Thoughts on Ras-I Dowling and the secondary?

[rojo8401]

i think the disappointment in McCourty is skewed based on the yardage they gave up. McCourty was the hardest working player on that defense last night. The ball seemed to go to his side almost every other play and i think he had something like 11 tackles. The biggest stat imo was the fact that Marshall had no TDs

If he made that int in the endzone last night people would be touting him right now.

I totally agree with you. Henne also made some very good throws that any CB would have trouble defending.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

After last night I'm changing from Ras IR Dowling to RAF Dowling.

Hey, he defended London from those vicious Henkels and ME 109s.

Oh, wait it's Dowding. Never mind.

 

[ausbacker]

Dowling played an encouraging game last night and as always, I was impressed with Bodden. He is the consummate professional. Goes about his duties with minimal fuss. D-Mac's form is a little concerning and I'm hopeful he'll get it together.

Once the Safety positions are settled, the Patriots have the makings of a very good backfield. The D-Line is in place, the defensive backs are getting there now it's just a matter of some linebackers stepping up outside of Mayo.

 

[BradyToAmendola]

Secondary doesn't worry me. Pass rush does. Would have liked to see some more pressure on Henne last night.

 

[Sciz]

Secondary doesn't worry me. Pass rush does. Would have liked to see some more pressure on Henne last night.

Accord to Bedard (who I respect a lot as far as evaluating on-the-field play), the Pats had 20 pressures, tying last year's high.

 

[The Gr8est]

Dowling played an encouraging game last night and as always, I was impressed with Bodden. He is the consummate professional. Goes about his duties with minimal fuss. D-Mac's form is a little concerning and I'm hopeful he'll get it together.

Once the Safety positions are settled, the Patriots have the makings of a very good backfield. The D-Line is in place, the defensive backs are getting there now it's just a matter of some linebackers stepping up outside of Mayo.

Does anyone else think that it just may be possible that McCourty didn't work as hard as he could have in the off-season and is playing catch up now?

With the year he had and the accolades he received, along with the lock out, maybe he just coasted a bit too much.

Not saying he did, but it's just a thought.

 

[Ring 6]

Does anyone else think that it just may be possible that McCourty didn't work as hard as he could have in the off-season and is playing catch up now?

With the year he had and the accolades he received, along with the lock out, maybe he just coasted a bit too much.

Not saying he did, but it's just a thought.

What is the point of just making something up out of nowhere to question the character of the guy?
I just don't understand that.
McCourty was facing Brandon Marshall for 53 pass plays and allowed 7 catches. That isnt exactly playing like crap.

 

[Ring 6]

Accord to Bedard (who I respect a lot as far as evaluating on-the-field play), the Pats had 20 pressures, tying last year's high.

There were 53 pass plays though..........

 

[Sciz]

There were 53 pass plays though..........

True. So the efficiency wasn't better than all of last season, but it was definitely better than a lot of games last season.

 

[The-Hooded-One]

I think the pass rush was fine. Henne was getting the ball out quickly a lot of the time. He impressed me in that regard. Can't get to the QB if he doesn't give you time to.

 

[The Gr8est]

What is the point of just making something up out of nowhere to question the character of the guy?
I just don't understand that.
McCourty was facing Brandon Marshall for 53 pass plays and allowed 7 catches. That isnt exactly playing like crap.

I'm not questioning his character, but it seems like even in the pre-season he wasn't as good as he was last year.

I'm just throwing this out as a possible explanation. I don't believe he lost any talent. I DO recall hearing him on interviews a lot more during the lock out than when he was an unknown rookie with lower expectations.

Do you have any ideas why he isn't playing as well as last year?

Or do you think he IS playing as well?

 

[Ring 6]

True. So the efficiency wasn't better than all of last season, but it was definitely better than a lot of games last season.

Yeah, its hard to base anything on one game.
I'd say if we had to judge based upon this game, its just what you would think. We have more talented pass rushers on the field this year so we win more one on one battles.
I think I also saw more pressure from blitzing (hard to quantify) which is really what we want to see because it means the new set of corners, McC, Dowling and Bodden are able to be left on their own more in order to blitz, and more importantly blitz heavily.
Sending 5 is a "we can't cover to well" blitz. Sending the house means confidence in the corners.

 

[Ring 6]

I'm not questioning his character, but it seems like even in the pre-season he wasn't as good as he was last year.

Of course you are. After 1 game you throw out, with no justification at all, a hypothesis that he was lazy in the offseason.

I'm just throwing this out as a possible explanation. I don't believe he lost any talent. I DO recall hearing him on interviews a lot more during the lock out than when he was an unknown rookie with lower expectations.

WAIT. A 2nd year player gave more interviews than a rookie on a team that doesnt allow rookies to talk? I guess Gronk Fed off all summer too huh?

Do you have any ideas why he isn't playing as well as last year?

Or do you think he IS playing as well?

Its been one game, and no I don't see a troubling difference.
He covered one of the best WRs for 53 pass plays and allowed 7 catches. That is far from awful.

 

[The Scrizz]

Accord to Bedard (who I respect a lot as far as evaluating on-the-field play), the Pats had 20 pressures, tying last year's high.

This.

It's a little counter-intuitive because the Pats offense was so dominant but Miami ran more offensive plays than the Pats last night. They also only had 14 running plays (which includes the QB draw, but not scrambles). So they dropped back to pass 59 times.

While you saw all of the Miami D guys cramping and leaving the game etc, the Pats D showed none of those signs despite being on the field longer (Miami also led in TOP).

Which is why it's absurd that people (or a person) are ragging on McCourty not working out enough and coasting. Dude was on the field for 59 drop-backs (or so, don't know if he missed any snaps but it wasn't many). I didn't see him on the sidelines sucking air between every series.

 

[The Scrizz]

There were 53 pass plays though..........

59 I believe, counting QB scrambles, which are probably even more tiring because you have to chase your guy around and then chase down the QB.

The rush may not have been as efficient as our best last year but to me that makes what the corners did even more impressive because Miami has some good wr's.

 

[Deus Irae]

Needs work

 

[Keyser Söze]

Dowling will need to learn to look for the ball more in coverage. He was agressive of the fade route on the goaline, all he needed to do better was look for the ball...which is a pet peeve of mine when CB's don't especially on that type of route.

Still, solid for his debut. Not overly impressive like some have been saying but we'll see.

 

[Schmo]

Ras-I did not turn back to tracj the ball. Dolphins receivers he covered where smaller so his size helped him a bit. If they had good receiver then he might have be challanged.

Exactly what I thought when I saw this thread. If he can track the ball, game over. That's a big "if."

As far as McCourty goes... I only saw a handful of teams that, collectively, were ready to play this weekend. Packers, Saints, Pats... Buffalo haha. A lot of players, even veterans, are off to a slow start getting back into their systems (the entire Dolphins defense). I also thought McCourty wasn't up to spec, but after 8 months or so and the lockout, your first real game will probably be full of mistakes. No way in hell it's because he's lazy. A lazy player doesn't have the rookie year he had.

 

[condon84]

Marshall was thrown to a total of 13 times, and he caught 7 for a 139 yards. Saying the Dolphins had 53 pass plays and since Marshall had "only" 7 catches we did an okay job covering him is asinine. Do you expect Henne to target the guy all 53 times? Do you take into account that a number of those pass plays someone else may have been the number one target?

 

[Daigle]

Stop complaining about DM. Just because he was flawless last year doesnt mean hes gonna be doing it every game though the rest of his career. Henne nailed som bullets on his receiver but overall he covered really good. Too bad about the almost INT but the margins just werent there. One question though, would he had caught the INT, he would have been praised for his solid performance on this board? pretty sure about it...

About Ras, good first show, he looked tall on the field, sometimes not that good agility maybe but perfect first performance. Please stay healthy now Rasi.

OT: Moore concern is how our improved pass rush isnt really there yet but I think Pryor showed some good moves and my man Albert is improving as well.

Conclusion: They did a good job, not SB Great but you cant really expect that. What you can expect is a solid performance and thats what they did if u ask me. There are other issues that might be a bit more concerning than secondarys right now.