Secondary questions

I don't understand, when you look at it collectively, with Devin McCourty, Aqib Talib two of the best defensive backs at their position and Alfonzo Dennard who is very good, Kyle Arrington a very good slot CB and Logan Ryans a very good rookie what is the problem? Steve Gregory is solid too.... and didn't Tavon Wilson have like 4 picks last year? Someone help me out lol

NEPettyOfficer72 said:

I don't understand, when you look at it collectively, with Devin McCourty, Aqib Talib two of the best defensive backs at their position and Alfonzo Dennard who is very good, Kyle Arrington a very good slot CB and Logan Ryans a very good rookie what is the problem? Steve Gregory is solid too.... and didn't Tavon Wilson have like 4 picks last year? Someone help me out lol

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Dennard is 3 weeks removed from knee surgery, Talib is playing on a gimpy hip and Arrington is playing with a groin injury.

Wilson is an absolute enigma in my mind he was not awful as a rookie even showed some promise at time but he has fallen off the face of the earth. He has played 5 defensive snaps this season and has 2 special teams tackles.

Brady6 said:

Dennard is 3 weeks removed from knee surgery, Talib is playing on a gimpy hip and Arrington is playing with a groin injury.

Wilson is an absolute enigma in my mind he was not awful as a rookie even showed some promise at time but he has fallen off the face of the earth. He has played 5 defensive snaps this season and has 2 special teams tackles.

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Gotcha, hopefully we can get healthy and we should be fine

All three starting corners are banged up and Gregory is getting exposed because of that. Further, the team couldn't even breathe on Tannehill in the second half which made the secondary's job that much harder. Didn't help that they were playing a lot of zone, either.

KontradictioN said:

All three starting corners are banged up and Gregory is getting exposed because of that. Further, the team couldn't even breathe on Tannehill in the second half which made the secondary's job that much harder. Didn't help that they were playing a lot of zone, either.

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Thats another thing, play calling.. do you think Matt Patricia needs to dig up plans from Romeo Crennel?

Rookies make rookie mistakes. Injured players can't play as well, if they can play at all. McCourty is better at safety than corner, but still is just an average player. Arrington is a former nickel / back-up type player forced into a starting role, who cannot cover downfield to save his life. And finally, though they've improved from last years 31st ranked pass defense,it doesn't mean that they're a great group. Just once, I'd like to see them win a game with an interception or critical stop when it's needed.

Gregory is a smart guy but he is to tackling what Brandon Lloyd is to YAC.

Don't forget that the LBs are often crashing the line in order to create penetration and stop running plays. Everybody is overcompensating for the major injuries on defense.

Arrington has a groin injury. Cole had to cover Wallace when Arrington was out (apparently Ryan was a worse choice).

We need a bit of health.

NEPettyOfficer72 said:

I don't understand, when you look at it collectively, with Devin McCourty, Aqib Talib two of the best defensive backs at their position and Alfonzo Dennard who is very good, Kyle Arrington a very good slot CB and Logan Ryans a very good rookie what is the problem? Steve Gregory is solid too.... and didn't Tavon Wilson have like 4 picks last year? Someone help me out lol

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Marquis Cole came in for Arrington. On the next plaly the Phish completed a pass over him ,then he missed the tackle and the guy ran twenty five yards into the endzone. Letting Cole play is an invitation to lose.

Aside from what has already been mentioned, it is difficult at best to judge units of NFL teams in a vacuum. The better the pass rush, the more productive the performance of the secondary; the less effective the pass rush is, the worse a secondary will perform.

The injuries at defensive tackle have had a domino effect. Besides the obvious decline in rush defense, the lack of push from the inside has had a negative effect in the passing game. Teams no longer have to double team Vince Wilfork, which allows them to pay more attention to the defensive ends. Linebackers having to pass rush in order to generate pressure means someone else has to account for a tight end or running back. That in turn means less help for the secondary on wide receivers, as they are getting less help in coverage and also having to cover opposing players for longer periods of time. And to top it all off almost all of the defensive backs are playing through injury, so they're ability to cover and tackle has been diminished.

I hate using injuries as an excuse, but I don't know how one can objectively analyze the performance of the defense without taking injuries into consideration.

Steve Gregory overrated!

Marquice Cole SUCKS!

NEPettyOfficer72 said:

Thats another thing, play calling.. do you think Matt Patricia needs to dig up plans from Romeo Crennel?

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Patricia is executing Belichick's game plan.