And then there's this guy (our new safety, Jordan Richards)

As much as I like Jordan Richards, I will wait until about game 12 before I pass judgement..

We know he is "Stanford Smart", but will he be able to play "well" in a whole NFL season remains to be seen..

gitgronked82 said:

in a very, very different era. he was also known for being less than stellar at the very beginning of his career. I still have moss #1 all time, but we can all assume that rice and green are on prettttty different levels

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That's right! He didn't start using stickum until after dropping all those passes!

Brady6 said:

Ed Reed ran a 4.57 40 @ the combine. Richards ran a 4.59 40 @ his pro day. Richards has nearly identical athletic traits as well as size and weight to Reed.

That is not to say he will be anything close to Ed Reed as a player but either way it won't be due to lack of athleticism.

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With the unprofessional eye, Ed Reed in his prime was much more fluid physically than what I have seen from Richards in his Stanford tapes. That tells me he has better body control. Richards seems more herky-jerky to me. Rodney played more with that style- which is great.

DarrylS said:

As much as I like Jordan Richards, I will wait until about game 12 before I pass judgement..

We know he is "Stanford Smart", but will he be able to play "well" in a whole NFL season remains to be seen..

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I couldn't care less about Stanford smart. It means nothing to me. Football IQ, instincts and having "it" is what matters.

Brady6 said:

Chancellor is 6'3" 231lbs that is what makes him so effective is his size not his athleticism.

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True, although I found it interesting they had the same vertical jump despite a 4 inch height difference.

So what will Richards show us on the field? That's what matters to me. Will he be our #2 safety behind Devin McCourty?

TBR said:

Which guy would you draft?

Spoiler: Spoiler - Click here to see who's who

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This comparison neglects to mention that player B has 4 inches and 25 pounds on player A. Player B's size is a huge part--maybe the main part--of what makes him so effective.

VJCPatriot said:

So what will Richards show us on the field? That's what matters to me. Will he be our #2 safety behind Devin McCourty?

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According to this film review, the jury is still out.
http://www.patspulpit.com/2015/8/17...n-was-patriots-safety-jordan-richards-a-reach

FWIW it seems like he is already better than Chung and Tavon Wilson in coverage but not better than DMC or Harmon.

I have been keeping an active eye on him when possible. I do think by the end of the year he will be an upgrade over Harmon. In fact I might want to put him out there over Harmon right now. Not so much a compliment to Richards but an insult to Harmon.

I have seen a lot of good things from him. He did kind've blow 1 play so far that i noticed but not bad for a rookie safety honestly.

BobDigital said:

I have been keeping an active eye on him when possible. I do think by the end of the year he will be an upgrade over Harmon. In fact I might want to put him out there over Harmon right now. Not so much a compliment to Richards but an insult to Harmon.

I have seen a lot of good things from him. He did kind blow 1 play so far that i noticed but not bad for a rookie safety honestly.

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I like Harmon but he is a little too inconsistent for my liking. The play on Torry Smith to bait Flacco to seal the game was brilliant.

Hes young. 2015 is a big year for him.

robertweathers said:

I like Harmon but he is a little too inconsistent for my liking. The play on Torry Smith to bait Flacco to seal the game was brilliant.

Hes young. 2015 is a big year for him.

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Harmon is basically the definition of consistent. You can slam him for being limited athletically, or not being versatile enough to play safety in the same way we play Chung or McCourty at times, but he's most definitely consistent in his deep safety role. I think there is a bit of recency bias in play here.

BradyFTW! said:

This comparison neglects to mention that player B has 4 inches and 25 pounds on player A. Player B's size is a huge part--maybe the main part--of what makes him so effective.

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Yeah that's certainly a big part of the equation, not denying that. I only left out the height & weight because it would be obvious to tell which one was Richards.

And what Richards lacks in height, he seems to make up for in an equal (if not better) vertical jump. He's got nearly the same arm length as well (just .5 inch shorter).

McClusky said:

Harmon is basically the definition of consistent. You can slam him for being limited athletically, or not being versatile enough to play safety in the same way we play Chung or McCourty at times, but he's most definitely consistent in his deep safety role. I think there is a bit of recency bias in play here.

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Overall, I agree he plays a good CF. To me, his ability to diagnose plays is inconsistent. Knowing when to step-up, when to drop. To be fair, some players have that instinct. Some gain it though experience and knowing the other teams personnel. For example, when DMC got scorched vs the Saints, Harmon let the receiver run by him for a TD. That was unacceptable. With that said its only preseason and the coaching staff was mixing/matching all over the place.

Like I said, hes young and plays in a demanding, complex defense. He made great strides last year. I expect him to be solid in 2015.

McClusky said:

Harmon is basically the definition of consistent. You can slam him for being limited athletically, or not being versatile enough to play safety in the same way we play Chung or McCourty at times, but he's most definitely consistent in his deep safety role. I think there is a bit of recency bias in play here.

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Yeah, I've never had an issue with Harmon's consistency. He knows his role and plays it to the best ability. The only limiting factor with him is athleticism- he'll never be able to play McCourty's role, because he just can't cover that much ground. He can be a solid, dependable player in a more limited role though.

TBR said:

Which guy would you draft?

Spoiler: Spoiler - Click here to see who's who

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That depends upon whether I am drafting them to run an obstacle course or to play football. If its the later, I draft the one who is a better football player.

TommyD4207 said:

Through 4 years, they look about the same to me on paper.

Again, Rice played 20 years, and we have the benefit of hindsight. Also, Rice played the majority of his career with 2 Hall of Fame QBs (Montana, Young), and another who was a Pro-Bowler in Rich Gannon.

AJ Green has had The Mediocre Ginger throwing to him.

You're probably right, Rice is probably going to end up being better than AJ Green, but there's no way you could make that determination through the actual production in their first four seasons.

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There is simply no way you can watch Jerry Rice play WR and watch AJ Green play WR and think there is anything close to a comparison.
This is why fantasy football is ruining the sport.

robertweathers said:

For example, when DMC got scorched vs the Saints, Harmon let the receiver run by him for a TD.

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FWIW, according to Dale on EEI, McCourty said he left Harmon out to dry on that play. Devin might have been just playing the good soldier, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

robertweathers said:

Overall, I agree he plays a good CF. To me, his ability to diagnose plays is inconsistent. Knowing when to step-up, when to drop. To be fair, some players have that instinct. Some gain it though experience and knowing the other teams personnel. For example, when DMC got scorched vs the Saints, Harmon let the receiver run by him for a TD. That was unacceptable. With that said its only preseason and the coaching staff was mixing/matching all over the place.

Like I said, hes young and plays in a demanding, complex defense. He made great strides last year. I expect him to be solid in 2015.

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I'd disagree strongly, if you're going to play deep safety at some point you're going to take some wrong steps. McCourty did it 3 times I can remember last season that led to some big plays against the Seahawks, Packers, and Broncos. Harmon in all the coaches tape I saw from last season was remarkably consistent. I'd argue he actually has the better instincts between McCourty and him, just nowhere near the athleticism or versatility that McCourty has. Harmon made a misstep last week, but I think it's recency bias to say he struggles with consistency when he's taken probably about 600 snaps to this point in his career and hardly ever erred.

Harmon often diagnoses too late.

betterthanthealternative said:

Whom we've been only paying a little attention to.

http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2015/08/jordan_richards_new_england_pa_2.html

Wouldn't it be nice if all of the primal screams from draft night turn out to have been misguided, and we end up with an Ed Reed type of player?

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I love the "wouldn't it be nice" game.