Could Devin McCourty lose his starting job?

[deters]

Belichick should've traded for CB Mike Jenkins of the Cowboys when he had the chance.

 

[Sciz]

Even if he can't play corner, he's probably the best free safety on the roster.

 

[supafly]

Belichick should've traded for CB Mike Jenkins of the Cowboys when he had the chance.

Not so sure about that one...at all.

I see where you get the idea from, but Jenkins has been nothing short of absolutely dreadful at times himself.

That thought, along with the young, hungry, and versatile competition at the secondary positions put us in a much greater position to succeed than having traded for Jenkins. Keep in mind that DAL couldn't get any takers at all for compensation, assuming that he was/is indeed on the market.

Don't even come close to giving up on DMcC yet. We saw great things from him as a 1st rd rookie. Those skills (or some of them) are still in there somewhere.

 

[supafly]

Even if he can't play corner, he's probably the best free safety on the roster.

Absolutely. There is certainly a starting position in the secondary for him here, no doubt about that one.

 

[Ring 6]

I hate these speculative reports that come out of nowhere and create hysteria.
There have been zero comments all camp, at least that I have seen,that were negative about McCourty. Now Bedard instead of REPORTING he had a rough day, throws in speculation that he could lose his job to a scrub who was so highly regarded last year that he was released.
Reporters should report, IMO.

 

[BaltimorePatsFan]

Hank Poteat is unemployed, I believe.

 

[PYPER]

I'm with the camp that believes regardless of whether McCourty gets bumped at CB, he'll see plenty of snaps at FS. He looked real good at FS most of the time. I think I remember one bad blown assignment but other than that, I thought he was solid (no sarcasm intended).

Moore also has that positional flexibility. I think trying to label the position may be a bit fruitless. I think we'll see some of what we saw last year from Belichick. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of his players. He'll continue moving these guys around attempting to play the matchups, just as he did last year. McCourty will see plenty of snaps aligned in each position.

As for the hope that McCourty would emerge as the dominant shut-down corner we hoped we had after his rookie year, yeah that is disappearing quickly but that doesn't mean he still can't be a very good football player.....He can and he will be. If our DB's can stay relatively healthy, we've got some good depth back there this year. Each player will have their role.

This team is heading for a SuperBowl winning season! 40 years ago, the Dolphins rebounded from a SB loss to win back-to-back Super Bowls, including their 17-0 perfect season.

In 2012, exactly 40 years after that remarkable Dolphin run, there is another team uniquely situated to repeat the exact same feat (3 straight SB's, 2 SB wins, 1 perfect season). Will they get it done??? Will history repeat itself for our glorious champions? Pyper's Law says the answer to those questions are already carved into the stars glowing over our heads every night.

Ladies and gentlemen, the time is upon us. We are all about to witness "The Exclamation Point!" (please credit Pyper in all future uses of that phrase as phrase is copyrighted by PypersRealm) era of Tom Brady's magnificent career. The next two years are going be be special.

Enjoy the show Patriot Nation.......The Best is Yet to Come!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

);p

 

[supafly]

I hate these speculative reports that come out of nowhere and create hysteria.
There have been zero comments all camp, at least that I have seen,that were negative about McCourty. Now Bedard instead of REPORTING he had a rough day, throws in speculation that he could lose his job to a scrub who was so highly regarded last year that he was released.
Reporters should report, IMO.

I agree with you that I have been somewhat leery of Bedard's reports this summer too, especially after he saw "Spikes not having any energy" in his return; only to have other reporters speak of "Spikes' immediate energy" that he brought on the same day. His reporting seems too opinionated to me lately, although I could be incorrect.

As far as S.Moore goes though, I think we need to stop viewing him as a "scrub who was so highly regarded last year that he was released." There have been plenty of players throughout their careers who have been released before--particularly by the NEP; Stephen Neal one of them, both Nick McDonald and Donald Thomas as two others who could potentially show some hunger and upside this year too. I don't know how much being released tells us, but I do understand and respect your differing opinion on Moore than me. Sometimes certain players need to win someone over before you'll take them seriously, so this is understood. Moore has at least shown me potential, although you don't seem to be there quite yet.

No, I do not think that he will likely take McCourty's job, and I think that is a major stretch by Bedard; but most reports out of TC state that he is the CB who has definitely made the most plays on the ball so far. I even saw additions to that of "by far." Remember that Moore was the one making the most plays on the ball in the final 5 games last season, despite some of his shortcomings learning the schemes and taking on the proper responsibilities.

This year will likely tell us quite a lot about any potential that he may/may not have.

As far as McCourty, I think he'd have to do just downright awfully for at least the first 4-5-6 games for Belichick to even consider a change at the position, and even then he'd likely be starting as one of the safeties or contributing quite heavily as a nickle/dime CB (depending on injuries of course).

 

[everlong]

With the way this offense is stacked and with the injury history of guys like Chung and Dowling the Patriots are going to need 10 DBs most of whom are going to have to play multiple positions. McCorty is going to see a lot of playing time and it's going to be in multiple positions.

 

[jsull87]

I hope so. I just dont get why he is still here. Arrington hasnt been great either. I was really hopeing for an upgrade this season at CB. But I thought Moore looked decent last season

Why is he still here? He was a pro bowl cb as a rookie our starter at cb and fs last year and a team captain, also would probably beat people out in special teams talks as well. Oh and hes still on rookie wages, the guy isn't going anywhere

 

[PatsBoy12]

With the way this offense is stacked and with the injury history of guys like Chung and Dowling the Patriots are going to need 10 DBs most of whom are going to have to play multiple positions. McCorty is going to see a lot of playing time and it's going to be in multiple positions.

And that's the thing that kind of bothers me a bit about our current situation in the secondary. I miss the more stable days of yesteryear when we knew who our corners were and who our safeties were. I love the versatility, but it's unsettling when you don't know who will play which position from week-to-week.

I really believe McCourty, based strictly on last season, is a better FS than CB at this point. I don't know what happened from year one to year two, but I have read reports that seem to indicate very strongly that he has, in fact, not shown signs of a rebound and has been outplayed by Sterling. Although it's still super early in the process, it's still a bit disappointing. Even Dowling, who was injured all of the last season pretty much, has gotten better reviews to this point.

I really just don't get what McCourty is going through. How could he be so brilliant in his first season and then just fall off like this? It's puzzling. The coaches have got to be feeling like we do at this point, I believe. We thought we had our next shutdown man at the end of his rookie year. Now, we'll be fortunate just to have a guy who doesn't give up too many TD's.

 

[TheComeback]

Even if he can't play corner, he's probably the best free safety on the roster.

Based on what? They only played him on passing downs last year, and only because Ihedigbo is slower than an ox. And he hasn't spent any time in OTAs or TC playing safety. If he was the best free safety on the roster, there's no way that would happen.

 

[1960Pats]

I Love it!

10char

Thanks P12. It's from the book The Education of a Coach. If you haven't read it yet you should.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Thanks P12. It's from the book The Education of a Coach. If you haven't read it yet you should.

I was actually heading to the book store this coming Tuesday, so I will check it out.

 

[1960Pats]

Reporters should report, IMO.

Sadly AJ, those days have been long gone for years, and not just with sports.

 

[Water Boy]

The cornerback position does make me nervous. I thought the Pats should have been more proactive in the draft and free agency building depth given McCourty's struggles and Ras-I Dowlings injury history. If McCourty struggles again this year, we may actually have a a log jam at Saftey if he's moved over along with Chung, Gregory, Wilson, Allen.

 

[1960Pats]

Hank Poteat is unemployed, I believe.

I'd love me some Hank Poteat. He's one of many ex-Pats that have helped earn our team a SB ring or two. There are others who fit that mold too, like JR Redmond, Pat Pass (talk about a perfect NEP name), Tyrone Poole, David Patten, Jermaine Wiggins, and even the very strangely named Earthwind Moreland. All of those players helped the Pats win a SB ring. McCourty has not.

 

[1960Pats]

And that's the thing that kind of bothers me a bit about our current situation in the secondary. I miss the more stable days of yesteryear when we knew who our corners were and who our safeties were. I love the versatility, but it's unsettling when you don't know who will play which position from week-to-week.

I really believe McCourty, based strictly on last season, is a better FS than CB at this point. I don't know what happened from year one to year two, but I have read reports that seem to indicate very strongly that he has, in fact, not shown signs of a rebound and has been outplayed by Sterling. Although it's still super early in the process, it's still a bit disappointing. Even Dowling, who was injured all of the last season pretty much, has gotten better reviews to this point.

I really just don't get what McCourty is going through. How could he be so brilliant in his first season and then just fall off like this? It's puzzling. The coaches have got to be feeling like we do at this point, I believe. We thought we had our next shutdown man at the end of his rookie year. Now, we'll be fortunate just to have a guy who doesn't give up too many TD's.

From what little I've read about McCourty, he seems to have a little bit of a fragile psyche and suffers from a lack of confidence. Not a good trait in a CB. And like so many of the Pats CBs he always seems to have his back to the ball when it arrives. I agree with others here that he'll stay and that his best spot might be at safety.

 

[Rob0729]

I agree with you that I have been somewhat leery of Bedard's reports this summer too, especially after he saw "Spikes not having any energy" in his return; only to have other reporters speak of "Spikes' immediate energy" that he brought on the same day. His reporting seems too opinionated to me lately, although I could be incorrect.

Well, that's the problem with listening to reporters give analysis of training camp. They are not trained scouts. Sometimes they have agendas (in this case it is scrutinizing McCourty to see if he rebounds to his rookie production) even if they are not dubious agendas.

Usually, unless it is obvious on how a player is playing, it is difficult to judge players based on media reports. Either they really suck or knocking it out of the park, then you can trust the reports. In a case like McCourty, it could be the case that he does a decent job on a number of plays and gets burnt on one and that is what stuck in Bedard's head.

A perfect example of what I am talking about happened in 2007. Albert Breer rave about Reche Caldwell in camp and going so far as continuing to ask Belichick about him in press conferences. Based on his assessment, Caldwell definitely had a spot on the roster and Gaffney was going to get cut. We all know what happened.

I really like Bedard and I think he is better than most at breaking down play, but he like most of the media gets a lot wrong in that era. His assessment of Chandler Jones can be trusted because there is universal praise of the guy and his playing time in practice backs up the praise. With McCourty, I don't hear universal opinion of him and the coaching staff are not taking away reps from him from what I can tell.

 

[PatsBoy12]

From what little I've read about McCourty, he seems to have a little bit of a fragile psyche and suffers from a lack of confidence. Not a good trait in a CB. And like so many of the Pats CBs he always seems to have his back to the ball when it arrives. I agree with others here that he'll stay and that his best spot might be at safety.

And that's the puzzling thing, 1960. None of that existed in his first season. He always seemed to know where the ball was and turned his head at the right time to make the play. One of his more impressive INT's among the seven he recorded that season was against the Chargers where he played the cover two to perfection, accelerated, located the ball, and made the play. He just can't seem to do that anymore for some strange reason.