Derrick Harvey #1 pick?

[BradyManny]

I agree, Sanders is more a SS than a FS, but I doubt veteran freiendly BB is going to put Rodney on the bench for Sanders, even though Rodney is a year older and declining very rapidly; and I doubt very seriously that Merriweather, even though he should be improved in year 2, can beat out Sanders.

Healthy or not, Hobbs gives big cushions for underneath stuff. Whoever starts at CB opposite Hobbs is not going to be as good in our defense as Samuel was.

Therefore with Rodney declining and an unknown, maybe even a rookie starter opposite Hobbs, I can not imagine this secondary being as good as last seasons.

I have been working under the assumption - whether correct or not, only time will tell - that Meriweather's start in the Super Bowl indicates the free safety job is his to lose in TC. With his range and speed, he's a big upgrade in coverage over Sanders.

As for Sanders v. Harrison at SS, I think that works itself out. The Pats employ enough extra DB packages that they're both going to get time, particularly given Harrison is used a lot in a somewhat LB-ish role and used to cover TEs or backs. I imagine we'll see Meriweather, Sanders and Harrison on the field a fair amount together next season.

As for Hobbs, his big cushion was a product of the system last season, who knows what it [the coverage] will look like next year and what Capers signing means for the secondary. My guess is that having a true free safety with the range of Meriweather will allow the corners to play a little more aggressive than this past season, and Hobbs would definitely play better in that kind of coverage. As it is, by most measurables and metrics I've heard, Hobbs stacked up against Asante pretty well this season. It's hard - for me at least - to assign blame for a given play when it comes to looking at the Pats secondary, so giving blame to Hobbs for certain passes being completed, that's beyond me. I'm sure others on this are capable of that kind of analysis, but I'm not going to try.

All in all, I am pretty optimistic about the shape of the secondary and the defense in general next season, even with the loss of Asante.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

As for Hobbs, his big cushion was a product of the system last season, who knows what it [the coverage] will look like next year and what Capers signing means for the secondary. My guess is that having a true free safety with the range of Meriweather will allow the corners to play a little more aggressive than this past season, and Hobbs would definitely play better in that kind of coverage. As it is, by most measurables and metrics I've heard, Hobbs stacked up against Asante pretty well this season. It's hard - for me at least - to assign blame for a given play when it comes to looking at the Pats secondary, so giving blame to Hobbs for certain passes being completed, that's beyond me. I'm sure others on this are capable of that kind of analysis, but I'm not going to try.

All in all, I am pretty optimistic about the shape of the secondary and the defense in general next season, even with the loss of Asante.

I agree with you on the Hobbs point. It is impossible to really know Hobb's responsibility and what defensive alignments Collier had them playing.

And while I expect to see Rodney, Sanders and Merriweather on the field a lot next season, I think it is Merriweather that plays the nickel and works against the slot receivers. I can't see Rodney or Sanders filling that role as well as Merriweather could, if he makes a legitimate year 2 leap.

 

[cstjohn17]

I agree Krafty, there is a perception that the Pats need OLBs who can cover TEs or RBs. They ask the OLBs to rush the passer and drop into the flat, with the premium being the ability to rush the passer.

All of their OLBs have been slow (Colvin 4.9, before broken hip, Vrabel 4.8 ten years ago, McGinest old & slow). Despite being slow they were all productive.

Parcells looks like my grandma when she got old and we couldn't tell if she was a man or a woman. Chucky Parcells may look terrible but he has also drafted well, his opinions speak volumes about the top players in the draft.

Damn it is always nice when a pick comes to fruition, cstjohn17 is right again!

"The Colts frequently ran directly at Jaguars DE Derrick Harvey in Week 1, and he appeared to get benched in the second half.

Harvey opened the game as a stand-up outside linebacker in 3-4 looks, but Quentin Groves took over the position halfway through the game. It's not a great sign for the Jags' 2008 first-round pick, who also struggled as a rookie."
Derrick Harvey

By the way, good call on the secondary taking a step back in 2008. I guess you lose a probowl player and replace him with Delta O'Neal, seems like an obvious downgrade except for the Kool Aid chuggers amongst us.

 

[patchick]

Damn it is always nice when a pick comes to fruition, cstjohn17 is right again!

"The Colts frequently ran directly at Jaguars DE Derrick Harvey in Week 1, and he appeared to get benched in the second half.

Harvey opened the game as a stand-up outside linebacker in 3-4 looks, but Quentin Groves took over the position halfway through the game. It's not a great sign for the Jags' 2008 first-round pick, who also struggled as a rookie."
Derrick Harvey

I won't gloat over my skeptical post that followed yours, since I was a big Groves booster and he hasn't done much either. Instead, let's just take it as one more reminder of the unbelievably bad record the entire NFL has spending high picks on this position.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I won't gloat over my skeptical post that followed yours, since I was a big Groves booster and he hasn't done much either. Instead, let's just take it as one more reminder of the unbelievably bad record the entire NFL has spending high picks on this position.

And, as Mike Lombardi noted, almost 1/3 of the UDFA rookies who made rosters this year (9 of 29, IIRC), were LBs. . . .

 

[captain stone]

By the way, good call on the secondary taking a step back in 2008. I guess you lose a probowl player and replace him with Delta O'Neal, seems like an obvious downgrade except for the Kool Aid chuggers amongst us.

And let's hope that after tonight's disgraceful embarassment, there are fewer KoolAid chuggers amongst us tomorrow than there were yesterday.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

And let's hope that after tonight's disgraceful embarassment, there are fewer KoolAid chuggers amongst us tomorrow than there were yesterday.

Not likely, captain. Interesting, BTW, that you posted this in the middle of the game. . . .

 

[SidelineSid]

Damn it is always nice when a pick comes to fruition, cstjohn17 is right again!

"The Colts frequently ran directly at Jaguars DE Derrick Harvey in Week 1, and he appeared to get benched in the second half.

Harvey opened the game as a stand-up outside linebacker in 3-4 looks, but Quentin Groves took over the position halfway through the game. It's not a great sign for the Jags' 2008 first-round pick, who also struggled as a rookie."

By the way, good call on the secondary taking a step back in 2008. I guess you lose a probowl player and replace him with Delta O'Neal, seems like an obvious downgrade except for the Kool Aid chuggers amongst us.

Hey guys. I have to say that when people were hyping up Derrick Harvey, I didn't see what was so special about the guy. I thought the guy was one of the most overrated prospects I've ever seen. On top of that, he came off as kind of dumb. Now I'm not trying to be a downer and just pile on the guy, but I don't think that the Jags front office are the best evaluators of talent. It's only been one week, but we'll see how this plays out.