Bradley Fletcher signing with Pats

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...iots-are-signing-patrick-chung.1108385/page-7

This thread reminds me of the Chung thread from last year. Think rereading that might give people some perspective. Maybe, just maybe, the Patriots coaching staff knows better than you do.

Fletcher is a zone CB that was forced to play man against #1 WRs with Nate Allen as the safety "help". He isn't going to be covering Dez Bryant 1-on-1 with no help on the Patriots.

The most shocked person from this signing: Bradley Fletcher.

captain stone said:

Because he's, um, you know, better?

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Um, no, he isn't, at least if you want your TE2 to catch the ball.

Lmao, pats getting desperate.

SyN65 said:

Lmao, pats getting desperate.

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Spoken like a true fan of another team.

The offseason at PatsFans has actually grown to be pretty entertaining.

captain stone said:

I agree with everything except that Chandler was a great value signing. He is over-paid, but that's a topic
for another thread.

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Real life translation...... Great signing. There is literally no one I trust to be wrong on anything Patriots related more than captain stone. His erroneous rating is dam near perfect.

Good solid signing. Big corner (6' 200 lbs). Started 50+ games in the NFL, which means that he's doing something right. At the least, he will provide depth behind Malcolm Butler, which you need when you have five or six DBs on the field for 73% of the defensive snaps.

I expect Belichick to draft a CB, sign a couple UDRFA CBs, and probably pick up a veteran on a late cut/trade.

Biggest question mark? Who will be starting along with Butler and Arrington? Dennard? Ryan? Or Somebody else? This kid Fletcher certainly has a shot. He's started more games than either of them.

I watched a fair amount of Philly games last year and agree that Fletcher was very bad, but let's look at the defense that they played. He was thrown into alot of man coverage situations against some pretty good WR's. He is not a terrible zone CB. It was poor scheming by the Philly coaches and I do not anticipate that problem with our coaching staff. As others have said if he does not do well in camp then he is cut...it was a pretty cheap signing.

Kdo5 said:

The offseason at PatsFans has actually grown to be pretty entertaining.

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True. For all of us wondering what happened to those who disappeared after they beat the Bengals look no further than the threads that have cropped up since free agency started, they're back, and Belichick sucks just as much as always, maybe even more.

I have hope for Bradley Fletcher because:

1) When a CB gets burned for three TDs by the same WR why didn't you rotate another CB after the first TD? Why not by second TD? Our coaches are smarter than that.

2) Josh Boyer is actually a really good DB coach.

3) Devin McCoutry is a far better FS than Malcolm Jenkins is. Jenkins is such a stat chaser and is extremely overpaid.

4) I doubt we'll ask Fletcher to cover #1 WRs.

unoriginal said:

The book on Fletcher is you can beat him like a drum with speed over the top, which happens to be the place a sideline-to-sideline FS would help the most.

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There are only about 2 or 3 CBs in the NFL that you can't beat over the top with speed in the absence of safety help. Smart coaches don't put their CBs in that position as a steady diet.

That's precisely why Belichick doesn't listen to the bleating from fan forums and talk radio to "blitz more".

Fletcher had to cover some of the most dynamic WRs in the league. He is a good camp body, lets see what he does with the opportunity.

VrabelJr said:

I have hope for Bradley Fletcher because:

4) I doubt we'll ask Fletcher to cover #1 WRs.

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So whom will we ask to cover #1 WRs?

hwc said:

Good solid signing. Big corner (6' 200 lbs). Started 50+ games in the NFL, which means that he's doing something right.

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So even though he's not quite as big as Browner, at least he's started more games than Browner in the last 2 years, and is a little bit younger. Now the only clincher to making this a really good signing: can he hold, trip and tackle the receivers before they get the ball?

captain stone said:

So whom will we ask to cover #1 CBs?

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That's something that will sort itself out during training camp I imagine. It will also probably change on a week to week basis just like last year (e.g. Arrington on T.Y. Hilton, Browner on taller, longer WRs instead of Revis).

Sigh. I just got redirected to an adult website when I first clicked on this thread on my phone. This is why I use an ad blocker on my PC. gonna have to find one for my phone.

Its safe to say that few free agents are as good, or bad as their press clippings.
Of course, we will not endure the crowd that considers the 2015 Patriots to be the 2014 Patriots- Revis + Fletcher and after 15 years of success will be convinced Belichick isn't smart enough to evaluate a football player as well as someone reading what fans of his last team say.

WTF is BB thinking. Why can't he sign a big name FA! All he cares about is team, team, team. WE WANT SOME HEADLINES!

captain stone said:

Because he's, um, you know, better?

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No he is not. Scott Chandler is a better player than James Casey, who is smaller than Timothy Wright. James Casey is an H-back type, and Scott Chandler is a pure TE who can block. He's also better at football than James Casey.