Who's Right Regarding Our Corners?

[mgteich]

OPTION ONE
Many here think that we are all set set with Talib & Dennard as starters, Arrington in the slot, and Cole as an emergency backup and top gunner. We also have Dowling as our 5th corner, if we even carry a 5th.

OPTION 2
Others, including many of mediots, consider that corner is one of our cry top needs, certainly worthy of our first or second draft pick.

I choose Option 2.

 

[Sicilian]

We're fine with who we have as of April 11th. One injury to Talib or Dennard and we're significantly less fine on the outside.

So I guess I choose option 2. If for no other reason than I want competition for Dowling's spot as a backup outside corner.

 

[andrewgarrr]

With the moves they made in free agency, (I think) the team does not need to focus on a particular position in the draft.

They should do what they normally do... pick the best player available (or trade down and acquire future picks).

 

[Shockt327]

D looked fine last year w/ Talib and Dennard

 

[andrewgarrr]

McCourty might be the 3rd, 4th or 5th CB along with starting safety.

 

[Coach42]

Must be addressed. Dowling, Arrington and Cole could all stand an upgrade.

 

[JackBauer]

Must be addressed. Dowling, Arrington and Cole could all stand an upgrade.

Well, Arrington's going to be the nickel no matter what. If you mean could stand an upgrade in the sense that someone else plays on the outside if Talib/Dennard go down, I agree.

I think CB is the third priority after WR and DE.

 

[belichick010405]

We are all right. They have the necessary depth and they can stand to get an upgrade in case there is an injury to Dowling or Talib. Fortunately, McCourty has played cornerback as a fall back.

 

[goheels22002]

OPTION ONE
Many here think that we are all set set with Talib & Dennard as starters, Arrington in the slot, and Cole as an emergency backup and top gunner. We also have Dowling as our 5th corner, if we even carry a 5th.

OPTION 2
Others, including many of mediots, consider that corner is one of our cry top needs, certainly worthy of our first or second draft pick.

I choose Option 2.

Option 1, definitely. The secondary became tough when Talib settled in with Dennard and McCourty started patrolling at safety. Add in a full off-season with Adrian Wilson and the defensive backfield is in great shape. I expect a couple of veterans to be thrown in for training camp to challenge these guys, or perhaps unseat Ras-I Dowling, but this is not a crying need.

Look, the Patriots have only two legitimate selections in the draft. The needs, in order, for the draft are 1) defensive line, 2) offensive line 3) whatever you can get in the 7th round among the damaged goods guys like Alfonzo Dennard.

 

[jmt57]

OPTION ONE
Many here think that we are all set set with Talib & Dennard as starters, Arrington in the slot, and Cole as an emergency backup and top gunner. We also have Dowling as our 5th corner, if we even carry a 5th.

OPTION 2
Others, including many of mediots, consider that corner is one of our cry top needs, certainly worthy of our first or second draft pick.

I choose Option 2.

To me it is not an either/or, but a combination of the two.

Talib and Dennard are the starters with Arrington in the slot.
Cole is primarily a ST player.
Anything from Dowling is a bonus.

Talib is gone a year from now. If he plays well he will be too expensive to re-sign; if he doesn't, then he won't be offered another contract.

Whereas free agency is used primarily for immediate needs, the draft is more of a long term solution. Drafting a CB to replace Talib in 2014 makes sense.

 

[patriot lifer]

I was very pleased with Dennard and Talib when they were in there. There was a noticeable difference when they were not in there together. They were lights-out against the Texans, even with Andre Johnson. If anything, I'd say Safety over CB for draft needs. I'll be curious if McCourty puts on some bulk to play safety this year. Gregory is average at best. And I'm crossing my fingers on the Wilson's playing well.

DT is #1 to me for the draft. Then WR. Those are the ideal top two picks for me.

 

[patfanken]

A lot will depend on the health of Dowling. If fully healthy I think he and Dennard will fight it out for snaps at one corner position. Plus with Talib's injury history, I really think we need to have 3 starting CBs ready.

There is a big question, at least in my mind, about the state of Dowling's hip. There are some that think that he still hasn't recovered full flexibility from that injury. Only BB and his staff know exactly how he is. We will only be able to infer his situation from how the Pats use their top 2 (or 3) draft picks.

It would be easy to infer that if the Pats spend one of their top 2 pcks on a CB then they'd expect that pick to be one of the top 4 CBs on the team, and Dowling would be on very shaky ground fight for that 5th position. It could also be inferred that they DON'T have high expectations of Dowling any longer. So IMHO, a lot will be said about Dowling's future by the time the 2nd round is over.

If you want to carry this inference thing further, it could be inferred that because the Pats passed on a number of interesting and reasonably priced FA CB's like Aso and Grimes, they are very happy with Dowling's progress this off season.

Who knows. We sure don't. That's why it's an inference and NOT a fact.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I think the best option is to draft a safety high with hopes of competing with Adrian Wilson for S2 and allowing DMC to slide to CB in case of an injury to Talib/Dennard while he and Wilson man the safety spots. Keeps Gregory in a limited role too. There's already 5 CB's on the roster including Dowling who I suspect will get one more chance here and 6 if you include the potential of DMC sliding over.

If Tavon is ready for full time snaps then I believe the secondary is set but that's a long shot IMO and I'd rather use a higher pick on a blue chip potential pro bowl caliber safety, not sure Tavon's ceiling is that high.

 

[EwanSellars]

i think if we trade down to the mid second we could snag jamar taylor or if we use our original 2nd round pick taylor might still be there but also slay could be an option and bww

 

[patsinthesnow]

We badly need a 3rd outside CB. Besides being injury prone, Dowling hasn't even proved he's any good as a CB. This can be addressed in round 2.

 

[mgteich]

I like this option a lot.

i think if we trade down to the mid second we could snag jamar taylor or if we use our original 2nd round pick taylor might still be there but also slay could be an option and bww

 

[BradyFTW!]

Both, after a fashion. Talib and Dennard are good starters, and Arrington is good in the slot. But Arrington can't play outside, Talib and Dennard both missed time with injuries last year. Talib is on a one-year contract, and there's a real possibility that Dennard might regress this year. Based on that, CB is one of the team's top needs, regardless of how I feel about Talib/Dennard/Arrington as a unit when they're all healthy.

 

[Brady6]

OPTION ONE
Many here think that we are all set set with Talib & Dennard as starters, Arrington in the slot, and Cole as an emergency backup and top gunner. We also have Dowling as our 5th corner, if we even carry a 5th.

OPTION 2
Others, including many of mediots, consider that corner is one of our cry top needs, certainly worthy of our first or second draft pick.

I choose Option 2.

If we had more info on how Dowling looks behind the scenes this would be a lot easier to gauge. If he is healthy he and has done something whether it be conditioning differently, technique development or anything else to significantly improve his injury situation he could be a game changer in this decision.

I also would like to see how things play out with Revis prior to the draft. If he isn't traded maybe I'd hold off on CB for this year roll with what we have knowing we could move McCourty to CB and take a run at Revis in UFA and if we don't get him draft a CB in 2014 early.

 

[supafly]

Talib
Dennard
Arrington
Dowling
Cole

(McCourty) could also play half/half like in SB46, or could even move back over to CB full-time for a handful of games if needed.

We'll obviously know a lot more about Belichick's feelings, as I think there may be a fine line between choosing another CB and preparing for the future and wasting a pick/roster spot.

As many have pointed out, Belichick's feelings with Dowling will likely come into play. We could get by with a mid round draft pick too, especially with a trade down. It doesn't necessarily have to be one of the first 2-3 choices, although that's what many of us would prefer.

There's also a possibility that we'll do nothing this year, aside from maybe one more vet signing for competition purposes. It could potentially be addressed if and when it becomes more of a need next year depending on if Talib stays + the health of Dowling.

 

[supafly]

I'll be curious if McCourty puts on some bulk to play safety this year. Gregory is average at best. And I'm crossing my fingers on the Wilson's playing well.

DT is #1 to me for the draft. Then WR. Those are the ideal top two picks for me.

Does McCourty really have to put on weight to play a position that he's played very well in the past 2 postseasons and stretch runs?

He's our rangy/quick speed guy in a more traditional "FS" role, although we know that L/R is more appropriate. His skillset really allows him to be just fine in my opinion. Besides, we may need him to take over the part-time role at CB too like in SB46, if we don't end up needing him for a more permanent role for a handful of games. I'd rather keep him where he's at which allows us maximum versatility.

I absolutely agree with your 2 biggest draft needs at DL, WR.

I can't say that I think safety is much of a need right now, but since Belichick plans for the future and takes the BPA alot, we can't rule anything out. The word from Bedard is that they are very high on T.Wilson starting opposite of McCourty this year, as they just used a high round choice last draft.