McCourty at FS and Moore at CB

[JoeShmoe]

Have to say I think this combination is really working

McCourty looks good at FS and is an upgrade over Ihedigbo.

Moore has been a revelation and interesting how he was lined up over Demayrius Thomas for most of the game and covered him brilliantly

Hope we stick with this going forward. With Dowling to come back into the mix and likely some offseasn additions the the group is really gelling

 

[RobertWeathers]

Have to say I think this combination is really working

McCourty looks good at FS and is an upgrade over Ihedigbo.

Yes and no. McD is better in the passing game and Ihedigbo is more of a SS. Two different safeties really.

Moore has been a revelation and interesting how he was lined up over Demayrius Thomas for most of the game and covered him brilliantly

Agree. Moore just seems to be around the ball a lot.

Hope we stick with this going forward. With Dowling to come back into the mix and likely some offseasn additions the the group is really gelling

It'll be interesting to see moving forward. Would not be suprised if they draft another DB or two as they always do.

 

[Warren1985]

I liked it too, its something new which gives OC something extra to think about when playing us!

 

[jr_3421]

I love how Sterling Moore has progressed but I hope we can get another S to pair with Chung. McCourty is a CB and good one. He had a horrible year but there was a lot of bad CB this year. The two corners who gave up the most yds this year were Travon Williams and McCourty. Both were pro bowlers last year. Not saying that this explains his terribleness but this is a league wide problem. The true test will be next year. If he continues to suck then yeah a move to S should be considered.

 

[DarrylS]

As much as there have been issues in the D Backfield, there has been comparable progress.. last night they played like beasts.

We have the skeleton of a very good d backfield, with a couple of pieces missing.

 

[RobertWeathers]

As much as there have been issues in the D Backfield, there has been comparable progress.. last night they played like beasts.

We have the skeleton of a very good d backfield, with a couple of pieces missing.

Arrington and DMc are the key pieces. I agree. Another top-end CB and SS are needed.

 

[patchick]

Arrington and DMc are the key pieces. I agree. Another top-end CB and SS are needed.

Don't forget Dowling as a wild card. He's a big talent with positional flexibility, if he can get on the field.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

Don't forget Dowling as a wild card. He's a big talent with positional flexibility, if he can get on the field.

GIFSoup

 

[RobertWeathers]

Don't forget Dowling as a wild card. He's a big talent with positional flexibility, if he can get on the field.

Agreed on Dowling. Not sure what kind of DB he will be.

With that said, BB will still draft a DB. Always does. Always will.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

McCourty played well out of position at safety, though he did take a poor angle on that one completion to Thomas who turned it up the field for a big gain past Arrington and McCourty. There were a few poor angles in run support as well though I don't recall if he was playing safety or corner at the time, but I plan on re-watching the game (not just for this, but because it was FREAKING AWESOME).

But for all the flack he's taken, I still think a lot of McCourty is a solid corner and most of his issues have been due to the lack of competent safety play. Quite often, there's no one else in the picture, and he's forced to cover both inside and outside routes. I think this is why BB has never benched him, while Arrington has sat at times when struggling in coverage.

Moore looks really promising. I was concerned about him being burned by a double move because of his aggressiveness, but there was one route I saw where he played it extremely well. I never saw contract details for him, though Reiss has his contract running to the end of next season.

I don't think this will be the configuration for next season, though I wouldn't be surprised to see us pull it out from time to time to confuse a QB. But hopefully we have a better option at safety than Ihedigbo/Brown next season.

Wasn't there some talk of Dowling potentially being converted? I know jays52 is high on Edelman as an option.

 

[Patriot Missile]

So far so good. I'm starting to be a big believer in Sterling Moore. If he can contribute enough to take us to the super bowl and win it why would anyone want to draft another CB? I'm reserving judgment until the playoffs are over to see if this guy is emerging as much as I think he has. Think about it, look how far Moore has progressed considering how little experience he has had at cb. He's like a sponge eating up knowledge and applying it to the position every game. Very exciting times right now.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

What portion of the snaps was McCourty at FS?

 

[goheels22002]

When the defensive line and LBs are playing the way they did last night, the backfield will look good. That was a dominant performance against a bunch of guys who looked in awe of the situation. That crappy option offense was bogus going into this game. Most of the QB pressures and sacks were just all-out dominance by the front seven, or Tebow unable to see his progression at all.

Next week's opponent will be a major upgrade offensively even with Flacco or Yates - both pocket passers who see progressions and who can get it out of there quickly.

It's good to get a playoff win under their belts, but the defensive backfield is what it's been all season: very young and learning.

 

[patchick]

Moore looks really promising. I was concerned about him being burned by a double move because of his aggressiveness, but there was one route I saw where he played it extremely well. I never saw contract details for him, though Reiss has his contract running to the end of next season.

FYI, Moore is a rookie so they control his rights for 4 years.

 

[jbb9s]

Arrington is the most quintessential Patriot since Bru and Troy. Guy came up from nowhere and has basically been playing every snap since replacing Butler in week 2 of last season.

Let's not get too worked up about anyone in the backfield except Chung. They basically all have flaws and defensing the worst passing QB in the SB era really isn't a good barometer to make claims about their competency.

Fortunately, Yates or Flacco and then Smith would be a very, very favorable road for this secondary.

 

[Ring 6]

What portion of the snaps was McCourty at FS?

It looked to me like he played corner exclusively in the base, and when we went to nickel or dime he moved to safety.

 

[Ivan]

I would like to see McCourty stay at Safety for the long term, and if he does I think the position is fixed with he and Chung as the starters, although they still will need better depth. Moore has played well and Arrington is a good CB, so overall the secondary is in the best shape we have seen all year. I have alot of hope that they can turn this defense into one of the better units in foot ball over the next year with a good offseason.

 

[memento]

I was really surprised when McCourty was drafted and used as a CB because of all the success Belichick has had with low drafted corners and high skill safeties.

No matter how good a corner is, safeties cover more field, and their position is more symmetrical. I never bought in to the whole "shut down half of the field" argument for shutdown corners.

So I'm happy to see McCourty well used at safety, especially with questionable talent at the safety position.

 

[ahmed]

I still want McCourty at CB after this year. Moore on the other hand is a keeper. He has amazingly flexible hips that give him the ability to turn on a dime and as I have said many times, he's the one DB in our defense that does not give any 10 yard cushions to his WRs. He sticks to them like glue.

With him back there, this defense is different.

 

[patchick]

So suppose the Patriots could actually get Arrington, Chung, Dowling, McCourty and Moore all healthy and active for game 1 next year.

How does that backfield look to you? Who would you start where? And what kind of pieces would you want to add to complete the puzzle?