Please draft a TALL CB

[kas]

He rarely got outumped for the ball mainly because he wasn\'t close enough to the receiver to jump for the ball. In most cases he was deked by the receiver or was coming up from behind and getting flagged for pass interference, even if it wasn\'t a good call. Perception is reality.

Hobbs can not stick with receivers. His one on one coverage is horrible. I am sure that almost everyone recognizes that. What he does have is the capability of recovering via his speed but by then in most cases it is too late or the flag flies.

My guess is that the Pats finally have seen that or they would not be going so heavy into the Cb position in free agency and in the draft. With more to come too, perhaps Law or Shepherd, and the rumor of them moving Merriweather up to corner.

All of this talk and action from them with corners should be a hint.

No offense but reading a post like this tells me you don't understand our defense very well at all. We are predominantly a soft zone cover 3 team. Usually, we rolled the safeties away from Ellis towards Asante so that he could have the freedom to jump the short routes. Other times we dropped Asante and brought Rodney down low into the box. More often than not, however, Hobbs had deep responsibility and had to give up the short route, with a LB or safety filling the flats or even giving up that zone entirely. All those short completions underneath Ellis were due to coverage called. They were able to do this because Hobbs was quick enough to recover and limit that short pass to a mediocre gain. Hobbs is not a star, but he is definitely a starting corner in this league. He did a great job against a lot of very good WR's this year and he's still getting better.

 

[patsfan13]

For the love of God, can the Pats please draft a CB that they can successfully line up with a 6' 4" receiver? We all saw CBs struggle to go up with Moss last year, and the multiple receptions that Plax had that midget Hobbs had no chance on (due to height).

Even if its a depth move and not a starter, we need a tall CB!!

Perhaps BB/SP feel a different combination of physical attributes fit their system better at CB. Clearly they don't think height is a big requirement at CB. My guess is that they understand better what works in their system than the fans.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Well - we're getting close to the 6th round. Hopefully NOW they'll finally grab a 6'2" CB.... or actually maybe they're just better off waiting to bring in a bunch of 6' UDFAs.

Even though tall CBs are pretty much a dime or dozen, its a bit surprising they didn't grab someone in the 5th round at least.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Perhaps BB/SP feel a different combination of physical attributes fit their system better at CB. Clearly they don't think height is a big requirement at CB. My guess is that they understand better what works in their system than the fans.

It's not just them - all the other GMs are idiots as well. Darn it all if I can't find ONE CB drafted on Day 2 who is 6'1" or taller.

There's gonna be a TON of these guys available as UDFAs as NONE have been selected in the draft!

 

[SamBamsFan]

It's not just them - all the other GMs are idiots as well. Darn it all if I can't find ONE CB drafted on Day 2 who is 6'1" or taller.

There's gonna be a TON of these guys available as UDFAs as NONE have been selected in the draft!

Actually, it is the college coaches who "profile" those athletes over 6' 0" thus depriving them of 3 4 years training as a CB!

 

[VJCPatriot]

Wait for next year. I thought Molden had great triangle numbers physically, but I'm not sure about his playing ability. Haven't seen any of his games. They went with Wilhite instead, who is another Hobbs clone.

 

[MosiT]

They went with Wilhite instead, who is another Hobbs clone.

Yup, and who for all intents and purposes has been a failure at the cb position at the NFL leve but has been forced to play it by attrition.

That will more than likely be changed thius season.

 

[RayClay]

If height truly mattered, Lenny Walls would be a competent DB.

Obviously height doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't sacrifice athleticism or ball-skills for size. The guy is less than 1/2 an inch shorter than Asante is.

Well, maybe shorter cornerbacks have an athletic advantage.

Pioli thinks so...

"Part of it is that the bigger a player gets - the taller or longer sometimes a player is - the less fluid they are in changing direction," Pioli said in an interview on Comcast's "Patriots Draft Report '08" show.

"When you're looking for a corner, they have to be reactive athletes - to see changes, know what's going on, plant their foot, and drive toward the football. The longer, taller bodies have more difficulty being reactive type athletes."