri.

Sorry, have to wipe the tears from my eyes. I got my pony, I got a saddle, cowboy hat, boots! With that group I got everything.

Ochmed Jones

I still struggle to comprehend how BB could pass on Cody.

Defsoul

So Janzen Jackson got kicked off Tennessee's team. He failed drug tests accodring to ESPN. Maybe he can play for University of North Alabama, team up with Janoris Jenkins.