Dean Pees on Ellis Hobbs

[JoePats]

Pees also touched on how a player like cornerback Ellis Hobbs can sometimes be involved in plays that look like he's been beaten, when in actuality that isn't the case. He pointed to the 52-yard catch by Plaxico Burress on the second play of Saturday's game as one example.

"Without getting into great detail, sometimes based on a coverage what you end up seeing may not be the reality of what the coverage is. He should have had help on that and he didn't get it," Pees said.

"It's kind of like when you back to the Steelers game and he was hit a little bit on the fact that [Najeh] Davenport caught that ball in the end zone. Being truthful, that wasn't even Ellis' coverage. He was close, trying to help somebody else, but he gets blamed for the coverage. So sometimes what you may see from the stands or the media or someone else, it may not necessarily be what the breakdown was."

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

Seems a few plays that are seemlingly poor coverage by Hobbs are mistakes in coverages by others that leaves Hobbs on an island.

 

[tombonneau]

I've been firmly in the Hobbs Doesn't Suck Camp all season. Sure he's gotten beat a few teams, but on a lot of plays he's in position, or you can tell he was expecting help or something.

I'm sure if you look at DBs who play opposite an All Pro corner, they all end up with similar seasons to what Hobbs had.

 

[ShrewBeer]

i think people tend to just forget who the safties are when rodney is on the sideline. mistakes have been made, but they are getting better

 

[spacecrime]

Pees also touched on how a player like cornerback Ellis Hobbs can sometimes be involved in plays that look like he's been beaten, when in actuality that isn't the case. He pointed to the 52-yard catch by Plaxico Burress on the second play of Saturday's game as one example.

"Without getting into great detail, sometimes based on a coverage what you end up seeing may not be the reality of what the coverage is. He should have had help on that and he didn't get it," Pees said.

"It's kind of like when you back to the Steelers game and he was hit a little bit on the fact that [Najeh] Davenport caught that ball in the end zone. Being truthful, that wasn't even Ellis' coverage. He was close, trying to help somebody else, but he gets blamed for the coverage. So sometimes what you may see from the stands or the media or someone else, it may not necessarily be what the breakdown was."

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

Seems a few plays that are seemlingly poor coverage by Hobbs are mistakes in coverages by others that leaves Hobbs on an island.

Why is Pees lying like this? It obviously isn't true. I heard Felger say several times that Hobbs was beat on those plays. :bricks:

 

[pheenix11]

i think people tend to just forget who the safties are when rodney is on the sideline. mistakes have been made, but they are getting better

Rodney hasn't been perfect either...

 

[RayClay]

Makes sense. No way he should be left on Burress alone. He's just too tall.

It also doesn't male sense he's assigned to the full back.

I'm still of the opinion he is limited, but he is always on camera because they throw away from Asante. He always hustles which is shown by him trying to save busted coverages such as is mentioned here.

 

[xmarkd400x]

Why is Pees lying like this? It obviously isn't true. I heard Felger say several times that Hobbs was beat on those plays. :bricks:

Why Kraft doesn't just hire Felger as a GM/Coach is beyond me. The man's analysis is spot on.

 

[Real World]

OMG, the Defensive Coordinator stuck up for one of his starting players who's een taking heat for his play? No way! Hobbs is a mediocre corner who hasn't really improved like I thought he would. I don't think anyone thinks every bad play is his fault, but the overall body of work says mediocre to me, and to most. It's ok to say that if your a Patriots fan you know.

Anyhow, I bet if you asked Pees off camera what he thinks of Hobbs' play, he'd probably go

 

[rookBoston]

I think Hobbs is great. I dont buy the negativity at all.

Up until last year, Asante was consistently cruicified on this board as a nickleback who we forced into service after losing Ty Law. Now, suddenly, he's the brightest star in the NFL and Hobbs is trash. Fans are fickle. Commentators are idiots. I'm glad to see Pees stepping up with this type of commentary.

As it turns out, Hobbs has asserted himself as a starter much earlier in his career than Asante did, and provides a level of leadership in the secondary that Asante never has. Of the two, I'd spend more effort trying to find ways to keep Hobbs on the team.

I'll also say that Randall Gay is a completely underappreciated corner for this team, and may be one of the best tackling CBs that we've ever had. I'm 100% fine if our CBs next year are Hobbs, Gay and Chad Scott. A rookie would be nice but, even without that, the talent is there.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Makes sense. No way he should be left on Burress alone. He's just too tall.

It also doesn't male sense he's assigned to the full back.

I'm still of the opinion he is limited, but he is always on camera because they throw away from Asante. He always hustles which is shown by him trying to save busted coverages such as is mentioned here.

FYI-we have 2 very good corners in Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry, but even Burress has given them fits.

 

[Fixit]

Dean pees on Ellis Hobbs.













Oh, the difference one capital letter makes!

 

[Sicilian]

I'll also say that Randall Gay is a completely underappreciated corner for this team, and may be one of the best tackling CBs that we've ever had. I'm 100% fine if our CBs next year are Hobbs, Gay and Chad Scott. A rookie would be nice but, even without that, the talent is there.

I think what the Patriots have shown in their super bowl years is you can have mediocre corners if your safeties are top notch. If we lose Rodney, unless Meriweather has a breakout second season, I don't think those corners would get it done in coverage. They would be stout against the run, but with little help over the top, they'd get burned.

I think that's been our problem this year. Our safeties are great at supporting the run, but not as much in coverage.

If we lose Asante, we'd need a viable replacement, or some kind of shakeup in the safety group, IMO.

 

[emoney_33]

OMG, the Defensive Coordinator stuck up for one of his starting players who's een taking heat for his play? No way! Hobbs is a mediocre corner who hasn't really improved like I thought he would. I don't think anyone thinks every bad play is his fault, but the overall body of work says mediocre to me, and to most. It's ok to say that if your a Patriots fan you know.

Anyhow, I bet if you asked Pees off camera what he thinks of Hobbs' play, he'd probably go

LMAO!!!! You know nothing.


Anyhow as I and others have said many times, Hobbs is GOOD and I'm glad BB and co. run this team.

Hobbs almost made up for a teammate's mistake by getting close to Davenport on that play but he got bashed for it as if that was his man. HOLLYWOOD HOBBS IS THE MAN, thanks.

 

[Sicilian]

LMAO!!!! You know nothing.


Anyhow as I and others have said many times, Hobbs is GOOD and I'm glad BB and co. run this team.

Hobbs almost made up for a teammate's mistake by getting close to Davenport on that play but he got bashed for it as if that was his man. HOLLYWOOD HOBBS IS THE MAN, thanks.

I think the reason most people target Hobbs as a hole in the secondary is he's not flashy. He does his job and does it fairly well, but he's not a big play corner like Asante or a hard hitter / surefire tackler like Gay. He gets a lot of balls thrown his way because they avoid Asante like the plague. In those situations, most CB's would get burned a lot, but also pile up knockdowns, tackles, and ints. Hobbs doesn't have an exorbitant amount of either.

I think in a few years, we'll see Hobbs as a typical Patriot player. Under the radar, doesn't get a lot of credit, but will consistently contribute to winning teams. He's still young too.

 

[unoriginal]

Ah, safety coverage. The bane of cornerbacks everywhere.

 

[Water Boy]

I'm 100% fine if our CBs next year are Hobbs, Gay and Chad Scott. A rookie would be nice but, even without that, the talent is there.

I agree the talent is there but not the depth.

 

[Rob0729]

I have seen many times over the years that the first guy who gets to the receiver getting blamed when it wasn't his fault. I agree with Pees that Hobbs has been a victim of this perception. It happens quite a bit when you watch the game on TV because you do not see the coverages prior to the catch and people assume that the first guy to the receiver was the guy responsible for covering the receiver. Many times this isn't the case and more obvious when you watch at the stadium.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

OMG, the Defensive Coordinator stuck up for one of his starting players who's een taking heat for his play? No way! Hobbs is a mediocre corner who hasn't really improved like I thought he would. I don't think anyone thinks every bad play is his fault, but the overall body of work says mediocre to me, and to most. It's ok to say that if your a Patriots fan you know.

Anyhow, I bet if you asked Pees off camera what he thinks of Hobbs' play, he'd probably go

BS
What we see on TV is not the complete story. We do NOT know who (safety, LB, or CB) has responsibility for the person or the zone. It's very hard for the casual fan to decide who is responsibile for the SNAFU.

 

[rookBoston]

I think what the Patriots have shown in their super bowl years is you can have mediocre corners if your safeties are top notch. If we lose Rodney, unless Meriweather has a breakout second season, I don't think those corners would get it done in coverage. They would be stout against the run, but with little help over the top, they'd get burned.

I think that's been our problem this year. Our safeties are great at supporting the run, but not as much in coverage.

If we lose Asante, we'd need a viable replacement, or some kind of shakeup in the safety group, IMO.

Not sure if you're F-ing with me or if you really believe this. I'll assume you've been listening too much to the media bobbleheads. The "mediocre corners" thing sounds like a direct quote from some idiot like Felger or John Clayton.

By "mediocre corners" you must mean Ty Law, Otis Smith, Asante Samuel and Randall Gay. Frankly, I don't know which of those guys is mediocre. Ty and Asante, at least, are widely considered among the best. Otis was a cornerstone of the secondary and was a playmaker for us. And I've already made my claim that Gay is completely underappreciated. And even if you don't agree he's all that, one out of four does not make this unit mediocre.

And, for the "top-notch safeties", in addition to Milloy and Harrison, you would be lumping in Tebucky Jones and Eugene Wilson. Now, why you would say Jones and Wilson are "top-notch", while Otis and Gay are "mediocre" is a mystery to me. I don't see differentiation in productivity or talent. Tebucky may be the weakest of the entire list-- he isn't even playing in the NFL anymore.

Your point about losing Rodney being a risk this offseason might be a bit more compelling if we hadn't played the entire first half of the season without him in uniform. Remember? It was Wilson and Sanders back there, compensating for Asante and Hobbs-- our mediocre (sic) corners.

I think you're making generalizations that don't fit the facts. Need to give credit where it's due. Teams do not throw down the field on us the way we abused Buffalo or Miami. Hobbs, Gay, Sanders, Wilson. If the secondary was really that unbalanced in talent, the Pats would not have beat the Cowboys or Steelers... or held the Bengals to 13 pts and the Browns to 17.

 

[Sicilian]

Not sure if you're F-ing with me or if you really believe this. I'll assume you've been listening too much to the media bobbleheads. The "mediocre corners" thing sounds like a direct quote from some idiot like Felger or John Clayton.

By "mediocre corners" you must mean Ty Law, Otis Smith, Asante Samuel and Randall Gay. Frankly, I don't know which of those guys is mediocre. Ty and Asante, at least, are widely considered among the best. Otis was a cornerstone of the secondary and was a playmaker for us. And I've already made my claim that Gay is completely underappreciated. And even if you don't agree he's all that, one out of four does not make this unit mediocre.

And, for the "top-notch safeties", in addition to Milloy and Harrison, you would be lumping in Tebucky Jones and Eugene Wilson. Now, why you would say Jones and Wilson are "top-notch", while Otis and Gay are "mediocre" is a mystery to me. I don't see differentiation in productivity or talent. Tebucky may be the weakest of the entire list-- he isn't even playing in the NFL anymore.

Your point about losing Rodney being a risk this offseason might be a bit more compelling if we hadn't played the entire first half of the season without him in uniform. Remember? It was Wilson and Sanders back there, compensating for Asante and Hobbs-- our mediocre (sic) corners.

I think you're making generalizations that don't fit the facts. Need to give credit where it's due. Teams do not throw down the field on us the way we abused Buffalo or Miami. Hobbs, Gay, Sanders, Wilson. If the secondary was really that unbalanced in talent, the Pats would not have beat the Cowboys or Steelers... or held the Bengals to 13 pts and the Browns to 17.

Let me clarify, because I don't think it came across the right way. Was it 2003 or 2004 where we had Harrison and Wilson (who at the time was at least bringing the lumber) at safety, but Randall Gay and Earthwind Moreland playing corner in the super bowl. Now, you can argue that we may never have made it to the super bowl if those were our starters all year, but for that game, we made it work.

And I believe my words were, you CAN win a super with mediocre corners. Not that that they NEVER had good ones.

Look, I'll never claim to be an expert, so maybe comparing me to the bobblehead media is accurate, but I still think football is like most sports. Strength up the middle can make up for relative "weakness" on the outside.