The Battle for the #2 CB Job

Did Roberts play last night and if so did he play well?

Ryan can be a tease. Was down on him last year. Then he gives his guy a free path to the EZ, no physicality. THEN he makes a couple physical defenses as if light dawned on MarbleHead. I can see the flashes that BB sees in him. Frustrating.

In the end his inconsistency will cost him and one of the other guys takes the 2 spot.

Froob said:

Did Roberts play last night and if so did he play well?

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@PP_Rich_Hill: Only saw one completion on Darryl Roberts and he was in coverage of Jordy Nelson (a top 10 WR). Good start for the young guy.

patsinthesnow said:

@PP_Rich_Hill: Only saw one completion on Darryl Roberts and he was in coverage of Jordy Nelson (a top 10 WR). Good start for the young guy.

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Roberts was given the opportunity to play against the #1's of one of the top offenses in the NFL And he looked fine. He couldn't be picked on. That is a major plus for any rookie.

mgteich said:

Roberts was given the opportunity to play against the #1's of one of the top offenses in the NFL And he looked fine. He couldn't be picked on. That is a major plus for any rookie.

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Yep. I just hope his hand injury isn't too serious.

robertweathers said:

Yep. I just hope his hand injury isn't too serious.

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I agree, but a hand injury shouldn't keep off the roster. Roberts needed to show a little bit in the preseason to show that he was worthy of the 53. He was given the opportunity and he succeeded.

Mark Daniels ‏@MarkDanielsPJ 1h1 hour ago
Darryl Roberts injured his hand/wrist last night, per source. He went for x-rays to see the extent of the damage. That's all I know for now.

Thanks for the update

mgteich said:

I agree, but a hand injury shouldn't keep off the roster. Roberts needed to show a little bit in the preseason to show that he was worthy of the 53. He was given the opportunity and he succeeded.

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Yes

signbabybrady said:

Love your optimism for the secondary. I am not quite as sold as you but I think it's being greatly under sold because it's not Revis.

However I don't share your opinion on the offense. And how can you use last night as evidence of anything. No Gronk, Blount, Stork, Edelman, LaFell, Chandler, Solder, and I think I am still missing a few.

This offense should be as lethal as any in the last decade. Maybe a little shy of 07 but that year was just nuts.

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Agree. Only thing to not like about the O is the 3rd down rb options.

Hoping Brown or Roberts can step up for cb2 . Seems like the book is pretty much written on Ryan. McClain looked good last night and I would think is our best guy in the slot.

My opinion of Ryan hasn't changed at all since he got to the team; if he's starting games on the boundary in man coverage, the Patriots are in ****ing big trouble. The same principle applied to Arrington too when he was here.

Barring injuries, Roberts could make a push if he continues to play like he did last night, but I think it's Brown's job to lose.

I see a lot of Arrington in Logan Ryan. Good Ball skills, strong tackler, better on underneath crossing patterns, lack of elite athleticism, physical enough for some but not others, and a habit of playing poorly on big stages.

Ryan plays certain receivers well and struggles on others like Arrington. The Pats didn't draft him with the expectation that he'd ever become a #1 corner, so people should stop expecting him to be that, but for the time being while he makes $750,000 a year, he's a good value as a #3 corner on the roster. Like Arrington when they find someone younger and cheaper he'll get the boot.

CB's are exposed a lot more than other positions on the roster. We have a lot of Logan Ryan's on the team, they just don't stand out as much because when they mess up it doesn't always get noticed.

Joey007 said:

Maybe I missed some plays but I thought Fletcher actually didn't look to bad last night.

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Yeah, Fletcher is fine. I think he's pretty much a known quantity at this point, who will make the roster just to ensure that guys like Deonte Skinner aren't playing meaningful snaps again.

strngplyr said:

Mark Daniels ‏@MarkDanielsPJ 1h1 hour ago
Darryl Roberts injured his hand/wrist last night, per source. He went for x-rays to see the extent of the damage. That's all I know for now.

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Standard precaution but hopefully they were negative.

I thought Fletcher played fine.
One play in particular stood out. Green Bay in the red zone, maybe five yard line, spread formation - quick pass to Fletcher's man in isolation. Fletcher tackled him in space for maybe a yard. He had perfect spacing and distance, low base, waited for the receiver to commit, and then sat him down. Perfect technique on that play. Fletcher came in when Roberts exited at RCB.

McClain looked good inside. Squat, quick, hitter.

Roberts - if the wrist/hand injury leads to a missed week, that is challenging for a rookie learning the system. Pretty surprising that he got the start. He seems to have the most pure speed in the backfield. The draft review knocks on him were lack of field discipline and his thin frame.

On paper Tarrell Brown seems to have the most impressive resume. While last year was a down year for him, he says he was playing on a damaged foot. Hopefully he can get some playing time next week.

Would be pretty amazing if Ryan gets cut. That would be turnover of the top four corners from the Super Bowl secondary - all four being released. I can't imagine anything like that has ever happened at any position.

And the Butler story is just so amazing. I know he played well last preseason, but if that really mattered we'd be celebrating the Bam Childress/Jeremy Ebert/Zach Sudfeld big three era in Foxboro.

Hope Roberts is OK but I don't think they'll be too upset to IR him either. We usually keep 5 CB. Butler, Ryan, Brown, McClain, Fletcher would be 5, then Roberts would be 6. We could keep them all and make a cut elsewhere otherwise someone goes.

As for the players, I'm definitely hoping Brown is solid. We really only need to replace Revis, he and McCourty made the secondary last yer. Browner was fine, ups and downs, pros and cons. Any NFL average CB can replace him (in a different way, less physical more speed). Butler is the key, he won't be Revis but if he can do a good job on #1 the rest will take care of itself.

Either Brown or Fletcher and i think both would be good fits for #2. As for #1, obviously Butler.

Our secondary isn't as good at the top as last year, but i think its just as deep in terms of quality. Solid unit that will benefit from improved DL and return of Mayo.

McClusky said:

I see a lot of Arrington in Logan Ryan. Good Ball skills, strong tackler, better on underneath crossing patterns, lack of elite athleticism, physical enough for some but not others, and a habit of playing poorly on big stages.

Ryan plays certain receivers well and struggles on others like Arrington. The Pats didn't draft him with the expectation that he'd ever become a #1 corner, so people should stop expecting him to be that, but for the time being while he makes $750,000 a year, he's a good value as a #3 corner on the roster. Like Arrington when they find someone younger and cheaper he'll get the boot.

CB's are exposed a lot more than other positions on the roster. We have a lot of Logan Ryan's on the team, they just don't stand out as much because when they mess up it doesn't always get noticed.

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Ryan in man coverage sucks. That is a fact. In his rookie year he had i think 2or3 INT but i think in zone coverage. Last year in man, Rodgers torched him and he let 2 major plays in SB.
He is good for zone and probably BB is gonna go from last year man with Revis coverage to zone, so Ryan probably stays. But we all know that when man ll happen we are screwed.

Urgent said:

I thought Fletcher played fine.
One play in particular stood out. Green Bay in the red zone, maybe five yard line, spread formation - quick pass to Fletcher's man in isolation. Fletcher tackled him in space for maybe a yard. He had perfect spacing and distance, low base, waited for the receiver to commit, and then sat him down. Perfect technique on that play. .

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That play stood out to me too. I liked how he stayed on the receiver's left shoulder, which meant he would either make the tackle or force the receiver to where he had help in pursuit. I've seen countless instances over the last few years where Patriots DBs and LBs showed a lack of discipline in space and lost the edge.

mihap said:

Ryan in man coverage sucks. That is a fact. In his rookie year he had i think 2or3 INT but i think in zone coverage. Last year in man, Rodgers torched him and he let 2 major plays in SB.
He is good for zone and probably BB is gonna go from last year man with Revis coverage to zone, so Ryan probably stays. But we all know that when man ll happen we are screwed.

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It's not actually that black and white. The Pats have played significantly more man than zone the past 2 seasons, and Ryan has given them plenty of quality snaps in man. He's not a guy you want playing a ton of boundary corner against quality route runners because of his tendency to gamble, but that doesn't mean he can't play man coverage.