That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

Something occurred to me about that play where McCourty and Marshall wrestled for the ball, Marshall won, and the Fins then failed to score from the 1. (And the Pats got a TD on the very next play thereafter. :D )

Suppose McCourty doesn't get his hands firmly on the ball and come so close to breaking up the pass? Does Marshall then score a TD on the play?

If so, McCourty indeed made a good play that saved points, even if the outcome wasn't -- except in its aftermath -- what one ideally would have wished.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

Meh...Marshall owned him. It's the inability of the rest of the offense that they failed to score points in the 5 yard line.

McCourty is a guy i'll be keeping my eyes on tonight.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

I don't want to say it, but I wonder if we're seeing a bit of a soph....

...in any event, I'm pretty curious to see how he does against another big, physical receiver. Until around Week 5 or so, any rust I see on players, I'm attributing to the lack of OTAs, etc.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

I hate to agree but he's right. He couldn't cover him at all. I really hope he plays better tonight otherwise we're in big trouble.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

Honestly, I felt really bad after watching the game. But looking back, I don't think it's an issue.

McCourty has always excelled in defending the deep ball. These numbers show he led the league in interceptions and passes defended on deep passes of 15+ yards. In fact, all his INTs were on deep balls last season.

He was generally in good position. There were a few plays he was nowhere near the receiver, but on replays, he whiffed on the jam at the line so it had less to do with his coverage abilities than simply missing the jam. Marshall did catch a lot of short/intermediate passes and bullied his way for some extra yards after the catch, and Devin definitely needs to improve in defending the shorter stuff.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

I really dont like when people have videos in the sigs.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

To some degree, McCourty's play could be restricted due to the chaos at the safety position.

McCourty knows that more than likely neither Barrett nor Brown nor Idelahjo will have his back if he guesses wrong or gets a double move.

In my mind this takes away from what McCourty does best, while also showing that he has much growing to do before he is confident enough to be left on an island.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

There is some merit to this. There are a lot of DBs in the league who can "cover", in other words be next to the guy they are supposed to defend, Darrius Butler is a case in point. What separates THOSE guys from the elite CBs is the athletic ability to make a "play" on the ball when it gets there.(knock it down or pick it) And by that I mean the ability to find the ball, and NOT have your back to it, like we see so much of. The ability to time your leap at the proper moment. The ability to anticipate the QB and jump routes.

There are 2 other points I'd like to mention in McCourty's defense. First is the old, but true, "zone" defense. When your job is make sure no one gets behind you, passes are going to be completed in front of you.

The other point is a bit more obscure. Last Monday, Henne dropped back 49 times. IIRC (and I could be wrong) I read where McCourty was targeted 10 times. Then it brings the question to mind that if McCourty was covering Marshall the other 39 times then he must have been doing a pretty good job, because IF he'd been open those other times, what QB wouldn't have thrown him the ball. Ergo McCourty must have been doing a very good job those 39 times. vs the 7 or 8 balls that he caught

Well we know that McCourty didn't cover Marshall one on one on every play, and we know that Marshall couldn't ahve been the main target on every play, BUT the point remains. As fans, we tend to focus and judge DBs on those times the ball is thrown in their direction, and ignore those times their coverage is good enough to discourage the QB from throwing at them.

Clearly it wasn't McCourty's best night, but given who he was playing, and the fact he wasn't being beaten soundly. He WAS there. But on this night he didn't make the plays on the ball - (his dropped pick being exhibit one, his missed strip at the one being another)

I'm not worried a bit about him. He's one of the better CBs in the conference. Lets give him a bit more time to develop into what he will become.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

Marshall is a damn talented receiver... Outside of Revis,Asomugha i don't think there are any guys in the league that will shut him down.

Still...if we want to talk about McCourty being an elite DB he has to do a better job against him.

Re: That McCourty vs. Marshall battle
 

I am not worried about McCourty


I was extremely impressed w/ Ras and how he handled himself in his first game


I love our starting CB's throw in Bodden as well.:)