Peter King on WEEI: Aqib Talib not a great corner

[LiveShot]

King on M&M: Talib 'not a great corner'

Not great but better than anyone the Pats have on their roster. Peter King is not a GREAT sports writer, just about average.

 

[goheels22002]

So, Peter King gets his information from www.profootballfocus.com. That's nice. Shouldn't the adolescent shut-ins at www.profootballfocus.com get their info from Peter King?

Seriously, isn't he the big time HBO/SI/NBC pro football reporter? Those guys are bloggers who probably lurk around here to get their info on the Patriots.

In Peter King's words, what I think I think is that Peter King should turn off the Internet and go back to actually watching games and interviewing NFL employees rather than parroting 20-somethings drinking Pepsi Max and eating Snickers bars.

 

[mayoclinic]

Aqib Talib was the #20 pick in the 2008 draft, and the 3rd CB taken in that draft. Leodis McKelvin, the #10 pick and the first CB taken, has not been a great CB - not nearly as good as Talib. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the #16 pick and the 2nd CB taken, has not been a great CB. Mike Jenkins, the #25 pick and the 4th CB taken, has not been a great CB. Antoine Cason, the #27 pick and 5th CB taken, has not been a great CB. Talib has probably been the best CB taken in the first round of that draft, and along with Kenny Phillips the best DB taken in the first round of that draft. Brandon Flowers, taken #35 in the 2nd round (the 6th CB and 7th DB taken) has arguably been had the best overall career to date. The Pats, who had their 1st round pick taken away from them in the 2008 draft and who needed DB help, missed out on all of those guys and took Terrence Wheatley at #62 in the 2nd round. Compared to Wheatley, Talib is a HOFer.

Not every 1st round CB turns out to be Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson or Champ Bailey. Talib has been a pretty solid CB aside from his off-field issues.

As far as I'm concerned, the Pats just got the 1st round player back that Goodell took away from us in the 2008 draft.

 

[PatsDeb]

Yeah, Peter, and the Chiefs are going to win the AFC West (that was his prediction at the beginning of the year). We're doomed now because this guy really knows what he's talking about!

He probably doesn't like Talib because Talib doesn't give him the time of day, and therefore, Peter cannot name drop about him in his weekly "Look at Me!" Fest, a/k/a Monday Morning Quarterback.

In any event, I am sure that Talib won't be the absolute savior we all hope for, and his off-the-field problems may continue (although we hope they won't), but the Pats needed to do something about their dismal secondary, and acquiring this guy, even as a short term Rent-A-Wreck is probably going to improve our team somewhat and may improve it a whole lot. Since we have experience with risk/reward players (Dillon, Moss, Haynesworth) and can accept that sometimes they work out (Dillon, 1/2 Moss) and sometimes they don't (the other 1/2 Moss, Haynesworth), I think it was a great move to reach for the ring THIS SEASON. Whatever happens after that, who knows.

 

[DarrylS]

Talib has experience, 58 games I believe, that is significantly more than our most experienced DB's.. McCourty and Arrington had last week(40 total)..

And exponentially more than Wilson or Dennard had, something like 10 games combined..

 

[lamafist]

I've always found it odd how King could spend his entire life immersed in the NFL without ever developing a deeper understanding of the game.

For contrast, look at Mike Reiss -- when he started blogging for the Globe, he wasn't much of a journalist, and he knew f***-all about football. He was essentially a stenographer for Patriots Media Relations head Stacey James. Now, 8 years later, he's not only made leaps and bounds as a reporter, he's also able to make insightful contributions through his own observation and critical analysis.

I've noticed the same development among a lot of the staff at FootballOutsiders.com. Aaron Schatz, in particular, has clearly worked hard to absorb what he can the guys he's brought in to do the x's and o's and player scouting analysis.

And yet with Peter King, who's been at it longer than both those guys combined, the worth of his contribution is only as good as the judgement of the source he uncritically parrots.

 

[coolguy]

kyle ******* arrington make aqib talib look like deion sanders .:rocker:

 

[BradyFTW!]

Re: Peter King on WEEI:Talib not a great corner

King is an idiot - post-Spygate, does anyone here not realize that?

 

[makoute]

kyle ******* arrington make aqib talib look like deion sanders .:rocker:

He really took a step back this year, way back.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Talib is not a great corner,he is an above average corner and most importantly is A PHYSICAL presence....our secondary has been softer than a baby's ass and in dire need of a hard nosed player.

Since Rodney left there has been no one to really scare receivers,Brandon Meriweather was a tough hitter but couldn't tackle to save his life,this guy can do a little of both.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

kyle ******* arrington make aqib talib look like deion sanders .:rocker:

Arrington could make Duane Starks look like Darrelle Revis

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

I read until I got to this:

Added King: "The folks at Pro Football Focus who chart such things ...

You should've read 4 words further

basically found a stat

So pretty much after the trade went through they created a stat to make him seem like a bad CB...

 

[lamafist]

He really took a step back this year, way back.

Maybe somewhat, but I think he was over-valued in his previous years. For the most part, the Patriots' defensive schemes haven't asked Arrington to play with his back to the QB very much, which made his ball skills look better than they were.

Notably, Arrington's struggles have been extremely apparent when McCourty's been moved to safety. When the schemes have required Arrington to be a more complete cornerback, his limitations are exposed.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Post# 20 stating the obvious: Talib is not being billed as "great" and is not expected to be "great". Talib is expected (or hoped) to be good/solid/satisfactory call it what you will. The Patriots receiving a good CB is a BIG deal for an otherwise struggling secondary.
Serious failure on King's part to focus on Talib not being "great". The word great should only have been used by King to describe the amount of time his story wasted in Patriot fan circles.

 

[Claremonster]

King on M&M: Talib 'not a great corner'

Peter King-not a great sports writer.

 

[PatsFan2]

I am glad King opened mouth now Aqib Talib is guranteed to be our Best CB since Assante Samuel. I was just waiting for Kings stamp of approval...King reminds me of Wrong Borges.

 

[xlcjw72]

I love this trade, that being said it makes me sick that guys like him have the gift to play football and make money and he can just piss it away

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JJDChE]

Peter King...ROFL.

 

[goheels22002]

Aqib Talib was the #20 pick in the 2008 draft, and the 3rd CB taken in that draft. Leodis McKelvin, the #10 pick and the first CB taken, has not been a great CB - not nearly as good as Talib. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the #16 pick and the 2nd CB taken, has not been a great CB.

The Pats, who had their 1st round pick taken away from them in the 2008 draft and who needed DB help, missed out on all of those guys and took Terrence Wheatley at #62 in the 2nd round. Compared to Wheatley, Talib is a HOFer.

As far as I'm concerned, the Pats just got the 1st round player back that Goodell took away from us in the 2008 draft.

How ironic is that?

Usually, I hate these Belichick pickups of miscreants and scofflaws. I went ballistic on Albert Haynesworth, and was correct in doing so. The Krafts have always valued good citizens and hard workers. Aqib Talib seems like a guy with real anger control problems.

In this case, I am rooting for him to be the second coming of Corey Dillon. Not so much because the Patriots need a good defensive back, but because that 2008 draft yielded a great Patriot - Jerod Mayo - and now could yield the second key player in this defense in Aqib Talib.

I hope Talib picks off a pass tipped by Jerod Mayo for a game winning TD against the Jets.

Four notable Patriots who were 2008 undrafted free agents included Danny Woodhead (signed by the Jets), Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis, Gary Guyton, and Aqib's new running buddy Kyle Arrington who signed with the Eagles.

 

[Deus Irae]

King's general point seems fine - Talib's giving up a lot of receptions this year, percentage-wise. I've got no issue with his overall claim, although I've got nothing trustworthy to verify it or refute it with. I have an issue with him getting the round of the pick wrong, which is why I said it was shoddy work. It was on radio, though, not in a column, so I guess I should have cut him a bit more slack.

And, just having a CB who can run without tripping himself is probably enough to be an upgrade.