Devin McCourty on secondary: I’d be lying if I said today that we’ll be great

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...econdary-id-be-lying-if-i-said-well-be-great/

“I’d be lying if I came out here and told you we were gonna be great,” McCourty said, via ESPN.com. “Same thing last year — when we all got together, we didn’t know what to expect. We gotta put the work in now. We’ll grow as the process goes on, once we get on the field for OTAs and we’ll start practicing, doing things like that. That’s where you put the work in, and give yourself a chance to be a good secondary.”

Click to expand...

thoughts?

Chiuba E. Obele said:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...econdary-id-be-lying-if-i-said-well-be-great/



thoughts?

Click to expand...

He wasn't commenting on the quality of players in the secondary so there's not much to see here.

Smart comments by McCourty.

Without knowing the pieces of the secondary or how they might work as a team, it would be silly to offer any prediction on the performance.

Misleading quote by PFT (as usual.) According to the Associated Press, this is what McCourty said: "I'm always confident in the hard work we'll put in, but I'd be lying if I came out here and said I know (my emphasis) we're going to be great. Same way last year when we all got together - we didn't know what to expect." Quite different.

I know Devin wasn't trying to create a stir. He's not at all trying to be controversial or critical towards the Patriots secondary. But it does sorta reflect the uncertainty that we fans have been feeling these past few months, about how the defensive back ends will hold up. And if that's the best re-assurance he can offer ("we'll see how we perform later this year") then it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

I know Devin wasn't trying to create a stir. He's not at all trying to be controversial or critical towards the Patriots secondary. But it does sorta reflect the uncertainty that we fans have been feeling these past few months, about how the defensive back ends will hold up. And if that's the best re-assurance he can offer ("we'll see how we perform later this year") then it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

Click to expand...

As a general proposition, in April, before the draft, before additional free agent moves, and before a single preseason game, there should be little certainty as to what a team will or will not do in September.

This team's philosophy has been put in the work and then compete. McCourty is pointing out that even with the addition of guys like Revis and Browner prior to the start of the season, it was unclear prior to that work what might be expected on the field. Fans high-fiving or running around with arms waving in the air screaming "we're doomed" after free agent moves, lacking any clue of defensive schemes that might be employed or complementary pieces on the field, are not really the same thing. The only common ground is the concept of 'uncertainty'.

Misleading by PFT... He says all the right things and alludes to "not knowing" last year at same time. Yet headline throws reader for loop.

Ridic.

Perhaps I was misled by the PFT's headlines....so I went to look for the interview. You can watch it here:

http://www.patriots.com/video/2015/04/21/devin-mccourty-421-excited-what-year-holds

I am so not worried about the DB's... we won a Super Bowl with Troy Brown out there!!!

Why are people going so nuts? It all seems vaguely familiar...

"Devon, we just want the truth about the secondary."

The secondary does need to be addressed though if we don't want to pin our hopes on the pass rush to stop or slow upper eschelon passing attacks. The Pats definitely need a CB1 and, depending on how Dennard rebounds, maybe a CB2. I still have no earthly idea why they let Browner walk, but they did and he may need to be replaced. My ideal selections would be Marcus Peters in the first and Josh Shaw in the third. I would double dip because it presents potential relief to two positions on the defense. Peters is a lot like Revis. Very physical in press and very hands-on downfield. He watches the receiver's eyes and is usually in perfect position to compete for the ball. To me, he can start right away. Best case scenario, we have a CB1 on a rookie contract in Peters and Dennard rebounds so that we can move Shaw (who is the size of a safety) back to safety and start slowly working him in. Shaw is a first round talent that has dropped to the third round because he took a dive out of a building last summer. Worst case is that Dennard doesn't rebound. We now have a three way competition between him, Shaw, and Butler.

That said, I highly doubt Peters is going to fall past the Ravens. They need help back there and aren't afraid to take on guys with character concerns. But, if he does, I sincerely hope BB is all over him. He's the best corner in this draft.

Rule of thumb: if it's Devin McCourty speaking, nothing newsworthy was said.

McCourty is a master of the art of speaking intelligently at length, never evading the question, seldom resorting to platitudes...and yet never actually providing any information whatsoever. It's dazzling, really. Read over that full quote again: it's a paragraph-long version of "wait and see."

He really is the perfect Patriot!

Nice to watch the full interview... Yeah, misleading full headline, but (maybe it's the influence of that spin,) he seems to clearly know that he and the guys around him are "up against it" w/Revis and Browner off their rental deals. How could he not know that though?

That said, kept the focus on '15, kept the focus on the work ahead, kept it cautiously upbeat, which is perfect for where they are right now (i.e., you don't even know who will be on the team, much less how they will perform as a team.)

Probably like everybody else here, looking forward to seeing what we get under the tree at the end of the month, what we get by sorting through the UDFA pile, what we get on 6/1 cuts. Between now and mid-June we'll have almost as much to pick apart as during regular season

KontradictioN said:

I still have no earthly idea why they let Browner walk

Click to expand...

Really?

This feels to me like the equivalent of BB saying after the first pre-season game, "We have a lot of work to do." Then headlining it, "Belichick worried about his team."

JMC00 said:

Really?

Click to expand...

Yes. I've yet to hear an explanation for it that convinces me that letting him walk made sense.

KontradictioN said:

I still have no earthly idea why they let Browner walk

Click to expand...

I can think of about 18 reasons...

oldrover said:

I am so not worried about the DB's... we won a Super Bowl with Troy Brown out there!!!

Click to expand...

we also lost the super bowl with julian edelman out there

oldrover said:

I can think of about 18 reasons...






View attachment 9141

Click to expand...

And yet he all but started every game once coming back from suspension including the most important play of the year in the most important game of the year. In said play, his strength on the press made it possible for Butler to undercut that route and come away with the game-ending INT. He was a solid CB2 and letting him go only created another potential spot to fill.

I don't disagree. I would have kept him too... but then...