Bodden Benched?

[DaBruinz]

link?

If this doesn't get a real source soon, it should be lobbed into the PS. Without a link, this is misinformation.

I gave a link. It was Greg Bedard from the Boston Globe. Sheesh..

 

[Synovia]

This thread makes me sigh. Bodden and Dowling have been our best corners so far this season. Devin will shape up though. He's a pro.

Some of you need to roll up your "Jump To Conclusions" mats and put 'em in the garage.

McCourty has been fine. For some reason he keeps getting blamed every time Kyle Arrington gets burned.

Of the 300 or so yards of completions between Marshall and Jackson, probably 200 are on Arrington.

 

[Haley]

I gave a link. It was Greg Bedard from the Boston Globe. Sheesh..

I saw that and already edited my post. sheesh.

 

[shakadave]

I thought Spikes was the new Maroney?

No, Spikes is the new Chad Jackson. Maroney tried but was soft. Spikes and Jackson had pea-brains. (In Spikes's case I'm specifically referring to his basketball injury last month.)

 

[jmt57]

Paoletti: Patriots cornerbacks need to tighten up

Last Monday in Miami, Chad Henne (30-for-49, 416 yards) connected with Brandon Marshall seven times for 139 yards. This weekend, Chargers wideout Vincent Jackson caught 10 balls for a career-high 172 yards. Though both are tough targets -- Marshall is 6-foot-4 and Jackson 6-5 -- the trend of letting passing yards slip shouldn't sit well with Leigh Bodden, Devin McCourty and the rest of the cornerbacks corps.

Bodden was visibly frustrated after the game.

"It's a challenge just like every week," he said, staring straight into his locker. "But those guys are tall and Rivers threw it pretty high a few times and they just came up with the ball. They just made plays. We're right there, but they just ended up making the play."

Next week, Pats CBs go against another tall WR:

Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is up next for the Patriots and he's throwing the ball well. Fitzpatrick passed for 208 yards and four touchdowns in Kansas City, and 264 and three TD's against Oakland. His favorite target? David Nelson, a 6-5 wideout.

 

[LetsGoPats36]

There were some glaringly weak calls in the secondary yesterday and I think Bodden was the victim of that at least once. I think he's been alright so far. Had to figure it would take him so time to adjust with so many newcomers on D and after missing all of last year.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

There were some glaringly weak calls in the secondary yesterday and I think Bodden was the victim of that at least once. I think he's been alright so far. Had to figure it would take him so time to adjust with so many newcomers on D and after missing all of last year.

That may be partially true, but he and McCourty have been very spotty this year thus far.

A huge piece of the puzzle could be the vanilla coverages we are playing, but for the Chargers game I think the run defense was shaky and it sucked the safeties up thus stressing the entire secondary.

 

[LetsGoPats36]

That may be partially true, but he and McCourty have been very spotty this year thus far.

A huge piece of the puzzle could be the vanilla coverages we are playing, but for the Chargers game I think the run defense was shaky and it sucked the safeties up thus stressing the entire secondary.

I'd put a lot of that on the inconsistent, at best, pass rush we have going right now. I haven't seen Bodden or McCourty making too many mental errors. They're usually in position to or close to making a play when thrown against. If we could bend the pocket and force the QBs hand a little bit, pretty sure we'd start to see more batted balls and INTs from the CBs.

Also, if you score a lot of points, you're going to get thrown against a ton. That's especially true when guarding a multi score lead, which we were for much of the Miami and San Diego games.

I'm not worried about the CBs, yet. To me, that position has clearly been upgraded from years past, both in depth and overall talent. It's time to start seeing the defensive linemen and blitzing LBs earn their money!

 

[TheComeback]

People forget that Bodden hasn't played football in over a year. He was solid for us in 09. He isn't shut down corner, but he's not supposed to be, either.

He's played well when he's been on the field, for the most part. Give it time and he will get better.

 

[TheComeback]

I'd put a lot of that on the inconsistent, at best, pass rush we have going right now. I haven't seen Bodden or McCourty making too many mental errors. They're usually in position to or close to making a play when thrown against. If we could bend the pocket and force the QBs hand a little bit, pretty sure we'd start to see more batted balls and INTs from the CBs.

Also, if you score a lot of points, you're going to get thrown against a ton. That's especially true when guarding a multi score lead, which we were for much of the Miami and San Diego games.

I'm not worried about the CBs, yet. To me, that position has clearly been upgraded from years past, both in depth and overall talent. It's time to start seeing the defensive linemen and blitzing LBs earn their money!

The secondary has been awful, while the pass rush has improved this year. YThe rush isn't where it needs to be, but very few teams can get through the Chargers' oline.

We didn't have a lot of hits, but there were quite a few plays where the defensive line crashed the pocket (e.g. Sergio Brown's interception). The hits we did have were pretty brutal (Andre Carter).

McCourty has made plenty of mental mistakes this year in coverage. They aren't major, but they're things he did well in 2010, like turning on the ball.

They've also been getting dominated by jump-ball receivers. That's on the secondary, not the pass rush.

 

[TheComeback]

McCourty has been fine. For some reason he keeps getting blamed every time Kyle Arrington gets burned.

Of the 300 or so yards of completions between Marshall and Jackson, probably 200 are on Arrington.

Of all the ridiculous things I've read over the last two weeks, this one is near the top.

Arrington is responsible for 66% of the plays Jackson and Marshall made?

Oh, right. If something goes wrong with the defense, it must be Hobbs', excuse me, Arrington's fault.

The facts are that McC was matched up with both Marshall and Jackson all game, both games, and that he hasn't played well. Making up excuses for him and piling on a dime back won't change that.

If you're not watching the players play, then don't comment on them.

 

[Synovia]

Of all the ridiculous things I've read over the last two weeks, this one is near the top.

Arrington is responsible for 66% of the plays Jackson and Marshall made?

Oh, right. If something goes wrong with the defense, it must be Hobbs', excuse me, Arrington's fault.

The facts are that McC was matched up with both Marshall and Jackson all game, both games, and that he hasn't played well. Making up excuses for him and piling on a dime back won't change that.

If you're not watching the players play, then don't comment on them.

No, that isn't a fact at all.


McCourty plays one side of the field. Jackson (and Marshall), both switched sides several times during the course of each game. Is this not common knowledge? Are you too busy stuffing Nachos in your face to see what players are actually where?


The Patriots have never, at any point, played their guys as #1 and #2. They have, under Bill Belichick, ALWAYS been LCB and RCB.

 

[PatsBoy12]

How is Revis allowed to maul and devour WR's and never get called? How does that happen? Is it a reputation thing?

 

[DarrylS]

How is Revis allowed to maul and devour WR's and never get called? How does that happen? Is it a reputation thing?

The word "legacy" comes to mind... for some reason that is the way the world works..

OTOH Marshall and Jackson are two of the best receivers in the game, yesterday we took out Gates... and most of the time McCourty was 1-1 with little help over the top.

 

[TheComeback]

No, that isn't a fact at all.


McCourty plays one side of the field. Jackson (and Marshall), both switched sides several times during the course of each game. Is this not common knowledge? Are you too busy stuffing Nachos in your face to see what players are actually where?


The Patriots have never, at any point, played their guys as #1 and #2. They have, under Bill Belichick, ALWAYS been LCB and RCB.

Go watch the games again and tell me who's in coverage when these guys are making plays. It is Devin McCourty 70% of the time. Arrington gave up three plays to Vincent Jackson, and that's it.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

He did play less than half the snaps according to Reiss. Strange, it's not like the other guys were setting the world on fire.

At least one of the calls was BS, considering the way refs have been calling things so far this year.

 

[supafly]

No, that isn't a fact at all.


McCourty plays one side of the field. Jackson (and Marshall), both switched sides several times during the course of each game. Is this not common knowledge? Are you too busy stuffing Nachos in your face to see what players are actually where?


The Patriots have never, at any point, played their guys as #1 and #2. They have, under Bill Belichick, ALWAYS been LCB and RCB.

It's funny that you bring that up Synovia.

McCourty was indeed lined up on the right side of the field at times (Bodden's usual spot), and is normally a LCB.

I am not sure if it has anything to do with specific coverage, Bodden's rumored benching of a series (or several plays), or whatever---but I definitely noticed it.

Strangely enough, both Bodden and McCourty have normally been referred to as specific LCB (DMcC) and RCB (Bodden) positions for all of last yr as profootballreference.com. They have them listed there for all of last yr, while BOTH are no longer assigned specific positions for 2011. They are just listed as the standard "CB." Not that I am saying that is the tell-all sign, but I do find it interesting nonetheless. If I have time, I may even start a separate thread to find other's thoughts, and see how many noticed.

There's no doubt that McCourty has been responsible for a very high majority of the Marshall and Jackson coverages. To be honest, I don't even remember seeing or hearing any plays at all in regards to Bodden in his 2 games back now, besides the penalties yesterday. Teams seem to be specifically targeting McCourty with no concern whatsoever, it seems weird to me.

EDIT: I went ahead and started a thread, so we'll see if I am just seeing things, or if anyone else noticed it too, as I did not DVR the game and cannot watch a replay. I do believe that it was in the 2nd half though, so if that is when Bodden supposedly got benched, that may be the answer. If you are able to see the replay, let me know..

Apologies of course, if I was honestly seeing this incorrectly, or simply having an old Mushroom based hallucination. Anything is possible when you are under as much stress as I am...

 

[patsfan-1982]

No, that isn't a fact at all.


McCourty plays one side of the field. Jackson (and Marshall), both switched sides several times during the course of each game. Is this not common knowledge? Are you too busy stuffing Nachos in your face to see what players are actually where?


The Patriots have never, at any point, played their guys as #1 and #2. They have, under Bill Belichick, ALWAYS been LCB and RCB.

Ty Law would always line up vs the outher teams best WR left or right

 

[PatsBoy12]

Bodden is still trying to get his legs under him. Let's not forget that he spent quite some time away from the field. I expect him to return to form soon. He has to, or the Pats are in big trouble.

 

[supafly]

No, that isn't a fact at all.


McCourty plays one side of the field. Jackson (and Marshall), both switched sides several times during the course of each game. Is this not common knowledge? Are you too busy stuffing Nachos in your face to see what players are actually where?


The Patriots have never, at any point, played their guys as #1 and #2. They have, under Bill Belichick, ALWAYS been LCB and RCB.

It would appear that this is not the case, and that's why I started my own thread to see what some other's thought, and if they too noticed the moving around of McCourty the other day. Several clearly pointed out instances where McCourty also played RCB this yr and last, so apparently I was one who fell for this mis-conception too.

I will certainly admit that I didn't pay as close of attention to the moving of CB's at times, and was under the impression (like you and many others) that the CB's "always" stayed on one side.

Interesting...

I have got to start to find time to watch more replays, find better angles, or both..but at least we seemed to find an answer out one way or another. I would say if you took a poll, I bet that 90%+ would have said that they never move their CB's around.