Good read: Sterling Moore

[Uncle Rico]

Pretty good read here on an old friend.

Sterling Moore, hero of last year's AFC Championship Game, looks on from afar this year - NFL - Don Banks - SI.com

"Honestly, I really hate seeing that play replayed, because it always brings up how close I was to losing the game for us,'' he said in a phone interview from his home in Dallas on Tuesday. "Literally that's the thing that crosses my mind the most. When I saw the ball go by me, I really thought I had lost us the game and our chance to go to the Super Bowl. And that feeling comes back to me every time I see that ball in the air.''

Moore was a bit desperate even before the play began, because he said he and safety Devin McCourty never got the defensive play call before the 2nd-and-1 snap at the New England 14, so they were playing somewhat blind, unaware of what coverage the Patriots sideline wanted them in.

And fuel for one of our favorite debates here:

"We had a drill that we used to do at the end of practice with the receivers where we were just literally playing their hands. We don't look back for the ball as a DB, it's just when their hands go up we try to break through their hands. And that's what came up late in that game, with the game and the season on the line. For me, it was the only time throughout the season that situation came up. That moment was the only chance I had to do that all season.''

 

[Fencer]

Sterling Moore explains it

We had a drill that we used to do at the end of practice with the receivers where we were just literally playing their hands. We don't look back for the ball as a DB, it's just when their hands go up we try to break through their hands.

Sterling Moore, hero of last year's AFC Championship Game, looks on from afar this year - NFL - Don Banks - SI.com

Some lessons, it seems, are taught very well.

 

[jah]

Re: Sterling Moore explains it

I know I'm not a professional NFL coach and don't know what I'm talking about, but...

 

[Uncle Rico]

Re: Sterling Moore explains it

It's a actually a pretty good story (I started a thread on it earlier and it didn't get any traction). Lots of good stuff about the Evans play last year, including that Moore and McCourty did not hear the defensive play call so were a little lost.

Also, I can think of one Denver DB who might have been better off had he stayed focused on the receiver. ....

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Re: Sterling Moore explains it

Wait, the media has told me that Evans just DROPPED it.

They've said it so many times I've forgotten that there was a karate chop at the ball involved. Surely it can't be true that a Pats defender had something to do with it...

 

[patfanken]

There is something very important that comes out in that story guys. I know I have long complained when I watched our DB try to defend passes with their backs to the ball. This is the first time I've seen that THAT's the way they are taught to do it. In 2011 McCourty and Arrington got a ton of criticism for not looking back. Its clear now that that criticism should have fallen on the coaching staff, NOT the players who were just doing what they were taught.

Other than that, it was a great article about a very nice kid, who did the best he could under some very difficult circumstances. When you think that BB took a team with THAT secondary to within one drive of a superbowl win, its AMAZING, simply astounding. Think about it. The only ones still starting from the top 5 DB's is McCourty, who had his worst year, and is playing in a different position. This is a story that doesn't get enough attention.

 

[Observer]

Hmmm.... so all of us who have been saying that they are being coached to do what they have been doing have been right all along.

Edit: Upon rereading, maybe it's just one of the drills where they practice how to play the hands, perhaps not as a primary technique.

 

[Water Boy]

There is something very important that comes out in that story guys. I know I have long complained when I watched our DB try to defend passes with their backs to the ball. This is the first time I've seen that THAT's the way they are taught to do it. In 2011 McCourty and Arrington got a ton of criticism for not looking back. Its clear now that that criticism should have fallen on the coaching staff, NOT the players who were just doing what they were taught.

Can someone elaborate on the proper technique/decision making on turning for the ball?

If you are in a full out sprint with a receiver, doesn't turning your head back slow you and make you lose track of the receiver? Also doesn't it increase the likelihood of contact with the receiver if he slows in his route?

 

[Ring 6]

There is something very important that comes out in that story guys. I know I have long complained when I watched our DB try to defend passes with their backs to the ball. This is the first time I've seen that THAT's the way they are taught to do it. In 2011 McCourty and Arrington got a ton of criticism for not looking back. Its clear now that that criticism should have fallen on the coaching staff, NOT the players who were just doing what they were taught.

Other than that, it was a great article about a very nice kid, who did the best he could under some very difficult circumstances. When you think that BB took a team with THAT secondary to within one drive of a superbowl win, its AMAZING, simply astounding. Think about it. The only ones still starting from the top 5 DB's is McCourty, who had his worst year, and is playing in a different position. This is a story that doesn't get enough attention.

I think you misunderstand. They arent taught to play that technique as a standard the are taught to play to do that WHEN BEATEN.

 

[Fencer]

I think you misunderstand. They arent taught to play that technique as a standard the are taught to play to do that WHEN BEATEN.

More correct than not, I'd think.

Recovery by DBs is an important factor. If the pass doesn't take full advantage of the separation the WR has gained, recovery and successful defense become very plausible.

But there's also "If I look back on this particular route, I'll get beaten, so I'll just watch the receiver and judge the play that way", on a large number of "this particular" routes ...

 

[alamo]

I think you misunderstand. They arent taught to play that technique as a standard the are taught to play to do that WHEN BEATEN.

Last year it felt like being beaten WAS standard.