Upgrading the Secondary

[hughthehand]

Watching the replay on NFL network of the 2011 AFCCG, I could not help but laugh at the difference in the Secondary.

Snaps
27 of 73 Julian Edelman not playing defense ! Upgrade
73 of 73 Patrick Chung has been replaced by McCourty - Upgrade
61 of 73 James Ihedigbio has been replaced by Gregory - Upgrade
73 of 73 Devin McCourty has been replaced by Talib - Upgrade
46 of 73 Sterling Moore has been replaced by Dennard - Upgrade
48 of 73 Arrington is playing the nickel back only - upgrade

Baltimore - LaDarius Webb is on IR. This guy was a beast last year in the AFCCG.

Link to defensive Snaps from 2012 AFCCG. Thanks Mike Reiss, you are the best.

Defensive snaps: Wilfork hits 70 - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Also note we really only played 2 LBs this game, so having Hightower is another huge upgrade over Dane Fletchers 10 snaps.

 

[aluminum seats]

Watching the replay on NFL network of the 2011 AFCCG, I could not help but laugh at the difference in the Secondary.

Snaps
27 of 73 Julian Edelman not playing defense ! Upgrade
73 of 73 Patrick Chung has been replaced by McCourty - Upgrade
61 of 73 James Ihedigbio has been replaced by Gregory - Upgrade
73 of 73 Devin McCourty has been replaced by Talib - Upgrade
46 of 73 Sterling Moore has been replaced by Dennard - Upgrade
48 of 73 Arrington is playing the nickel back only - upgrade

Baltimore - LaDarius Webb is on IR. This guy was a beast last year in the AFCCG.

Link to defensive Snaps from 2012 AFCCG. Thanks Mike Reiss, you are the best.

Defensive snaps: Wilfork hits 70 - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Also note we really only played 2 LBs this game, so having Hightower is another huge upgrade over Dane Fletchers 10 snaps.

Noticed that as well. Even with that, the defense did a pretty good job. Wilfork was a beast.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

thanks for sharing. 3 of the 6 won't be playing Sunday for the Pats. That's a huge turnover in personnel. 1 of the 6 will be wearing a different jersey on Sunday.....

 

[Double TE]

The less Chung we see the better.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

I had the same thoughts watching it as well -
Also -watching the D-line - much better push
towards the QB now

 

[aluminum seats]

Another take-away from watching again was just how markedly improved the running game is now (which is no surprise, but interesting to watch the game again). That and the addition of Lloyd should more than make up for the loss of Gronk. The Pats will score more than 23 points.

And 3 turnovers! Forgot what a stomach punch moment the Woodhead fumble was.

Look forward to watching the Ravens game from this year again too.

 

[Spiral]

The less Chung we see the better.

The only time I remember seeing him on the field last Sunday was the on-sides kick, and he almost screwed that up. That kid just doesn't get it.

 

[nabwong]

Which quarter will ihedigbo go down?

5/1 - 1st
4/1 - 2nd
3/2 - 3rd
2/1 - 4th

 

[RayClay]

Just shows how important chemistry is. Obviously, ther secondary we could slap together at a late date was cartoonish, but we went to the Superbowl, while 30 other teams didn't.

Sucks that high picks like Meri and Butler weren't making positive contributions, but it is what it is.

Bad luck on Ras I (I'll assume) but we got pretty lucky with Denard and Talib and Gregory has been solid (you don't need all pros, though that would be good).

If guys are loony or apathetic enough to affect others, you need to amputate and take the hit. I guess that's the message.

Of course, we still have Slater from that stellar secondary last year.:bricks:

 

[Get it shawtaay]

The only time I remember seeing him on the field last Sunday was the on-sides kick, and he almost screwed that up. That kid just doesn't get it.

We have 4 seasons of evidence that Chung has hands made of rebar.

 

[TruthSeeker]

How the hell did we make the Super Bowl ? Amazing ! I'm a huge fan of Talib and Dennard, McCourty reminds me of Eugene Wilson, drafted as a corner, plays better at safety.

 

[hughthehand]

How the hell did we make the Super Bowl ? Amazing !

That was one of the biggest take aways for me and I why I decided to post this. It gave me a lot of confidence in our Defense playing its best game of the season this Sunday.

Our offense turned the ball over 3 times, and our defense last year was a patchwork and we still held Baltimore to 20 points. This year we are so much healthier.

Its funny how fast you can forget Julian Edelman playing on defense. Or the lack of speed at Safety. Or how you talk up Sterling moore and Antuwan Molden to yourself so you dont have a heart attack. Watching the replay brought all that back to me.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Just shows how important chemistry is. Obviously, ther secondary we could slap together at a late date was cartoonish, but we went to the Superbowl, while 30 other teams didn't.

Sucks that high picks like Meri and Butler weren't making positive contributions, but it is what it is.

Bad luck on Ras I (I'll assume) but we got pretty lucky with Denard and Talib and Gregory has been solid (you don't need all pros, though that would be good).

If guys are loony or apathetic enough to affect others, you need to amputate and take the hit. I guess that's the message.

Of course, we still have Slater from that stellar secondary last year.:bricks:

Of all the secondary cuts that Belichick has made only Deion Butler seems to be a (premature) mistake. He is a fairly good starting CB for the Colts today.

For that matter, I can only think of two cuts that turned out wrong. Jeremy Mincey has turned into a pretty good player for the Tamba Bay Bucs. Although there was a small LB he cut when he first arrived in 2000, who just didn't fit his defensive scheme, whose name escapes me now.

 

[rfh]

The only time I remember seeing him on the field last Sunday was the on-sides kick, and he almost screwed that up. That kid just doesn't get it.

It's nice to have depth!

 

[Triumph]

The less Chung we see the better.

We wont be seeing him next year at all.

I dont see the Pats bringing him back. I mean contract year and he loses his job?