Devin McCourty: Really That Good?

[Ring 6]

I believe in McCourty's talent, but there's a learning curve for all rookies. Revis was decent, but nowhere near great in his first season. And a lot of people felt the Raiders wasted a pick on Nnamdi, a safety they were trying to convert to CB. And I was hoping to see Butler start every game last season, because apart from Bodden, no one else was that good.

But I expect a big year out of Butler, and maybe I'm the only one in the world (including BB), but I think Wilhite could improve. I'd be thrilled if McCourty was our #3 from day 1, but it's still a long way to go and there's a lot to learn.

I guess we will disagree then. The bar set by Wilhite is quite low IMO. Many corners play as rookies, contrary to the belief by some that they must be handled with kid gloves.
He is sound in technique, and played in the college system that most closely resembles ours. There aren't a lot of variables in what a corner does. He plays man, or he plays one of a handful of different zone areas, and must support the run. The learning curve is not that steep.
The real issue is adjusting to being a professional, which we have zero informaiton about his chances at that.

 

[patriotscpfc]

I guess we will disagree then. The bar set by Wilhite is quite low IMO. Many corners play as rookies, contrary to the belief by some that they must be handled with kid gloves.
He is sound in technique, and played in the college system that most closely resembles ours. There aren't a lot of variables in what a corner does. He plays man, or he plays one of a handful of different zone areas, and must support the run. The learning curve is not that steep.
The real issue is adjusting to being a professional, which we have zero informaiton about his chances at that.

Wilhite is a decent Slot corner. Not great when outside, but he's a good slot corner.

Now, he can concentrate on that role as we've got 3 CBs who can play out there as well as Wheatley.

 

[Ring 6]

Wilhite is a decent Slot corner. Not great when outside, but he's a good slot corner.

Now, he can concentrate on that role as we've got 3 CBs who can play out there as well as Wheatley.

What do you base that on? I have not seen good man or change of direction skills from him.
McCourty is a good corner, and basically does everything better than Wilhite. Unless he is overwhelmed by the step up I can't see anyone wanting Wilhite out there covering a receiver instead of McCourty.

 

[patriotscpfc]

He sticks to the man, he just needs to learn to look for the ball.

The times i've seen him beat badly are when he's been lined up out wide and ended up matched up with a beast WR like Andre the Johnson or Reggie Wayne.

He was also said to have looked really good in the camps last year.

He's no Darrelle Revis. He's not even a top 50 CB in the league. But he's good enough to be a Number 3 or 4 on most teams in this league.

If he turned and looked for the ball, he'd be a much better player.

 

[Badluck]

Why are you condemning a 1st round pick to be behind Wilhite who struggled terribly, and Butler who has 1 year experience (really about half a season of pt) after being picked in the 2nd?

I agree that Butler has a leg up, because of a year in the system, but McCourty has at least a decent chance of surpassing him and probably already has surpassed Wilhite.

im not condemning him to anything, i view the 3rd CB spot as the slot position where wilhite has performed well at.

Butler has a year of experience, you dont think hes going to start over McCourty? BB views the Cb as a very valuable position where you cant make mistakes so i doubt he wants to throw him out there day 1 of his rookie season, when has BB ever done that to any DB?

with that said if say bodden went down during the season i would expect McCourty to get the spot over wilhite because again slot is where wilhite is best and playing outside vs playing inside are two very different positions for a CB.

 

[Ring 6]

im not condemning him to anything, i view the 3rd CB spot as the slot position where wilhite has performed well at.

Butler has a year of experience, you dont think hes going to start over McCourty? BB views the Cb as a very valuable position where you cant make mistakes so i doubt he wants to throw him out there day 1 of his rookie season, when has BB ever done that to any DB?

with that said if say bodden went down during the season i would expect McCourty to get the spot over wilhite because again slot is where wilhite is best and playing outside vs playing inside are two very different positions for a CB.

Just because Wilhite wasn't very good as a starter doesn't mean he will be any better in the slot. He hasn't shown those skills yet. (Not at the level you would expect a !st round pick to play at)

 

[Badluck]

Just because Wilhite wasn't very good as a starter doesn't mean he will be any better in the slot. He hasn't shown those skills yet. (Not at the level you would expect a !st round pick to play at)

actually he has, hes quick enough to stay with the slot receivers long enough and he has done well in the slot, its when hes outside with the bigger better receivers thats where he struggles

 

[BradyFTW!]

No. ONE OF the comments made on the draft coverage was he is a good special teamer. Same as if they said, and he was a good student.
The idea that this was ALL they had to say was only created and then supported on this board. It was a fallacy to begin with.
Also NO ONE said Mankins was a 3rd rounder.

Nah, it started when one of the rejects at ESPN, while shuffling through his papers, said "still, it's strange that they'd pick a special teamer in the first round" or something to that effect. The ESPN guys were convinced that we had taken him for his special team skills, but to be fair everyone here *should* have realized that that assessment said more about ESPN than McCourty.

 

[Fixit]

All I know is that I nearly crapped myself when I saw the clip of him on "Sports Science." The man runs 80% of his top forward speed whilst running backward.

 

[patriot lifer]

No. ONE OF the comments made on the draft coverage was he is a good special teamer. Same as if they said, and he was a good student.
The idea that this was ALL they had to say was only created and then supported on this board. It was a fallacy to begin with.
Also NO ONE said Mankins was a 3rd rounder.

There were in fact predictions of Mankins going in the 3rd round and it was incorporated into draft coverage for that draft (I recall them mentioning it).

See the bottom of the following webpage for one example I dug up:
SI.com - 2005 NFL Draft - Logan Mankins


As for the 'good special teamer' comments, I am being hyperbolic. When they started talking about him, they would not talk about his play first, they would instead mention his special teams prowess, which as a fan is not what I want to hear about first. And considering that during the draft there is limited time to discuss teams' picks (plus commercials), I felt the coverage of our pick was lacking (maybe every teams' fanbase feels the same way, darned espn). Naturally, they did talk about his ability. They aren't completely inept. I haven't been on this board all that much, so I'm unaware of what the discussion's been on McCourty and any fallacies being perpetuated.

 

[the wrothbroughterer]

yea im excited to see him play, i think people were more upset about the position than the player, no one was really looking at CB as a 1st round need so we didnt really look at the potential 1st round CBs, so when his name was announced im sure there was a collective "WHAT?!?!??!?!" in patriot land

I was among those screaming at the TV when the pick was made. It was more reactionary than anything else, because on the surface CB wasn't as big of a need as LB was and there were a glut of potential 34OLBs still on the board.

I'm really pleased that they picked him up, though. They are now 3 deep at the CB position and might finally have a secondary that can hold a candle to those from 2001-2004.

 

[patriot lifer]

I was among those screaming at the TV when the pick was made. It was more reactionary than anything else, because on the surface CB wasn't as big of a need as LB was and there were a glut of potential 34OLBs still on the board.

I'm really pleased that they picked him up, though. They are now 3 deep at the CB position and might finally have a secondary that can hold a candle to those from 2001-2004.

I remember staying up, being tired as heck that night, waiting for their draft selection. And then they deferred not once, but twice...and then they made the pick. I went to bed more confused than exhausted. That pick in isolation def. concerned me too.

 

[resdubwhite]

I remember staying up, being tired as heck that night, waiting for their draft selection. And then they deferred not once, but twice...and then they made the pick. I went to bed more confused than exhausted. That pick in isolation def. concerned me too.

I think it was about 3:30am here. Kinda didn't sleep well after that.

 

[spacecrime]

Butler has a year of experience, you dont think hes going to start over McCourty? BB views the Cb as a very valuable position where you cant make mistakes so i doubt he wants to throw him out there day 1 of his rookie season, when has BB ever done that to any DB?

Lat year. Wheatley had experience, but BB played Butler.

It isn't whether a guy has experience that counts, or if he is a rooke, or whatever. It is who is the best player that week.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Lat year. Wheatley had experience, but BB played Butler.

It isn't whether a guy has experience that counts, or if he is a rooke, or whatever. It is who is the best player that week.

Not until the second half of the season, IIRC. Until he was comfortable with Butler's knowledge of his responsibilities, Wilhite played even though he's pretty obviously an inferior talent.

 

[BradyFTW!]

All I know is that I nearly crapped myself when I saw the clip of him on "Sports Science." The man runs 80% of his top forward speed whilst running backward.

In case anyone hasn't seen it:

Sport Science: Devin McCourty - ESPN Video - ESPN

 

[Deus Irae]

Patrick Chung was going to step into the lineup and become a monster safety, cure cancer, bring about world peace and become the first human being to walk on the moon without needing a space suit. Surprisingly, none of that really happened.


Let's wait at least until we see this guy in pads before the overhype begins.

 

[Schmo]

WRONG..

You can't just lump them all together.. BB said as much.

You have LCB, RCB, and then your Slot/Nickle Corner and your Dime Back. They each have their own depth charts..

I have heard explanations regarding the differences between LCB, RCB (and Nickel), but can you refresh my memory? Is there a certain skill set for one side of the field compared to the other? Strong side needs to be a better tackler/stronger aganst the run? I have a feeling BB selected Butler with one side in mind and McCourty for the other side as a potential starting tandem for years to come. Seeing as how we really didn't have 2 young CB's with the potential to be starting calibur CB's the pick made a lot of sense. Hopefully, Wilhite or Wheatley turns out to be a solid Nickel.

Selecting Warren after we already had Seymour worked out well (both are 3-4 DE's, but have different skill sets) and I don't recall anyone scratching their heads about that pick.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I have heard explanations regarding the differences between LCB, RCB (and Nickel), but can you refresh my memory? Is there a certain skill set for one side of the field compared to the other? Strong side needs to be a better tackler/stronger aganst the run? I have a feeling BB selected Butler with one side in mind and McCourty for the other side as a potential starting tandem for years to come. Seeing as how we really didn't have 2 young CB's with the potential to be starting calibur CB's the pick made a lot of sense. Hopefully, Wilhite or Wheatley turns out to be a solid Nickel.

Selecting Warren after we already had Seymour worked out well (both are 3-4 DE's, but have different skill sets) and I don't recall anyone scratching their heads about that pick.

The biggest difference is between nickel backs and outside guys, simply because of the type of WRs that they're covering.

Nickel backs spend a lot of time covering slot receivers, so they need a skillset that's similar to a slot receiver: great burst, quick change of direction, solid tackling since a lot of slot receivers murder you on YAC, etc. With an edge WR, it's more important they they be able to backpedal quickly, turn their hips, get into a full-on sprint, and have the leaping ability to contest jump balls.

Personally, I figure that the Pats want McCourty on the outside because, if they wanted a nickel back, they could have just picked Kyle Wilson. Wilson's skills are better for playing the Welker types, McCourty is better for playing the Moss types.

 

[Badluck]

Lat year. Wheatley had experience, but BB played Butler.

It isn't whether a guy has experience that counts, or if he is a rooke, or whatever. It is who is the best player that week.

those are two completely different situations.