Misconception w/Talib
 

Talib played in 26 of a possible 44 quarters of football since his acquisition during the bye week. I cannot think of a game in which he shutdown a receiver. Talib is being severally overvalued by fans. He came in and competed but his is not a $8M-10M a year player and he certainly is not more of a priority than Wes Welker.

Keenan Lewis, Rodgers-Cromartie, Sean Smith would all provide the same factors as Talib.

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

Unretiring Ellis Hobbs might have been an improvement over Arrington on the outside.

Moving McCourty to safety did more to improve the pass defense than anything, imho.

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

Perhaps, but it's possible that Talib can be had cheaper than $8M-$10M, given his OTF problems and his injury history. Plus, since he's been here and apparently likes it, he's probably a bit more willing to take the discount than the others. And for what it's worth, I don't think DRC brings what Talib does.

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

And we weren't really significantly better in those 26 quarters either.

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

Well, if we do not bring him back then we must be relying on drafting DB help. Yikes.

Agree I'd make the argument Dennard was a bigger factor overall

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

Really? This whole D was way more aggressive and more effective when he was playing. In the beginning of the season, our defensive backs were on pace to be one of the worst units of all time. They were getting burned left and right (Seattle game comes to mind) and as a result, Pats started the season 3-3. Once Talib came into the picture, we had a D that seemed to be good enough to win a championship with. You didn't see that? Really?

Re: Misconception w/Talib
 

The FO will decide what dollar amount it places on Talib's services. His injury and off-field issues will certainly be a factor. Whether he is more or less than a priority than Welker is a moot point for us to debate; the FO will form their own opinion regarding the prioritization of FAs, and how far they are willing to go.

As for what Talib provided, BB has repeatedly lauded him for his work ethic and professionalism, and shown confidence in him by giving him the assignment to shadow a top receiver in a way that he hasn't done since Ty Law. Talib's teammates have openly lauded him for his work ethic and professionalism, and for bringing an "attitude" to the secondary. And some of Dennard's progress may have been affected by having a more experienced CB like Talib as a model, though that's speculation. Certainly the secondary improved as a unit.

Would someone like Sean Smith or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie be as good as Talib? Maybe. We don't yet know if they'll be available or not. Smith is rumored to be a candidate for the franchise tag or for an extension, and Miami has plenty of cap space. I'm far from convinced that Rodgers-Cromartie would be as good as Talib. But regardless, any new CB would have to start from scratch, whereas Talib has the advantage that the Pats could build on continuity with the secondary.

I don't know what the dollar limit or prioritization will work out to, but I think that keeping Talib is certainly fairly high on the team's wish list. The secondary has been a very sore spot for a long time, and this is the first glimmer of stability that we've had in a while.