So let's take a good look at McCourty, shall we?

[emoney_33]

When players like Champ Bailey, T. Newman, D.Revis, D.Sanders, C.Woodson, etc were drafted the first thing that came out of others notes were not "A great special teams player." No it was shut down corner, something about ball skills and technique.

Stop letting ESPN speen food you your "opinion".

 

[Yfz01]

There is a chance he could have been, it's been a crazy draft so far. Look at who is still left on the board Clausen and McCoy are still available, teams will be trading up and having guys slide down. McCourty himself didnt even think he would be a 1st rounder. This years draft has been so unpredictable, anything could have happened

But it was reported that the Jets wanted him. The Saints got stuck with Robinson because of a run of CBs, and he doesn't look like a first round corner in my eyes. This guy is as shutdown as anyone in the draft.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

Or late first-rounder, both as pick and as value, on the sites I saw.

One mock had him going at #20.

I had him at 30....

 

[Barnsie]

People seem to be bashing this pick in part because he is good on ST. He's a top 5 CB in this draft - a very good CB. The fact that he is amazing on ST (both returning and blocking) is an awesome bonus that moved him up BB's board. He's a 4 down player.

We need playmakers, but God forbid any of it come from ST...

 

[patsfan1251]

Stop letting ESPN speen food you your "opinion".

It's not about ESPN...how many games of Rutgers have you watched this season exactly....I speak from experience.

Again no doubt that he was a top CB in this draft. I actually had him pegged as a possible target. Now if the pats say they planned on picking him at 22 and felt he would still be there at 27 which BB claim then cool. As for tommorow im hoping for Dunlap, Golden Tate/Damien Williams, Sapp, Cody, Spikes, Wooten as possible pats. Oh yeah and perhaps a TE im not too big into any of these guys this year however.

 

[The Dynasty]

It's a childish ad hominem attack that you continuously throw around to try to discredit my points. You seriously need to grow up now and discuss the points rather than discussing the presumed motives or fan allegiance of the poster.

I dont think its childish by any stretch of the imagination, there are plenty of guys on here who have admitted being a homer. The childish thing is when you start huge blow up debates about meaningless things such as this

I couldn't care less about what people SAW coming nor am I acting like anything that would remotely give an indication of knowing this all along. I choose not to play that whole "guess who the Patriots will draft" game. I know they've put in months of man-hours and me sitting here on the surface trying to predict who they will pick is a waste of time IMO.

Yeah there aren't many 4-down players that are good in all areas they play. That's not a stretch, a lie or anything else. He has shown the ability to be a good CB as well as a good (well great) special teams player. He has the ABILITY to grow into a #1 CB as well as a top-end kick returner/coverage player. Oh yeah and he's very intelligent, so the likelihood of catching on at the NFL level is high.

This quote does not come close to comparing him to Revis in any way, shape or form.

BTW The Pats valued him even at #22 and if there were a threat of him going 23rd they wouldn't have traded down, and they've put in months and months of man-hours in this. Not a few internet research draft scout reading hours.

Any CB drafted has the ability to be a #1 corner. When you draft one in the 1st round you draft a shut down corner that you know will be a #1 CB in the league. You are already sucking up to the guy and he hasnt even been a Patriot 3 hours. He has his flaws that have been pointed out by many scouts. I am not saying he's a bad player, he is a solid CB and ST guy. Definitely not a 1st round pick IMO.

Yes the Pats put months into this pick, which gives fans the right to question what they did even more. Why did this guy prove to be more valuable than a Odwick or a Bryant?

 

[TealSox]

I've warmed up to the pick.

Odrick was my guy, but his upside is limited compared to McCourty. McCourty seems to be bring more to the table. McCourty is an athlete and probably the only defensive star on that Rutgers squad. I guess Belichick drafts football players first and, like Tebow, McCourty is definitely a football player.

 

[thechris]

I like this pick.

Miami adds Brandon Marshall. Jets add Santonio Holmes. Pats need someone to cover.

Hopefully this means that either Wilhite or Wheatley are gone.

 

[The Dynasty]

Stop letting ESPN speen food you your "opinion".

How many times did you see McCourty play? Who is forming your opinions...?

 

[patsfan1251]

3-4 times this year (as far as watching him play)

 

[VJCPatriot]

I am very disappointed, everyone here understand that he is a good player and will help us. But people are frustrated is because we could have gotten him later in the second and gotten a player WORTH a first round pick.

How is that possible when 3 of the last 6 picks in the 1st round were ALL corners? McCourty would not have lasted to the Pats #44 pick and he has been ranked in the 1st round by plenty of reputable draft sites and experts including:

Rick Gosselin - #24
Rick Gosselin's top 100 prospects in this year's NFL Draft | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

Scout Inc. - #29
NFL Draft 2010 - NFL - ESPN

GBN Draft Report - #26
Great Blue North Draft Report

Etc., etc., etc.

There's been a whole lot of whining and moaning about taking a corner who might just help get this defense off the field on 3rd down against teams like the Colts and Saints.

Did you really think the Pats style was to take a 'sexy' wide receiver with character issues like Dez Bryant?
BB's feigned interest in Bryant and Tebow were just that, smoke screens.

I remember a lot of people cried to the heavens when a certain Richard Seymour was taken over the 'sexy' wr du jour, David Terrell.
And where are they now? Um, Yeah. BB said he would have taken McCourty at #22 as well. So he obviously thought very highly of him.

 

[TealSox]

With the 22nd pick of the first round....

The Patriots take Devin McCourty, a third round pick and a fourth round pick.

Not bad for one pick!

 

[eagle eye]

With the 22nd pick of the first round....

The Patriots take Devin McCourty, a third round pick and a fourth round pick.

Not bad for one pick!

No, just a third round pick.

 

[emoney_33]

I dont think its childish by any stretch of the imagination, there are plenty of guys on here who have admitted being a homer. The childish thing is when you start huge blow up debates about meaningless things such as this

I'm not starting anything, your response to my points is almost always some variant of "you're a homer". Get over it, I don't give a damn what your personal opinion of me is. Argue the points or don't respond to my posts, it's that simple.

Any CB drafted has the ability to be a #1 corner. When you draft one in the 1st round you draft a shut down corner that you know will be a #1 CB in the league. You are already sucking up to the guy and he hasnt even been a Patriot 3 hours. He has his flaws that have been pointed out by many scouts. I am not saying he's a bad player, he is a solid CB and ST guy.

There's no such thing as KNOWING that any rookie will absolutely be great. You also may want to venture outside of ESPN when looking for scouting reports on McCourty

Definitely not a 1st round pick IMO.

"definitely" not? Well that's a disagreement you can take up with the scouts of the Patriots (and Jets and Saints).

Yes the Pats put months into this pick, which gives fans the right to question what they did even more. Why did this guy prove to be more valuable than a Odwick or a Bryant?

LOL I can re-read this a thousand times and never do anything but laugh. Go email the Patriots I guess if you believe they have to explain their football knowledge to you.

 

[The Dynasty]

With the 22nd pick of the first round....

The Patriots take Devin McCourty, a third round pick and a fourth round pick.

Not bad for one pick!

Could have been Bryant or Odwick and a fourth rounder, that sounds better

 

[TealSox]

No, just a third round pick.

Apologies... failed to realize that they gave up their 4th to get the Cowboys 3rd. Still, seems as if they moved up 6 picks in the 4th. Couldn't hurt.

 

[DaBruinz]

Such a disappointing pick, passing up Odrick and Bryant to select him. The secondary was one of our strong areas on the roster that includes glaring gaps that need immediate attention. I am still very confused with this pick.

Looking at some mocks, he was projected as a late 2nd or 3rd round pick on average. It would be interesting to see if he would have been available with our 1st 2nd round pick, it wouldnt surprise me if he would still have been. Is anyone else as confused and frustrated as me?

Clearly, you are one of those people who thinks you have the ENTIRE story about a player just from the blurbs you get on the different Mock Sites. You totally discount the fact that BB and the other coaches met with all those guys. They also clearly felt that CB was an area of need. How the talent and need worked out in their evaluation, we'll never know.

But, consider this. every one of the 1st round picks that BB has taken since he got here has become a starter. Every one of them. Can you say the same about every other team during that same time frame? No. You can't.

So, if you are disappointed, it should be because your expectations are based a minute amount of information and you decided to put an exorbitant amount of emotion into those expectations.

I decided a long time ago that I'd rather learn and try and figure out what I was missing so I could make better educated guesses than too much time and energy into being sad/disappointed/pi$$ed off at Belichick.

Of note, McCourty is going to come in and be an immediate impact as a return guy and I wouldn't be surprised if he got regular reps as the nickel this year and then pushed Bodden next year for a starting role. That is, of course, if he doesn't surpass Butler entirely.

 

[TealSox]

Could have been Bryant or Odwick and a fourth rounder, that sounds better

I'm right there with you. Odrick was my 1st choice and I was warming up to having Bryant on the team. I guarantee that I'll be disappointed with whomever they take in the third and fourth round.

 

[neuronet]

Is anyone else as confused and frustrated as me?

I'm excited for the most part. We need help in the secondary. Perhaps an OLB would have been better on the defensive side, but this guy adds depth.

 

[ausbacker]

Can someone tell me when the Patriots last drafted a corner who was described as "shut down"? In a pass happy league with a player who is reputed to have these skills in a receiver loaded AFC East (not to mention the rest of our schedule against pass first offenses) how can you not be excited.

Trust BB to be thinking way ahead of most people in the fan crowd. I'm excited!