Devin McCourty

convertedpatsfan said:

Free TOs? The first one was anything close to an easy TO. That's a tough catch for a receiver to make and he was close to pulling it in.

And if you want to take about free TOs, the easiest potential TO was the lob by Flacco that Arrington could have picked if he didn't trip over his feet.

Not a single word about that from the McCourty bashers though...carry on...

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Maybe "free" was a poor choice of words. How about tangible INT opportunities? And yes, one of the INTs was of the more difficult variety. If you choose to disregard what I said previously (that the more difficult one was a a more understandable miss on DM), so be it. Nevertheless, DM did have his hands on, free and clear, 2 tangible INT opportunities. He missed on both. The impact of even one much less two quite probably could have been the difference in the game. Considering his poor performance in a critical spot (even with multiple moments of good performance) coupled with the tangible INT opportunity misses, that in point of fact is a reasonable threshold to question his performance. Yet as I also said, the criticism (here and in the media) was reaching an "absurd" level (meaning the level of criticism was unjustified).
If I have points of criticism for a performance on a given week, it does not make me a 'basher'. It simply is called watching a game then engaging in banter over it. With DM, considering his performance last year, he is under a more powerful microscope. It comes with the territory.
Now please carry on with your carte blanche support of ____.

AndyJohnson said:

And no the late TD was NOT his man, he had the outside receiver and was the closest only because he left his man when the ball went up.

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Good old weak link Kylie.

Fantastic game by McCourty. He basically played the same as last week minus the last drive. He dropped 2 ints last week which he caught this week. 2nd hit was a very nice play! He's played very nicely this year.

sly24 said:

Fantastic game by McCourty. He basically played the same as last week minus the last drive. He dropped 2 ints last week which he caught this week. 2nd hit was a very nice play! He's played very nicely this year.

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Terming it "fantastic"? That is an extremely lofty description yet I agree with the general sentiment behind the description. 2 INTs, no conspicuously ugly breakdowns (from what I recall), very solid performance. And considering the level of criticism for last week and the microscope that came with it into this week (the rehash of last year's 'he belongs at safety' is ridiculous based on one game), that says DM's nerve and determination are in a good place.

On balance DM's performance 1/4th the way into the season signal he has put last year's woes behind him. It definitely hasn't been perfect and their could be times it will look ugly, yet, IMHO, DM has shown enough stretches of playing well to be encouraged the DM of 2010 could be back (at least to some degree).

Although Devin caught a lot of flack from the media and fans for last weeks performance, the eyeball test tells me that he is much better than last year.. didnt finish off the plays last week but he was in position to make plays last week.. last season receivers were blowing by him every week.. not even close. He got torched time and time again last year.. I see a big improvement this year so far.

deroc5050 said:

Although Devin caught a lot of flack from the media and fans for last weeks performance, the eyeball test tells me that he is much better than last year.. didnt finish off the plays last week but he was in position to make plays last week.. last season receivers were blowing by him every week.. not even close. He got torched time and time again last year.. I see a big improvement this year so far.

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Yup, I agree. He has been far more consistently competitive this season. He has had plays where he looks like rookie Devin and he's had some where he's looked like sophomore slump Devin, but it's been markedly better than last season. Hopefully, he can continue to improve and become a consistent force in a secondary that continues to try to put things together.

I thought last week that McCourty played reasonably well apart from the last drive.

I criticised his hands, the first one was a difficult catch but he got both hands on the ball and it was the Ravens WRs helmet that knocked it out!!

The second one he just has to make that play. It was a simple catch!!

However this week he was immense. How people can say he was anything less than brilliant is ridiculously harsh.

He made 2 interceptions and allowed only one catch all game. If Revis has that game we are saying its vintage Revis at his best. McCourty was simply outsatanding yesterday!!

PatsBoy12 said:

Yup, I agree. He has been far more consistently competitive this season. He has had plays where he looks like rookie Devin and he's had some where he's looked like sophomore slump Devin, but it's been markedly better than last season. Hopefully, he can continue to improve and become a consistent force in a secondary that continues to try to put things together.

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The voice of reason in the Devin McCourty debate.

i'm so happy for him...he playied very very well yesterday

manxman2601 said:

The voice of reason in the Devin McCourty debate.

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Thanks, Manxman. I'm just trying to call it like I see it. I don't love the kid and I don't hate him. I'm just a fan that hopes that he can continue to learn and grow for the benefit of my favorite team.

TheBostonStraggler said:

Maybe "free" was a poor choice of words. How about tangible INT opportunities? And yes, one of the INTs was of the more difficult variety. If you choose to disregard what I said previously (that the more difficult one was a a more understandable miss on DM), so be it. Nevertheless, DM did have his hands on, free and clear, 2 tangible INT opportunities. He missed on both. The impact of even one much less two quite probably could have been the difference in the game. Considering his poor performance in a critical spot (even with multiple moments of good performance) coupled with the tangible INT opportunity misses, that in point of fact is a reasonable threshold to question his performance. Yet as I also said, the criticism (here and in the media) was reaching an "absurd" level (meaning the level of criticism was unjustified).
If I have points of criticism for a performance on a given week, it does not make me a 'basher'. It simply is called watching a game then engaging in banter over it. With DM, considering his performance last year, he is under a more powerful microscope. It comes with the territory.
Now please carry on with your carte blanche support of ____.

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That's fair enough. I'm just tired of the ridiculousness of the bashing is all. I didn't read every single one of your posts so much as the entire thread and the threads of the past few weeks.

As for the criticism, sure, he deserves some for the Baltimore game and other moments such as that first drive against Tennessee in the end zone where he didn't get called for a penalty but could have, but not the entire blame as Curran wrote.

Devin is also the first to admit he needs to play better after every single game. He's become the board's new whipping boy, getting blamed for receptions when Arrington or Chung or Moore are in coverage. It's just absolutely ridiculous. And it seems unreasonable to hold that first "dropped" INT against him when most receivers won't even make that play.

He deserved every bashing he got and today he deseve every props he get. but im not sold on him yet, its ryan fitzpatrick with a terrible throw in the first INT and devin was brilliant in the second one. he has alot to prove after a horrible start for the season (IMO) and a horrible sophmore season. i hope he steps up.

TheBostonStraggler said:

Agree on the first item. I believe he was due some criticism, however, the level of that criticism was approaching absurd (but not unexpected in the media and from some circles here).

We disagree on the second item. IMHO one of the CB's prime jobs is to catch the INTs. Obviously turnovers are just about the biggest play a defense can make. And CBs (and Safeties) will have distinct opportunities to make that big play. If they don't it is a BIG deal.

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Agreed. The apologists on this forum go overboard sometimes in defense of the players. McCourty didn't deserve to be made the sole bearer of blame last week but he did in fact screw the pooch on a few key plays and deserved criticism. This week McCourty should get the credit he deserves for bouncing back and playing a huge game against the Bills.

When players do bad they get blamed and when they do well they get too much glory but that's the nature of fanhood. I am encouraged by McCourty's play against Buffalo and hope he continues to build off it. Hopefully we see the re-emergence of the very promising player we saw his rookie season.

McCourty looks quicker than he did last year. Bedard thinks they should play him in press coverage more. I agree. On that last drive against Baltimore he lined up 10 yards off of the receiver on a few downs. He dropped a couple of int's. Hope the confidence gained from yesterday allows him to make those plays down the road. Biggest thing for a db to do is be in position to defend the pass. He has been for the most part. I think he's going to have a good year. Arrington on the other hand looks awful. I'd let to see Ras-I a little. Our safeties got torched on a couple of td's yesterday too. Ebner caught looking in the backfield and Gregory on long td took a bad angle.

The problem with this thread is how anyone can actually admit they watched the Baltimore game and actually critique anyone.

If that game had even remotely proper officiating, it would have been a blowout.

The other major problem here is many of these comments make it completely obvious that many posters have zero ability to evaluate what they watch.

At some point, posters have to start realizing that a top down approach based on applicable metrics is the way to evaluate.

Glad to see McCourty have a great game. Furthermore, his two picks weren't exactly 'gimmes' either. Good to see him with some quality catches after missing a few gimmes earlier in the season.

I was one of the McCourty bashers last week...coming for his serving of humble pie...Can someone pass the butter please...good game by Devin Mc. Hope he keeps it up we need that kind of play back there. That said it's very apparent that Patrick Chung is very overrated.:snob:

Judging by a lot of comments on here, I wonder whether half of you have actually even bothered watching McCourty.

McCourty had a bad end to the game in Baltimore but kept Anquan Boldin pretty silent through much of the game. With safety help most of the game, he completely owned Fitzgerald. Wasn't exactly terrible againt the Titans.

The only times I can really criticise any member of the secondary seems to come when the defensive line is playing at its most inconsistent (which it has been doing a lot recently...oha nd last season too but most are late jumping on that bandwagon). Lets face it, give any QB in the NFL enough time and he can pick zones apart.

If you're going to attack anyone, attack Belichick's tiring nack of rushing just three or four for 90+% of a game and trying to use coverage schemes to confuse other QBs. We aren't the Cardinals...we don't have an immense abundance of speed on the DL. Our zones get picked apart becuse we suck at getting consistent pressure.

I just looked at his first pick vs Bills. After looking at it I still think he got beaten, Wilson was far away when the ball was thrown. We should be glad that Fitz underthrew it quite a bit. If he was supposed to play behind the receiver, I can't see how he would be able to defend deep passes without a deep safety if the ball isn't underthrown.

The second pick do was a good adjustment to the ball and a good pick.

He also had a bad play in the first quarter where the ball was thrown to the left side of the field and over his head.

I think he is better this year than last but people give him a bit too much bashing and credit right now.
One thing is sure, he has better hands than many corners in this league.

TheBostonStraggler said:

Terming it "fantastic"? That is an extremely lofty description yet I agree with the general sentiment behind the description. 2 INTs, no conspicuously ugly breakdowns (from what I recall), very solid performance. And considering the level of criticism for last week and the microscope that came with it into this week (the rehash of last year's 'he belongs at safety' is ridiculous based on one game), that says DM's nerve and determination are in a good place.

On balance DM's performance 1/4th the way into the season signal he has put last year's woes behind him. It definitely hasn't been perfect and their could be times it will look ugly, yet, IMHO, DM has shown enough stretches of playing well to be encouraged the DM of 2010 could be back (at least to some degree).

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Why wasn't it fantastic? What do you want a corner to do to be considered fanstastic? Excellent run support, solid tackling, 2 Ints and from what I remmeber 1 completion allowed. This is as good as it gets.