JackBauer
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Having watched the AFC Pro Bowl players practice and interact the past few days, Brandon Meriweather certainly doesn’t look like a guy who doesn’t belong on the team.
If anything, the oft-maligned Patriots safety has been one of the movers and shakers on defense.
Meriweather has been quarterbacking all of the other stars in the secondary, lining them up in the proper places, moving them into the right coverage. Even yesterday, New York Jets super shutdown corner Darrelle Revis couldn’t spend enough time with him, picking his brain.
Wait a minute. Revis was picking Meriweather’s brain?
No, that’s not a misprint. It happened, along with some trash-talking, but that’s a story for another day.
That doesn’t mean Meriweather doesn’t completely ignore some of the criticism, like his poor routes to would-be tackles. He’s taken out his own guys, attempting to blow up a play. He’s also been manhandled by guys, most recently Braylon Edwards, attempting to make a tackle.
At least he’s reached a point, even with two Pro Bowls on his resume, that he recognizes he still has work to do. He’s aware that having good ball skills and communicating well will only get you so far.
“I want to get better at everything,” Meriweather said. “I want to get to the point of being able to read player’s minds and see why they do some of the things they do, and just elevate my game in every way. I want to get better at the things I do well, not just the things I do bad.”
Meriweather has the ability to provide toughness in the Pats secondary. He was fined for a flagrant helmet-to-helmet hit on Baltimore’s Todd Heap earlier in the season and, to his credit, managed to lower his target area the rest of the year. Going forward, Meriweather believes he will not only improve, but so will the defense.
“I think we got the right attitude. I think we got everything,” Meriweather said. “But you can always improve, and I think coach will do a great job figuring it out, and putting us in position again.”
I doubt any of the players named there are cut.
The most likely are TBC and Meriweather.
We keep 5 corners, Darius and Wilhite are going nowhere.
D-Line depends on the draft and injuries.
Sanders isn't going anywhere
And I seriously doubt Edelman is.
Thats not how the article reads. The article predicts that Wilhite stays but Butler may hit the highway.
So you believe it possible that they will cut Meriweather, with his 600k salary figure, and instead keep an inferior Sanders, who costs ~4x more?
That being said, that article sucked. I'd be surprised if any of those players were cut, though I wouldn't mind if TBC hit the highway.
That article is so flawed since the New England Patriots will likely maintain five cornerbacks and five safeties on the roster for the 2011 NFL Season, especially considering the number of defensive backs placed on injured reserve during the 2010 NFL Season.
McCourty, the team’s first-round draft choice, started all 16 games and finished with seven interceptions, the second highest total ever by a Patriots rookie. He earned a Pro Bowl berth.
If Bodden returns to health after missing the 2010 season, the Patriots have a chance for one of the NFL’s better 1-2 combinations.
Storyline not to be overlooked: Butler at a crossroads of sorts. The 2009 second-round draft choice didn’t make the 1st-to-2nd year jump that the team had hoped. Can he turn it around in the other direction?
Future: McCourty is signed through 2014, while Bodden is locked up through 2013. Arrington is an exclusive rights free agent, which ensures he’ll be back, while Butler is inked thorugh 2012. Wilhite’s deal expires after the 2011 season, in which he’s scheduled to earn $1.2 million.
Final thought: The top of the depth chart looks strong, assuming Bodden returns to full health and his 2009 level of play. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Patriots add to the position in the draft, creating more competition deeper down the depth chart.
Seriously, talk about the lack of priorities, especially considering the age of the backup cornerbacks currently on the New England Patriots roster:
Where do you get all that from? I don't see how you interpret what Reiss was saying to mean that CB is a higher priority than OL. Take another look at what he said:Seriously, talk about the lack of priorities, especially considering the age of the backup cornerbacks currently on the New England Patriots roster:
Arrington - 24 years of age
Butler - 24 years of age
Wilhite - 26 years of age
Meanwhile on the offensive side of the ball:
Light - 32 years of age
Koppen - 31 years of age
Neal - 34 years of age
Kaczur - 31 years of age
There is no need whatsoever to add a cornerback in the 2011 NFL Draft considering the current status of the New England Patriots offensive line and the pending unrestricted free agency for tackle Matt Light and guard Logan Mankins.
Where do you get all that from? I don't see how you interpret what Reiss was saying to mean that CB is a higher priority than OL. Take another look at what he said:
"It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Patriots add to the position in the draft, creating more competition deeper down the depth chart."
Would it really be so horrible if the Patriots drafted a corner in the 5th or 6th round?
Running back is a higher priority than cornerback and a backup free safety is a higher priority than cornerback, especially if Bill Belichick is not so enamored with Brandon Meriweather.Would it really be so horrible if the Patriots drafted a corner in the 5th or 6th round?