Actually the reason I didn't get into the secondary as far as position flexibility went was because the post was already getting long and I had made my point.....I thought.
But position flexibility extends to the secondary as well. You have to notice that for the most part most of the S's have also had a lot of college experience at CB. Maybe that's why BB has rarely gone for the big 220lb SS types that a lot of fans here constantly call for (including me a while back) and doesn't flop S's for the most part. While the LB/S hybrid is something to strive for (IMHO, I think he should come out of college as a LB, rather than drop from S into the LB position (though the Pats will do that on occasion)
But back to the point. One of McCourty's great assets is that he has proven he can cover any receiver in man when its called for. Both Chung and Wilson also have a lot of experience in college at CB. I'm not so sure if Harmon played much CB at Rutgers....but you get the point.
But the bottom line is that everyone is worried about the secondary and this much change at CB makes it a legitimate reason to be CONSERNED, but not panicked for the following reasons.
1. Until proven differently, BB has fielded successful winning teams with a LOT worse talent in the secondary
2. The issues at CB are partially off-set by the stability and talent at S
3. As well as the talent at LB and more pass rush on the DL
4. I have higher hopes for Fletcher at CB than most. Don't forget that Chung had a very similar rep coming from Philly before last year. It should also be noted that the DB coaches were fired after last season. I'm not sayi9ng he's on the same level as Talib or Revis, but in a system more suited for his talents, I expect a similar bounce back year to what Chung showed us.
To that end, I see the Pats being more conservative on the back end this year, but compensating by being more aggressive in the front 7. Easley, Hightower and Brown have the potential to give us the best inside pass rush we've had in the BB era.
I see us playing a lot of tight 4 and 5 under zones with 1,2 and 3 men deep depending on the configuration and an aggressive 5 man rush (ie, 5-4-2, 5-5-1, 4-5-2, and 4-4-3). Obviously I expect the defense to be a lot more complex than this simple supposition, but I do expect more 5 man rushes this year than in previous ones, simply based on the talent available.
Lots of question marks for this team, perhaps more than we'd like to see. It also doesn't help that the division might be one of the strongest in the league this year, with all our division rivals adding some very significant big names over the off season. Its only a matter of time before Revis is quoted as saying, he sees more talent in the Jets camp this year than he saw with the Pats.
I suspect there will be a lot fewer blowouts this year, but that's OK. I'm comfortable with the gains the division has made. It will mean a lot more close games. But the fact is that the Pats have been very. VERY good at winning close games. And we all know that winning close games isn't always about talent on paper. It's about focus, discipline, and execution, something the Pats have been very good at for a very long time