Devin McCourty

[DaBruinz]

not sold on McCourty at all, both picks were gifts as Fitz severely underthrew both balls.

-Inconsistent in man 2 man coverage
-can't play the ball in the air (not just his problem, no CB on this team plays the ball, they all watch the receiver pull in the reception then attempt shoddy tackling)

Clearly you haven't been watching the games. BOTH of McCourty's Ints today, the 2 dropped ints last week AND the PDs he had last week were ALL clear cases of him playing the ball and not the receiver.

What's been inconsistent is people understanding when he's been in Man 2 Man coverage and when he's been in Zone coverage.

 

[ausbacker]

That's 3.5 reasonable to decent games from McCourty now.

 

[resdubwhite]

Still not sold on McCourty. I'll withhold judgement until next Sunday, after Peyton comes to town.

From that statement. It sounds like judgement has already been made and I'm guessing its a teeny tiny bit in the negative column.

 

[Ring 6]

That's 3.5 good to excellent games from McCourty now.

Fixed it for you.
Today was absolutely an A+ corner game. You pretty much can't play better.

 

[n1e]

Clearly you haven't been watching the games. BOTH of McCourty's Ints today, the 2 dropped ints last week AND the PDs he had last week were ALL clear cases of him playing the ball and not the receiver.

What's been inconsistent is people understanding when he's been in Man 2 Man coverage and when he's been in Zone coverage.

it's not hard to play the ball when the ball is severely underthrown, let's see McCourty react and turn his head in a one on one coverage scenario. I wonder why McCourty always gets flagged for PI on 1v1 coverage on deep throws, hmmm could it be he always plays the receiver...

and yes I have no clue how to spot zone coverage and man coverage

 

[Ring 6]

it's not hard to play the ball when the ball is severely underthrown, let's see McCourty react and turn his head in a one on one coverage scenario. I wonder why McCourty always gets flagged for PI on 1v1 coverage on deep throws, hmmm could it be he always plays the receiver...

He has been called ONCE for PI on a deep route. ONCE.
That play was a 3rd and 9 with 1 minute left up 2, with the opponent at the 34 yard line, with a rookie K. McCourty decided to play the sticks in order to take away the play, and cause a 51 yard FG. Smart gamble, but a wrong one.
Therefore when the WR went deep he blew past him and had to chase. It makes no sense to look up for the ball when you are chasing the receiver, because the ball will be over your head.
You want to consider that a typical play and use that one instance to decree that he doesnt look for the ball, evidently because you heard someone say that once and decided to throw it into your amateur criticism.
You seem to not understand the technique he is playing, which is why your posts don't seem to make sense to any one.

and yes I have no clue how to spot zone coverage and man coverage

No offense, but from reading your posts, it seems you should have left the sarcastic icon off when you made that statement.

 

[Run DMC]

I think my boy was way over criticized last week. The front 7 got zero pressure on Flaccid last week. Any NFL CB will eventually get burned given that fact. I also happened to notice we had pressure on Fitz all day long today. And DMc had a great game. Coincidence?

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

He received ridiculously too much criticism last week. Getting in position to stop a play and not making the catch to complete the Int is not a bad play.

Agree on the first item. I believe he was due some criticism, however, the level of that criticism was approaching absurd (but not unexpected in the media and from some circles here).

We disagree on the second item. IMHO one of the CB's prime jobs is to catch the INTs. Obviously turnovers are just about the biggest play a defense can make. And CBs (and Safeties) will have distinct opportunities to make that big play. If they don't it is a BIG deal.

 

[Creative Username]

DMac has gotten way too much criticism for his down year. People saw his rookie stats and immediately thought he was Revis. The guy made a couple good plays in his rookie year but people expected way too much out of him in his second year.

He has potential to be a top #1 corner in this league, and I laugh at all the people who say he belongs at FS or he's the worst corner ever.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

This game offers a good building block for McCourty to build up his confidence. We need DMac to step up this season if we want to go deep in the playoffs. Another test next week against Peyton Manning.

I hope McCourty continues to build on this but I don't understand this statement at all. He had serious struggles last season and we went to the Super Bowl. It's already incorrect before you even finish typing it...

AJ, this is my issue with DM's performance last week. Sure, he had some screwups but it happens. Yet when you miss 2 INTs that hit you in your hands then couple that with some of those bad plays? DM deserved some of the criticism he got. With that said he gets his due props today (at least from what i saw).

I hate that we evaluate corners by INTs alone. He had a few drops last week but at least he was in the picture, unlike Arrington, who was nowhere near Smith on the long completion, or when he trips over his feet on an easy lob INT and doesn't drop it because he's nowhere near it. What's worse, getting so completely toasted you are nowhere near the play, or being right there and at least breaking it up?

And let's not forget that first INT was down the sideline and he made a good play on the ball and got tackled mid-catch. That's not an easy catch for a receiver, let alone a corner.

not sold on McCourty at all, both picks were gifts as Fitz severely underthrew both balls.

-Inconsistent in man 2 man coverage
-can't play the ball in the air (not just his problem, no CB on this team plays the ball, they all watch the receiver pull in the reception then attempt shoddy tackling)

I'm glad to see some of the replacement refs decided to start posting here. Welcome! Please remember to use the links on the side to increase the font size if you're having trouble seeing/reading posts.

That is the thing I don't understand. McCourty is getting more crap from dropped INTs than receivers are getting for catches that should be made. The old saying is that if McCourty had great hands, he would have been a WR.

I find it ridiculous he gets crap for dropping INTs while our other corners aren't anywhere near the receiver.

it's not hard to play the ball when the ball is severely underthrown, let's see McCourty react and turn his head in a one on one coverage scenario. I wonder why McCourty always gets flagged for PI on 1v1 coverage on deep throws, hmmm could it be he always plays the receiver...

and yes I have no clue how to spot zone coverage and man coverage

I think you need to take a second look at that second INT. It wasn't severely underthrown, it was undercut while making a great play on the ball.

I love how McCourty gets slammed for dropping "easy" INTs, then gets slammed for grabbing only "easy" INTs. Next he'll start leading the league in INTs and this board will criticize him for not doing it sooner. Or that he's doing it for a new contract. Or some other asinine thread.

 

[Rob0729]

I find it ridiculous he gets crap for dropping INTs while our other corners aren't anywhere near the receiver.

I totally agree with that. People picked on McCourty all week while Arrington and Moore played far worse than McCourty against the Ravens.

 

[manxman2601]

I totally agree with that. People picked on McCourty all week while Arrington and Moore played far worse than McCourty against the Ravens.

Two UDFA's versus a first round pick. I wonder why people are harder on McCourty.

 

[Creative Username]

Two UDFA's versus a first round pick. I wonder why people are harder on McCourty.

I wonder why people aren't harder on Arrington after the year he had last year.
I realize that for most (if not all) his interceptions it was a case of right place, right time, but everyone acts as if he's the worst cover corner in the league. And then as soon as Mccourty drops an interception Arrington doesn't exist anymore, even if he gives up 200 yards

 

[Rob0729]

Two UDFA's versus a first round pick. I wonder why people are harder on McCourty.

I don't care where people are drafted. McCourty had an up and down game where he played great at times and horrible at others. Arrignton and Moore got burnt on virtually every play in their direction in that game.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

From that statement. It sounds like judgement has already been made and I'm guessing its a teeny tiny bit in the negative column.

Not sure what you mean. I'm reserving judgement until he faces another top QB.

 

[manxman2601]

I don't care where people are drafted. McCourty had an up and down game where he played great at times and horrible at others. Arrignton and Moore got burnt on virtually every play in their direction in that game.

I don't disagree but the resources spent on McCourty will always make him more accountable.

If you buy a cheap old banger and a Rolls Royce and both keep breaking down, it'll be the Rolls Royce you resent buying rather than the banger.

 

[Patriot Missile]

McCourty has now been really good for 2.9 of the last 3 games. That .1 of a game just came at a really bad time.

Best reply of the week. He is having a good season with a couple of hiccups. Lots of improvement from last year and at times looking elite again.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Two UDFA's versus a first round pick. I wonder why people are harder on McCourty.

Does that mean we should give Brady a free pass on any bad games since he was a 6th-round pick?

It is what it is. He struggled last week at times but also had 4 PDs. The week before, he helped hold Fitzgerald to 4 yards. He's still not as consistent as we'd like, and he's still got a lot to work on, but he is our #1 corner, and certainly better than a lot of teams have.

 

[manxman2601]

Does that mean we should give Brady a free pass on any bad games since he was a 6th-round pick?

In no sense could that be construed from what I said.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

In no sense could that be construed from what I said.

I'm just saying I don't believe Arrington and Moore should get free passes based on their draft (or lack of draft) spot.

We judge based on results, and right now, McCourty is getting a RIDICULOUS amount of criticism despite playing pretty well this season. Yes, he can do better, and he'll be the first to admit it. But I've grown tired of people blaming him for every reception on the field, even when it's a TE that the safety didn't pick up.