Ellis Hobbs is outplaying Samuel right now

[SeanBruschi54]

Seriously, Hobbs has played beyond superb this season already only 3 weeks in.

Sets an ALL TIME NFL record on ST's with his KR.

Has 12 tackles with 3 Passes Defended. 2 of which were very good passes that he just outplayed the WR. EX the Buffalo game on Sunday.

Has been more than solid in coverage and has helped in the running game more than people think.

He's becomming the best corner we have

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

stats are deceiving for cb's. I've always thought high of Hobbs. He's a gamer and shows up all the time to play. Asante just isn't in rhythm missing most of training camp. I expect Asante to be in top form by the Indy game and in a couple weeks at the earliest. Gay is plaing real well.

 

[jbb9s]

Seriously, Hobbs has played beyond superb this season already only 3 weeks in.

Sets an ALL TIME NFL record on ST's with his KR.

Has 12 tackles with 3 Passes Defended. 2 of which were very good passes that he just outplayed the WR. EX the Buffalo game on Sunday.

Has been more than solid in coverage and has helped in the running game more than people think.

He's becomming the best corner we have

Good assesment. But this is like the equivalent of the third pre-season game right now for Asante. Lets see whats going on in November. Hopefully, they are both playing at their highest potential.

 

[mgcolby]

Hobbs was better in 2005 and would have been better than him last year if he didn't have a cast. Asante may end up with more picks (because he gambles) but Hobbs clearly has more talent!

 

[Pat_Nasty]

You guys are seriously delusional.

Hobbs has been playing well, but Samuel's been a blanket by comparison. You hear Hobbs' name more during the game because teams are throwing his way more often. Asante has shown no rust from missing camp -- opposing QBs have completed only one or two passes to receivers being covered by Samuel.

 

[sieglo]

Hobbs was better in 2005 and would have been better than him last year if he didn't have a cast. Asante may end up with more picks (because he gambles) but Hobbs clearly has more talent!

+1. His only problem is his height.

 

[JoeSixPat]

First of all, why pit one against the other?



Beyond that, which side of the field do you think opposing QBs are throwing to more often, Hobbs or Samuel?

And if you're answer is Hobbs, don't you think that his stats might benefit as a result?

 

[JackBauer]

This is completely ridiculous. Teams have barely thrown at Samuel.

Samuel is still the better overall CB. But Hobbs is becoming a very good DB and is great on STs. His ceiling may or may not be higher than Asante's; IMO, it's too early to tell.

 

[BelichickFan]

Regardless of who's better, Samuel, Hobbs and Gay are a very nice trio if they can stay healthy.

We have the Browns to thank for Hobbs, they had him rated higher than Charlie Frye but took Frye over Hobbs as they wanted the QB over the CB.

 

[patsox23]

lots of tackles for a CB can be a bit deceptive. It suggests he's giving up completions, getting there a step or two late and then tackling the guy. Not necessarily, but sometimes. I think he's made solid progress, but I suspect the "they're not throwing at Asante" argument has some merit.

 

[PATRIOT64]

Hobbs is playing fine just as he was 2 years ago but Asante is still the best CB on the field in a Pats uniform and once the season grows longer you will see the difference I am sure.

You just have to expect Hobbs to have his usual big pass interference penalties against him several times this year - IMO that has been his main negative thing,sometimes he gets too physical with the receivers for the referees tastes.

 

[Dom]

Regarding how often Hobbs and Samuel get targeted, according to the FootballOutsiders.com Game Charting Project, last year Samuel was thrown at more often than Hobbs, by 101 times (23% of pass attempts against the Patriots) against 78 (18%). Samuel was actually eight in the NFL in terms of the proportion of passes directed at him. As it happens I think right now Samuel is slightly better, but you can't use the "stats inflated because teams were scared of Samuel" argument, or at least not for for last year.

 

[cstjohn17]

Good numbers, I like numbers. The stat that still sticks out to me from last year is that the Pats only gave up 10 passing TDs all season. That is an unreal number, especially since our top two safeties missed the majority of the season (Harrison & Wilson). This low total tells me that the Pats CBs can cover, they proved this during the AFC Championship against Indy. Where we slipped was in the middle of the field with the LBs and Safeties trying to cover TEs.

This year we have a better front seven, more depth in the secondary (Gay, Merriweather instead of Hawkins, Sanders has one more year of experience ).

I would put Hobbs / Samuel / Gay in the top 8 in the league, combined with our front seven we should be very good. Big test this week against Palmer and the boys.

 

[PatsFan37]

Big test this week against Palmer and the boys.

I'm excited about that. Not much test for the offense, but the secondary will be challenged deep and with their running game, will have to be in a base D a lot of the time. Fun to watch. Hobbs and Samuel are both excellent and will have their hands full.

 

[FlyingElvis75]

You guys are seriously delusional.

Hobbs has been playing well, but Samuel's been a blanket by comparison. You hear Hobbs' name more during the game because teams are throwing his way more often. Asante has shown no rust from missing camp -- opposing QBs have completed only one or two passes to receivers being covered by Samuel.

Took the words out of my mouth...

Teams tend to throw at Hobbs more because Samuel is known for interceptions. There was one play (vs. the Jets? Chargers?) where Samuel got beaten for a TD, but he still got a hand on it and looked appropriately pissed off when he didn't knock it down. That was probably rust, but he's looked pretty good since then, I think.

 

[everlong]

The thing I've been most encouraged about with Hobbs is he's not giving up the 8-10 yard in and out patterns by playing too far off the receiver, at least not as much as last year.

San Diego was targeting him and hit a few and then he made a nice break up.

The Jets hit 3 in front of him but those were the only three he gave up all day and again he had a break up.

The Bills didn't do squat against him.

This week is a big tell will he be able to play up on CJ/Housh?

I think he'll have help over the top so I hope he doesn't give them 10 yards of cushion so they just start hitting outs at will. Unlike Indy where Harrison and Wayne are on the same side most of the time Cincy, and Dallas in a few weeks with TO, move their receivers around so I wonder if CJ or Housh will get the most reps on Hobbs side.

 

[ClevTrev]

Glad to see Hobbs playing well, but as others have pointed out, Samuel is still not completely game fit; although, it looks like he's getting there.

Nice to have two strong corners and a solid backup in Gay.

 

[patchick]

Regarding how often Hobbs and Samuel get targeted, according to the FootballOutsiders.com Game Charting Project, last year Samuel was thrown at more often than Hobbs, by 101 times (23% of pass attempts against the Patriots) against 78 (18%). Samuel was actually eight in the NFL in terms of the proportion of passes directed at him. As it happens I think right now Samuel is slightly better, but you can't use the "stats inflated because teams were scared of Samuel" argument, or at least not for for last year.

Great data, thanks! Even the "who do they throw at" numbers can be misleading, though. If a team has a clear #1 receiver who the QB really relies on, then you're going to put your top cover corner on him...and plenty of throws will go in that direction anyway.

 

[shakadave]

We'll definitely need both to beat the Colts this year. Let's get back to the days of holding them under 34 points!

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

Undoubtedly, our secondary is tested everyday in practice going up against Moss, Welker and Stallworth (Who will see more passes soon). Obviously, they are going to get better because of it.

I think our secondary is going to get tested a lot. Our front 7 are just too good at stopping the run. Hobbs, Samuel and Gay are definately a much better than average group.

I expect them to have a busy afternoon for much of the season. It's the tall recievers that give them the most trouble, not neccesarily the fast ones.

Big test for them this Monday.