Do you want McGowan back?

[BelichickFan]

I hadn't seen this until it was linked on the Draft Board :

Pats make right move by swapping Boyer for Brown

"One head-shaking moment I witnessed came after the Patriots pummeled the Jets in November. During that game, Patriots left tackle Mark Levoir destroyed Donald Strickland with a kickout block on a screen.

After the game, as Levoir was walking through the locker room peeling off tape, safety Brandon McGowan barked, "Hey, what the [freak] is wrong with you, Levoir?" Levoir looked at him confused. McGowan said the shot on Strickland was unnecessarily violent and would mark the Patriots DBs as targets now, too. Levoir looked completely taken aback. Then rookie corner Darius Butler - normally quiet as a church mouse - walked past McGowan and echoed McGowan's statements before ducking into the shower.

"Are you not supposed to hit defensive backs hard? Is that what they're pissed about?" I asked Levoir.

"I have no idea what that was all about," he answered."

Imagine Harrison doing that

Go away McGowan you little ****. I want to move forward with Meriweather, Chung and Sanders. McGowan can go and play touch football with some other team.

 

[JFK]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

McGowan is better than Sanders. No one can convince me otherwise.
Regarding the block on Strickland, i don't remember it. Some hits and blocks are unnecessarily violent though even though McG does hit hard too.
Butler echoed McG's words so i won't call him a **** at all cos he doesn't play like one.

 

[Brono]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Well, to be fair, a reporter can witness one incident of selfish behavior, and not witness multiple other incidences of selfless, professional, team-oriented conduct.

Nevertheless, the issues of leadership, character and mental toughness appear yet again. Is it possible to rebuild a core with the character of Bruschi/Vrabel/Harrison/McGinest/Johnson/et al. in a definite time, or is rebuilding character in the locker room a crapshoot that could result in a protracted run of mediocrity?

 

[PatriotNation]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

I think you have to bring him back, he is a solid role player. Locker room comments aside his play on the field earned him the chance to compete next year.

Levoirs hit was nasty, but this is football, it is a contact sport.

It does make other players a target but you can not tell me there wasnt a target on their backs already. Especially from the Jets.

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

McGowan is better than Sanders. No one can convince me otherwise.
Regarding the block on Strickland, i don't remember it. Some hits and blocks are unnecessarily violent though even though McG does hit hard too.
Butler echoed McG's words so i won't call him a **** at all cos he doesn't play like one.

Butler isn't exactly Mr. Tough Guy although he can get away with it more being a CB. McGowan is dead to me after reading that.

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Locker room comments aside

The locker room was a big part of the problem. We aren't at the point where we can say "locker room comments aside".

 

[mike100915]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

McGowan is better than Sanders. No one can convince me otherwise.
Regarding the block on Strickland, i don't remember it. Some hits and blocks are unnecessarily violent though even though McG does hit hard too.
Butler echoed McG's words so i won't call him a **** at all cos he doesn't play like one.

What? This is just one of the many reasons why this team stunk this year and had no heart. Levoir made a nice play, that set the tone for the day for the Patriots. Frankly, they needed more plays like that throughout the year. The Patriots organization has no room for people like Brandon McGowan, and it makes we worry about how intelligent Darius Butler is.

The Patriots need more Mark Levoirs, not Brandon McGowan's. There's a reason why the Bears didn't want him. This answers all my questions about the locker room. Would Rodney Harrison ever said something like that to Logan Mankins? I doubt it. See ya lata, McGowan.

 

[Seymour93]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Wasn't he one of the guys lauahing it up in the lockerrom after the Colts or Saints loss?

McGowan came from an emotionally immature team in the Bears. It's no surprise that he's brought that attitude to NE.

His play dropped off by midpoint of the season anyway. I wouldn't shed a tear if he left.

 

[upstater1]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Of course this entire article neglects the fact that McGowan put himself in harm's way to make more hard tackles than anyone when he played.

He hit with reckless abandon.

Is anyone here arguing that McGowan avoided contact?

 

[mike100915]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Wasn't he one of the guys lauahing it up in the lockerrom after the Colts or Saints loss?

McGowan came from an emotionally immature team in the Bears. It's no surprise that he's brought that attitude to NE.

His play dropped off by midpoint of the season anyway. I wouldn't shed a tear if he left.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Of course this entire article neglects the fact that McGowan put himself in harm's way to make more hard tackles than anyone when he played.

He hit with reckless abandon.

Is anyone here arguing that McGowan avoided contact?

I don't care, Chung will hit just as hard as McGowan did. The last thing we need is some dude telling other on the team "you hit too hard". I could just see McGinnest saying that to Andruzzi after a screen pass back in 2004.

McGowan = part of the problem (assuming the quote was accurate).

 

[JFK]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QviSo2F9jJQ


McG shouldnt have complained about the block..Looks very fine with me

 

[scout]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

I believe that hit was replayed a few times as the announcer jumped out of his seat when it happened. Don't like McGowan's take on the play at all. As someone mentioned, is this what Harrison would have said. Remember him, he freakin' annihilated Troy Brown in a preseason practice........Troy Brown.
You want another? For months if not years, threads were posted on the hit that started this dynasty. Yes, the rules have changed somewhat, but its still football, and the more the game changes to those explosive type players, the more they will look over their shoulders and make use of those alligator arms after being popped big time. So when an offensive lineman has an legitimate shot to inflict pain....TAKE IT.

 

[mayoclinic]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

1. The block on Strickland was terrific. Just the kind of legal but physical and aggressive play we want to encourage, not discourage. There's no place for McGowan's comments, or for discouraging aggressive physical play because of fear of "retaliation".

2. McGowan was terrific for us for 8+ games doing a Louis Delmas imitation of throwing his body fearlessly around in kamikaze fashion, one of our top defenders, then he disappeared. I'm not sure why - unannounced injury, physically wearing down, other teams making adjustments, etc. But he's on contract for a reasonable amount, and at the very least he's a solid #4 safety who at one time played as a #2 for us. It's also hard for me to reconcile McGowan's kamikaze style of play with his comments of being fearful of reprisals.

I'd keep the kid for now, but if he can't bring back his early 2009 form or shows more of that kind of behavior then he's expendable.

 

[jmt57]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

If McGowan did say that, and in that context, then that is disappointing. I thought he played very well the first half of the year. The comments above by mayoclinic pretty much sum up my thoughts.

Who knows, perhaps Belichick found out what McGowan said, and that had something to do with McGowan's decreased role in the second half of the season.

 

[bucky]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Butler isn't exactly Mr. Tough Guy although he can get away with it more being a CB. McGowan is dead to me after reading that.

Didn't LeVoir get a game ball from BB after that game?

There's a possibility that McGowan was being sarcastic and Curran misinterpreted it in some way. Curran's been wrong before. However, if Curran is right, McGowan shouldn't be part of this team. Regardless of whether he's back, this team needs an upgrade at the safety position.

 

[vyrago]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

If McGowan did say that, and in that context, then that is disappointing. I thought he played very well the first half of the year. The comments above by mayoclinic pretty much sum up my thoughts.

Who knows, perhaps Belichick found out what McGowan said, and that had something to do with McGowan's decreased role in the second half of the season.

Very big "if." And what does Butler's comment "all's fair" mean. I find this story a bit confusing.

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Regardless of whether he's back, this team needs an upgrade at the safety position.

Chung had better be that upgrade. For the skill set that safeties require, we've put enough draft resources into that position. Meriweather, Chung, Sanders.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

...Regardless of whether he's back, this team needs an upgrade at the safety position.

Did the four safeties the team already had at the top of the rotation all retire?

 

[mayoclinic]

Re: Do you want McGowan back ?

Chung had better be that upgrade. For the skill set that safeties require, we've put enough draft resources into that position. Meriweather, Chung, Sanders.

I agree. Chung should be significantly improved this year and should provide an upgrade to the secondary. And we've put enough resources into that position.

With that said, the one kid in the draft who really intrigues me is LSU's Chad Jones. Unlike Rodney Harrison most 6'3" 230# kids can't really play safety effectively (see Thomas Davis, Nic Harris, and I suspect Taylor Mays and Kam Chancellor), but I think Jones could be the exception. That kind of talent is tempting if he falls to the mid/late 2nd round. But overall, I don't want to use draft resources on the safety position.