Bill Belichick: Patriots To Try Logan Ryan At Safety During Spring

[Marqui]

The opposing QB tells them.

Huh?

 

[PP2]

Perhaps worth noting that the guys they're "leaving" at CB — Revis, Browner, Dennard, Arrington — are the better press guys and the guys they've moved/ing were weak in that area but with good route recognition and ball skills, i.e. Ryan and McCourty.

I would expect to see a lot of press man and Seahawks-style cover 3 press.

Interesting proposition.

IMHO Thomas is the key to their three high shell, as they trust him enough to have the corners bail/jam, even jam on both sides.

How do you see that being replicated here? McCourty is solid but he is no Earl Thomas.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Just think of the coverage skills on the back end with Browner, Revis, Dennard, Ryan & McCourty all on the field at the same time!

Talk about helping your pass rush via the secondary.

We have the best group of Cbs in the NFL. Should be fun to watch this year

 

[Ivan]

Huh?

The opposing QB yells over to Belichick to put his sub defense for stopping the run in because they are going to run on the next play.

 

[Kontradiction]

How do they know for sure when other teams are going to run?

Well if it's first and ten and the opposing offense lines up in the power I, that might give it away. That's a smaller back end that you probably wouldn't want on the field on run downs.

 

[Marqui]

Well if it's first and ten and the opposing offense lines up in the power I, that might give it away. That's a smaller back end that you probably wouldn't want on the field on run downs.

You do know you don't actually have to run on 1st and 10 lined up in the power I, right?

 

[Kontradiction]

You do know you don't actually have to run on 1st and 10 lined up in the power I, right?

No, the other team definitely doesn't have to. But most of the time it's going to be a run. On another note, what does this say about Belichick's assessment of Harmon, if it happens?

 

[Ivan]

You do know you don't actually have to run on 1st and 10 lined up in the power I, right?

Actually you do if you declare it. Once the QB tells the other team they are running they have to run, otherwise it is unsportsmanlike.

 

[supafly]

Browner well be used at as more n more. His skill set screams ss. He has the ability to play ss as high of a level as its ever been played or higher. 6'3 225 corner cover ability. And a physical sure tackler. He will be a rare ss who can cover elite te's man up while sliding over and able to cover n pick up most wr's from ss spot. He is better in coverage than chancellor.His flaw was speed and he is nearing 30. Fast wrs have been burning him. But that's not a problem at ss. Bill can pick browner's spots as a ss, when he isn't on a te he can occasionally roll him toward big physical wr's who might have good speed but not burners. He can select browner matchups with certain wr's from the ss spot but at corner he will end up in bad matchups with burner wr's like Emanuel sanders, marquise Lee or Torrey smith and risked beaten deep. But as ss he will be all pro next 2 yrs.

Browner's skill set is best used as a press cornerback.

Bill Belichick pretty much put this issue to rest when Browner signed on and he stated that he had zero intentions of playing him at safety. Belichick stated that he way brought here to play CB, due to his ability to play press coverage and jam the WR at the line of scrimmage.

Not that it's out of the question entirely, but Eric Frenz of boston.com states the following:

"They just gave him a three-year, $17 million contract to play cornerback. That would be one of the richest contracts in the league for a safety, so it would seem strange for them to make such a heavy investment in an experiment. Browner is a known commodity for his abilities in man coverage and in getting physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage."

 

[mgteich]

I strongly agree. We have one of the very best pair of corners in the league. It would be negligent to move one of them to safety.

Browner's skill set is best used as a press cornerback.

Bill Belichick pretty much put this issue to rest when Browner signed on and he stated that he had zero intentions of playing him at safety. Belichick stated that he way brought here to play CB, due to his ability to play press coverage and jam the WR at the line of scrimmage.

Not that it's out of the question entirely, but Eric Frenz of boston.com states the following:

"They just gave him a three-year, $17 million contract to play cornerback. That would be one of the richest contracts in the league for a safety, so it would seem strange for them to make such a heavy investment in an experiment. Browner is a known commodity for his abilities in man coverage and in getting physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage."

 

[supafly]

The Ryan to safety move is interesting. They probably just want to be sure they have the flexibility to go from a 2 S look to single safety look with the same personnel on the field.

The more interesting thing to me this year though is Harmon. I think 95% of the people on here were impressed enough with Ryan to see him as a clear long term player. Harmon however showed less but still did decently enough.

Revis, Browner. Dennard, Ryan, Arrington, McCourty are all set. We tend to feel they are proven commodities. However depending on how Harmon's 2nd year jump goes safety could turn a little thin.

I think he will work out though but it is one of the things in camp that is worth keeping an eye on.

Not that I disagree with your thinking, but it's also quite possible that Logan Ryan will be used in the springtime at safety simply due to the fact that we need to be prepared for injury + have sufficient depth. This happens quite a lot in the spring + TC, where players are experimented with out of their normal comfort zone position.

For what it's worth, Ryan has played snaps in the past at safety for us as well, so this isn't totally out of the blue. I'm guessing that Duron Harmon will be starting opposite of McCourty though, unless he proves that he totally sucks at the job. I think Ryan will be both a CB and a S in certain circumstances, like Belichick spoke of depending on specific matchups.

 

[mgteich]

How many corners do you expect to be on the field at a time? We have Revis, Browner, and Arrington in the nickel. And we have Dennard backing up at all three positions.

It seems that Ryan's best opportunity for reps will be at safety, unless there is an early injury at corner.

Not that I disagree with your thinking, but it's also quite possible that Logan Ryan will be used in the springtime at safety simply due to the fact that we need to be prepared for injury + have sufficient depth. This happens quite a lot in the spring + TC, where players are experimented with out of their normal comfort zone position.

For what it's worth, Ryan has played snaps in the past at safety for us as well, so this isn't totally out of the blue. I'm guessing that Duron Harmon will be starting opposite of McCourty though, unless he proves that he totally sucks at the job. I think Ryan will be both a CB and a S in certain circumstances, like Belichick spoke of depending on specific matchups.

 

[supafly]

How many corners do you expect to be on the field at a time?

Ryan's best opportunity for reps will be at safety.

I think that obviously depends on the specific situation, who is injured/suspended at the time, what opposing personnel is on the field on offense, and what the safety position situation is like at the moment.

The thought of Logan Ryan being one of the top 4 CBs isn't that odd, is it? As a matter of fact, I'd bet everything that I own that he'll be in that situation plenty of times this season.

The main point of my response was that I thought Harmon would be opposite of McCourty, with Ryan being able to play both if/when needed, which was disagreeing with the notion that Ryan would automatically be the starting safety just b/c he's seeing some reps there in the spring/summer. Hell, he saw live game reps at safety last season, and was still referred to as a CB and saw the majority of time at CB.

 

[mgteich]

It is one thing to be prepared for injuries. It is another to want to bet everything you own that there will be two injuries/suspensions at corner that would necessitate us needing more than 3 corners (and that Green won't be that emergency corner).

I certainly think that it is possible that Ryan would be playing corner sometime this year. However, that would mean that Chung or WIlson would be getting additional reps as the 3rd corner.

I think that obviously depends on the specific situation, who is injured/suspended at the time, what opposing personnel is on the field on offense, and what the safety position situation is like at the moment.

The thought of Logan Ryan being one of the top 4 CBs isn't that odd, is it? As a matter of fact, I'd bet everything that I own that he'll be in that situation plenty of times this season.

The main point of my response was that I thought Harmon would be opposite of McCourty, with Ryan being able to play both if/when needed.

 

[supafly]

It is one thing to be prepared for injuries. It is another to want to bet everything you own that there will be two injuries/suspensions at corner that would necessitate us needing more than 3 corners (and that Green won't be that emergency corner).

I'm not sure where you're going with this?

You do not believe that Logan Ryan will be one of our top 4 CBs this season at some points? I know that will happen for a fact with at least 25% of the season as Browner is suspended. On top of that, how do you reasonably not expect any injuries at the position, or assume that Ryan isn't good enough to play in a dime role (at worst?)

Like I said--Belichick's comments in the OP stated that not only did he play safety at times in live game situations last year (which has been pointed out before), but that he will likely be able to play in any role, along with some of the other CBs as well. We didn't consider him a safety last year, when he played there. I'm not as sure that just because he's seeing reps at safety which is normal with many players in the spring/summer, that means that he's suddenly now our starting safety opposite DMcC, which is what I was responding to when I made the comment.

It's quite possible that L.Ryan will be our 3rd safety, and be playing both roles at times. Harmon looked decent enough to warrant more looks at the position of safety as well, and is another high round pick to boot.

 

[mgteich]

Of course, Ryan will be our #4 corner at points this year. So? I hope that we will not have any injuries for the first 4 games, and only one at a time after that.

If you taking about DIME, then sure. But for me, the dime back is not a corner. The dime is whatever defensive back Belichick chooses to play in that position, often a safety.

I'm not sure where you're going with this?

You do not believe that Logan Ryan will be one of our top 4 CBs this season at some points? I know that will happen for a fact with at least 25% of the season as Browner is suspended. On top of that, how do you reasonably not expect any injuries at the position, or assume that Ryan isn't good enough to play in a dime role (at worst?)

Like I said--Belichick's comments in the OP stated that not only did he play safety at times in live game situations last year (which has been pointed out before), but that he will likely be able to play in any role, along with some of the other CBs as well.

 

[supafly]

Of course, Ryan will be our #4 corner at points this year. So? I hope that we will not have any injuries for the first 4 games, and only one at a time after that.

If you taking about DIME, then sure. But for me, the dime back is not a corner. The dime is whatever defensive back Belichick chooses to play in that position, often a safety.

Most people consider the 4th CB a dime back...yes. I'm not sure why you wouldn't?

We play big nickel with 3 safeties at times, but the majority of times 6 DB's are on the field it's with 4 CBs. Of course this situation changes depending on the team and personnel they trot out on the field.

It only takes one injury to put Ryan in the dime/nickel package, so I'm not sure why you can't envision seeing someone go down from time to time? I can't remember the last time we went through a whole season with all of our CBs at full health, missing zero games.

 

[supafly]

The whole point was that many players see time at different roles in the spring and summer, as Belichick often experiments in case they are needed for that role for depth purposes.

I've never once stated that I can't see L.Ryan as our 3rd safety, just that I believe that he'll be playing both CB and S--depending upon many variables.

That said, it's my belief that Harmon will be the starting safety opposite of McCourty, unless he plays like **** and warrants a change. Only time will tell if that happens or not. Personally, I don't believe that Harmon won't be given the opportunity to play unless he proves that he's incapable. Who knows if my thoughts are correct or not? I'm just saying that I think that Harmon/McCourty will be our 2 starting safeties with L.Ryan as a CB who can/will play safety at times. I'm not sure why you believe that he'll never be seeing time as a CB though?

 

[Ivan]

There's really no downside to this, if he shows he is good enough he could pair with McCourty and if not he's depth, unless he shows he cannot handle the position. I also think that getting him reps there is an insurance policy in case McCourty goes down as he could actually end up being the guy who would replace him if he suffered a season ending or long term injury.

 

[AzPatsFan]

It is one thing to be prepared for injuries. It is another to want to bet everything you own that there will be two injuries/suspensions at corner that would necessitate us needing more than 3 corners (and that Green won't be that emergency corner).

I certainly think that it is possible that Ryan would be playing corner sometime this year. However, that would mean that Chung or WIlson would be getting additional reps as the 3rd corner.

Not necessarily. Completely overlooked in discussion of LB depth is the probability that Chung/Wilson will take some snaps at Hybrid SS/LB, emphasizing the LB aspects.