Expectations For Sterling Moore Next Year??

[Ring 6]

If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me, but I believe the person stripping the ball out of the recievers hands was none other than Sterling Moore.

Not putting anybody in trhe Hall of Fame, but I'm rooting for this kid to make the roster. He showed up, and flashed allot of ball skills late in the year. Couple picks against Buffalo.....Had a nice swat of the ball away from a Denver reciever in the first playoff game.....Saved our bacon in the Ravens game......Made a few nice plays in the Super Bowl.

You can't teach ball skills. You either got it, or you don't. He seems to have a knack for it.

I truly do not understand how people think getting beaten for what would be a game winning TD then having the receiver drop the ball when you swipe at it in desperation is an example of good play or 'saving the team'.
A good corner wouldn't have gotten beat and needed a 1 in a million miracle swipe.

 

[patfanken]

My expectation is that the Patriots secondary will be much better this year, and that Sterling Moore will not be a part of it.
I hope I am right about the first, and hope I am wrong about the 2nd, but I saw very little in his play to make me think he can be a quality NFL corner.

I wouldn't normally disagree with your assessment, but I learned one thing in this thread that gives me a bit more hope than I have a right to expect. I learned that he didn't start playing the game until his senior year in HS.

That might be telling. So literally last year was just his 6th year of playing the game at ANY level. Most of the comments that are positive are because he "flashed" playmaking skills. Your negative comment was due to his lack of consistent success. If in this off season, he begins to add more consistency to his "flash", then the Pats might have found a gem in the rubbish. If not, then he will provide some competition and depth to the position, which can't hurt.

And as to the OP that this secondary will be better than last season's, the answer is a resounding YES! If the major players can stay even relatively healthy (McCourty, Chung, Dowling, Gregory, Arrington, and Barrett), this secondary will be infinitely better than the one that tortured us for the better part of last season. Granted the bar has been set pretty low, but the possibility of seeing a quantum leap in improvement is very exciting even if that leap is just to mediocrity.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Patriots have 3 CBS clearly ahead of him, in Dowling, McCourty and Arrington. That means he's competing for a job against Dennard, Cole and Allen. When you toss on BB's penchant for bringing in players late, that leaves me with no expectations at all, for Sterling Moore. He might not even make the team.

 

[JFK]

I truly do not understand how people think getting beaten for what would be a game winning TD then having the receiver drop the ball when you swipe at it in desperation is an example of good play or 'saving the team'.
A good corner wouldn't have gotten beat and needed a 1 in a million miracle swipe.

Ty Law never got beat for a TD. A good corner never gives up on a play. Moore didn't give up. He made a great play by swiping the ball.

 

[Joey007]

God, I will literally shave my testicles
-Jamman

uhhhh, I get what you're saying here but.......:nooo:

 

[Joey007]

The Patriots have 3 CBS clearly ahead of him, in Dowling, McCourty and Arrington. That means he's competing for a job against Dennard, Cole and Allen. When you toss on BB's penchant for bringing in players late, that leaves me with no expectations at all, for Sterling Moore. He might not even make the team.

Well first off I believe Bellichick will keep 5 CB's on the final roster. He beats Cole easily, and I believe he has an edge over Dennard and Allen as well. I think most likely the 5th CB spot will be Alfonzo Dennard, but even if Allen loses out he could win a spot as a FS. In fact I could see Gregory, Allen and Wilson at FS and Chung, Barrett at SS. Would 10 DB's be too much to ask for on the 53 man roster??

 

[Ring 6]

I wouldn't normally disagree with your assessment, but I learned one thing in this thread that gives me a bit more hope than I have a right to expect. I learned that he didn't start playing the game until his senior year in HS.

That might be telling. So literally last year was just his 6th year of playing the game at ANY level. Most of the comments that are positive are because he "flashed" playmaking skills. Your negative comment was due to his lack of consistent success. If in this off season, he begins to add more consistency to his "flash", then the Pats might have found a gem in the rubbish. If not, then he will provide some competition and depth to the position, which can't hurt.

And as to the OP that this secondary will be better than last season's, the answer is a resounding YES! If the major players can stay even relatively healthy (McCourty, Chung, Dowling, Gregory, Arrington, and Barrett), this secondary will be infinitely better than the one that tortured us for the better part of last season. Granted the bar has been set pretty low, but the possibility of seeing a quantum leap in improvement is very exciting even if that leap is just to mediocrity.

Not to be argumentative, but I don't really think playing 3 years of HS instead of 1 would make him a more consistent player.
I'm not sure why being a player who is beat often but is not totally incompetant gets called 'flashing skills'.
Anyone on a 90 man roster can make a play here or there but most lack the ABILITY to do it consistently. A good example with this player is that he can make a play by overcompensating in one area, leading to being horrendous on the double move. That's not really inconsistency, its just not being good enough to handle the job wthout overplaying one way or the other.
I may be wrong, but that's what I saw.
I also should point out that my perspective is influenced by the fact that I make no adjustment for "unexpected", "surprise" or "exceeding expectations". How they play is how they play.

 

[Ring 6]

McCourty probably wouldn't have even seen the ball. Got to give props to Moore for locating it and then swatting.

Then why didn't they throw to McCourtys man?
Moore was beaten badly. That swipe made 1000 times, fails 999.
I don't give him 'props' for how he played on that play. He was beaten.

 

[DEVIOUS 1]

I truly do not understand how people think getting beaten for what would be a game winning TD then having the receiver drop the ball when you swipe at it in desperation is an example of good play or 'saving the team'.
A good corner wouldn't have gotten beat and needed a 1 in a million miracle swipe.

Because regardless of your overly negative opinion of Sterling Moore and his ability to play this game....He got beat and still had enough sense and dexterity to knock the ball out of his hand and save our azz.....You can hate all you want it's a results based business and he made the play when it mattered.

It's funny McCourty was beaten like a rented mule several times this past year, and you don't seem to be critical of him, but it 2 threads now you hate Sterling Moore and the guy was a rookie last year that made plays for us, and you don't think he's any good......You opinion is fine, but it's not the only one. Give the kid a shot.

 

[Ring 6]

Ty Law never got beat for a TD. A good corner never gives up on a play. Moore didn't give up. He made a great play by swiping the ball.

So now we are defining good as playing poorly because no one is perfect?
He did not make a great play. The result turned out great for us, but he was beaten badly.

 

[Ring 6]

Because regardless of your overly negative opinion of Sterling Moore and his ability to play this game....He got beat and still had enough sense and dexterity to knock the ball out of his hand and save our azz.....You can hate all you want it's a results based business and he made the play when it mattered.

It's funny McCourty was beaten like a rented mule several times this past year, and you don't seem to be critical of him, but it 2 threads now you hate Sterling Moore and the guy was a rookie last year that made plays for us, and you don't think he's any good......You opinion is fine, but it's not the only one. Give the kid a shot.

So, if my opinion of a player is negative, I'm supposed to not give it and 'give the kid a shot'?
I did not call for him to be cut today. I said that based on what I've seen from him, I do not see an NFL caliber corner. That is not 'hating' that is honesty.

 

[Deus Irae]

Because regardless of your overly negative opinion of Sterling Moore and his ability to play this game....

Moore sucked

 

[WhiZa]

I think he will have a break out season this year.

Define breakout? He's got a lot of competition and probably won't see many significant reps unless there are injuries.

 

[Ring 6]

Because regardless of your overly negative opinion of Sterling Moore and his ability to play this game....He got beat and still had enough sense and dexterity to knock the ball out of his hand and save our azz.....You can hate all you want it's a results based business and he made the play when it mattered.

It's funny McCourty was beaten like a rented mule several times this past year, and you don't seem to be critical of him, but it 2 threads now you hate Sterling Moore and the guy was a rookie last year that made plays for us, and you don't think he's any good......You opinion is fine, but it's not the only one. Give the kid a shot.

So, if my opinion of a player is negative, I'm supposed to not give it and 'give the kid a shot'?
I did not call for him to be cut today. I said that based on what I've seen from him, I do not see an NFL caliber corner. That is not 'hating' that is honesty.

 

[DEVIOUS 1]

So, if my opinion of a player is negative, I'm supposed to not give it and 'give the kid a shot'?
I did not call for him to be cut today. I said that based on what I've seen from him, I do not see an NFL caliber corner. That is not 'hating' that is honesty.

By all means give your opinion and be negative.......I see a kid that competed very well considering he was without the benefit of OTA's and even a full training camp with this team as a rookie. Was pressed into action and performed solid, if not spectacular. Also, is young with good position flex ability.

You may be being honest Andy, but you seem to not even want to conceed that even if he wasn't a world beater in his rookie year. He has plenty of room to grow as a player, and what he did do in year 1 is pretty impressive.

And yes, the fact that you don't even want to give him credit for a play he made in the AFCC game, I would say your being honest about him being beat, but still hating.

Either way, I could be wrong about the kid.....Or you could be. Thats part of the fun of it all.

 

[DocHoliday]

Not to mention he HIT HARD as safety. That kid blew up McCourty by accident, didn't he?

Maybe not the best skill wise, but he has instinct.

You can teach skill. Can't teach instinct.

 

[Ring 6]

By all means give your opinion and be negative.......I see a kid that competed very well considering he was without the benefit of OTA's and even a full training camp with this team as a rookie. Was pressed into action and performed solid, if not spectacular. Also, is young with good position flex ability.

You may be being honest Andy, but you seem to not even want to conceed that even if he wasn't a world beater in his rookie year. He has plenty of room to grow as a player, and what he did do in year 1 is pretty impressive.

And yes, the fact that you don't even want to give him credit for a play he made in the AFCC game, I would say your being honest about him being beat, but still hating.

Either way, I could be wrong about the kid.....Or you could be. Thats part of the fun of it all.

As I tried to communicate, I don't base my opinion on whether or not I can make excuses.
On the play that was to decide the AFCC Moore was burned by his man (a WR who caught about 4 passes all year IIRC) and allowed an easy pass and catch. The fact that he finished the play and got a 1 n 1000 swat because the receiver made a stupid play is not a testament to his ability. The fact that he couldn't cover the receiver, however, is.
If you want to choose players based on whether you think they try real hard, or how many excuses you can make for their bad play, we are talking about very different things.
I am talking about whether or not he can play corner. It is quite interesting that you are limiting your analysis to what he did after showing he couldn't cover a guy in 15 yards of field to tell me how awesome he is.

 

[patchick]

I think it's tremendously difficult to evaluate ANY rookie from last year, given that they all essentially walked in off the street halfway through training camp without the critical offseason teaching phase. During OTAs this year, it seemed like we kept hearing quotes from 2nd-year players around the league marveling at how well this offseason is preparing them.

This has to go triple for a kid like Moore, who came late to the game of football, had only 2 years at the major college level, then joined the Patriots in the middle of the season. Honestly, the fact that he "flashed" any NFL skills at all is semi-miraculous.

So I have no clue what to expect from him. It's very easy to imagine that last year's showing was just the tip of the iceberg for an inexperienced player with tremendous potential. It's also very easy to imagine that he was just a passing fill-in during the secondary's season of transition, and won't be heard from again.

 

[Deus Irae]

...And yes, the fact that you don't even want to give him credit for a play he made in the AFCC game, I would say your being honest about him being beat, but still hating...

 

[JackBauer]

I think it's tremendously difficult to evaluate ANY rookie from last year, given that they all essentially walked in off the street halfway through training camp without the critical offseason teaching phase. During OTAs this year, it seemed like we kept hearing quotes from 2nd-year players around the league marveling at how well this offseason is preparing them.

This has to go triple for a kid like Moore, who came late to the game of football, had only 2 years at the major college level, then joined the Patriots in the middle of the season. Honestly, the fact that he "flashed" any NFL skills at all is semi-miraculous.

So I have no clue what to expect from him. It's very easy to imagine that last year's showing was just the tip of the iceberg for an inexperienced player with tremendous potential. It's also very easy to imagine that he was just a passing fill-in during the secondary's season of transition, and won't be heard from again.

Second this post. Not sure what I think of Moore. He wasn't great but neither was anyone else (and we can debate the reasons for that). I do think he showed some potential that tends to be elided by his detractors around here.