James Sanders is the Weak Link

[Kasmir]

Guyton was the one that let rice get the 50 yrd

When there's a 50 yard run, someone who had deep contain failed, almost always a safety, usually the free safety (when there is one). The front seven can be faulted for a 5-10 yard run, but almost never for a 50 yard run. I replayed that play a couple of times. Sanders came up at a bad angle and Rice broke past him. It's an old story with Sanders. He's usually in the right position, he's a smart enough player, but he misses open field tackles far too often when he's coming up from deep contain.

 

[Kontradiction]

Wow. You guys really want to see Chung start at this point? If you really think that Sanders is a weak link in the secondary, you're going to be utterly shocked when you see Chung. He is nowhere near ready to start in this defense. Think back to Brandon Meriweather in 2007... he would be even more raw than that.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Sanders is so bad that he received a 3 year, $9M contract just this offseason. He's not a playmaker, no, but he's a capable, intelligent safety, who's athletic enough to get the job done. You can't fill your team with Brandon Meriweathers, so you need guys like Sanders to win. If you guys think Chung is an upgrade over him, then you must not have been watching when Chung did play. He's a distant fourth on depth chart, which is fine because that's not far off of where Meriweather was as a rookie.

 

[condon84]

Sanders apologists remind me of the Hobbs apologists.

On Rice's long run, both Guyton and McGowan (playing in the box) were engaged in blocks that they couldn't shed. Sanders on the meanwhile came down from the secondary, had NO ONE blocking him and he completely whiffed on the tackle. Yes, Sanders puts himself in a position to make plays, but he never makes them. He is either a step too slow, can't jump high enough, or isn't strong enough. The guy is obviously intelligent (putting himself in the right position) and from Belichick's account, hard working, but that doesn't necessarily translate to success on the football field. Sorry.

 

[emoney_33]

I was met with the same skepticism when I questioned whether Vrabel was worth 5M on the books. We all know how that turned out. So don't be so sure about Sanders being a lock at 3M.



You sounded reasonable up until the point you compared Sanders to Ronnie Lott. That's gotta be a joke, right?

I didn't know they extended Vrabel this past offseason?



And I guess it's not unexpected to have a thread bashing a defensive starter even when the defense has played remarkably and only allowed 14 points in the last game

 

[emoney_33]

Sanders apologists remind me of the Hobbs apologists.

On Rice's long run, both Guyton and McGowan (playing in the box) were engaged in blocks that they couldn't shed. Sanders on the meanwhile came down from the secondary, had NO ONE blocking him and he completely whiffed on the tackle. Yes, Sanders puts himself in a position to make plays, but he never makes them. He is either a step too slow, can't jump high enough, or isn't strong enough. The guy is obviously intelligent (putting himself in the right position) and from Belichick's account, hard working, but that doesn't necessarily translate to success on the football field. Sorry.

It's just a shame that BB is such a moron that he doesn't understand this and extends the guy with a 3 year $9M deal

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sanders apologists remind me of the Hobbs apologists.

On Rice's long run, both Guyton and McGowan (playing in the box) were engaged in blocks that they couldn't shed. Sanders on the meanwhile came down from the secondary, had NO ONE blocking him and he completely whiffed on the tackle. Yes, Sanders puts himself in a position to make plays, but he never makes them. He is either a step too slow, can't jump high enough, or isn't strong enough. The guy is obviously intelligent (putting himself in the right position) and from Belichick's account, hard working, but that doesn't necessarily translate to success on the football field. Sorry.

This was the game that made me change my opinion and alter my faith on both LoMo and Sanders. Couldn't agree more with everything you said.

At the end of the day, even if Sanders and McGowen produce the same number of TOs, I'd rather have my SS make tackles that rattle the ballcarrier's cranium. Sanders just doesn't do that.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I didn't know they extended Vrabel this past offseason?

And I guess it's not unexpected to have a thread bashing a defensive starter even when the defense has played remarkably and only allowed 14 points in the last game

I firmly believe this is NEM's legacy here... Doesn't matter if you win, it's how you win...let alone if you lose - everyone who doesn't make a highlight reel should get cut or traded for a couple of day one picks or a pro bowler. And coordinators deserve no credit but all the blame. and anyone who doesn't get it is a koolaid swilling homer.

Peter King noted in his MMQ that Josh has the sign hung in Denver too, DO YOUR JOB. As opposed to impress idiot fans and mediots.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Sanders used to be high on my sh*it list, but I haven't seen much to say he should be benched. At this point, Chung probably wouldn't be an upgrade because of how terrible he looked in preseason.

Although Sanders took a poor angle that led to Rice's run for 50 yards, Guyton did a terrible job filling the gap and forcing Rice go elsewhere.

Sanders wasn't the only Patriot to blow coverage yesterday. First, Wilhite allowed Mason to take him to school on 3rd and 15 for a touchdown. Second, Woods blew coverage on McGahee which led to a touchdown.

With a few breaks and blown coverages, the defense has played well enough to win for the last 4 weeks. If you think about it, the defense only allowed 14 points to the Ravens offense. The Pats offense needs to cut down on the turnovers for touchdowns.

 

[Patspsycho]

Sanders used to be high on my sh*it list, but I haven't seen much to say he should be benched. At this point, Chung probably wouldn't be an upgrade because of how terrible he looked in preseason.

Although Sanders took a poor angle that led to Rice's run for 50 yards, Guyton did a terrible job filling the gap and forcing Rice go elsewhere.

Sanders wasn't the only Patriot to blow coverage yesterday. First, Wilhite allowed Mason to take him to school on 3rd and 15 for a touchdown. Second, Woods blew coverage on McGahee which led to a touchdown.

With a few breaks and blown coverages, the defense has played well enough to win for the last 4 weeks. If you think about it, the defense only allowed 14 points to the Ravens offense. The Pats offense needs to cut down on the turnovers for touchdowns.

Guyton's job is to be a two-gapper which means he reads and reacts, not "fill the gap"

 

[klinefan]

You could have floated a battleship through that hole!

Control the gaps? Fill the gap? Whatever, it was like the parting of the read sea. Maybe they were on some kind of "clear out the middle" stunt.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Guyton's job is to be a two-gapper which means he reads and reacts, not "fill the gap"

Read and react or "fill the gap", my point was he didn't do his job.

 

[condon84]

Read and react or "fill the gap", my point was he didn't do his job.

Well, his job was to shed the block he was engaged in and make the tackle. You could also say that about our DL who failed to shed their blocks and make the tackle. Point is, Sanders had NO ONE blocking him and he whiffed.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Chung has not shown anything near what he needs to be a starting safety in this league,While I agree that Sanders has been a bit of a dissapointment in expecting him to be a leader in the secondary (Meriweather is the leader back there),I would rather see Chung slowly brought along and Sanders to get most of the reps right now.

 

[The_Riddler]

Give me a break with Koolaid please:

Just because BB inked him to a 3 year deal means that justifies his spot as a starter in this defense, are you kidding me ?

BB also signed Deltha O'Neal
BB also traded a 3rd and a 4th for all world Derrick Burgess
BB also signed Fernando Bryant as a projected starting CB
BB also passed on Rey Maualuga, not once but twice
etc, etc......

Who cares that he signed Sanders to a 3-year deal, who really cares, what does that mean to how James Sanders plays football in this defense. He's a non-play maker who tends to take bad angles. It needs an upgrade. Enough of the excuses.........

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Give me a break with Koolaid please:

Just because BB inked him to a 3 year deal means that justifies his spot as a starter in this defense, are you kidding me ?

BB also signed Deltha O'Neal
BB also traded a 3rd and a 4th for all world Derrick Burgess
BB also signed Fernando Bryant as a projected starting CB
BB also passed on Rey Maualuga, not once but twice
etc, etc......

Who cares that he signed Sanders to a 3-year deal, who really cares, what does that mean to how James Sanders plays football in this defense. He's a non-play maker who tends to take bad angles. It needs an upgrade. Enough of the excuses.........

I think that was BB's thinking in drafting Chung. But Chung, like Brace, is having a hard time learning the playbook.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

BB also passed on Rey Maualuga, not once but twice

Despite people saying "Maualuga wouldn't fit in with this defense" is bullsh*t because we don't know that! He's a starting LB with the Bengals and he's looking pretty damn good. Although the Pats passed on him, I was hoping the Pats would've taken Oher who fell right into their laps with their 1st round pick. I'd rather have Oher than Brace and Tate.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Despite people saying "Maualuga wouldn't fit in with this defense" is bullsh*t because we don't know that! He's a starting LB with the Bengals and he's looking pretty damn good. Although the Pats passed on him, I was hoping the Pats would've taken Oher who fell right into their laps with their 1st round pick. I'd rather have Oher than Brace and Tate.

Agreed re: Oher, though I'm still not sold on Rey. Wasn't a huge fan of him at USC either.

 

[condon84]

Despite people saying "Maualuga wouldn't fit in with this defense" is bullsh*t because we don't know that! He's a starting LB with the Bengals and he's looking pretty damn good. Although the Pats passed on him, I was hoping the Pats would've taken Oher who fell right into their laps with their 1st round pick. I'd rather have Oher than Brace and Tate.

Only logical explation I have for BB passing on Rey was that he thinks McKenzie is or will be just as good. Same reason why I think he passed on Oher because he probably believes he can get the same production out of Vollmer.

What I did wish though was that we stayed at Baltimore's pick and picked up Louis Delmas. There was some chatter about the Pats' interest in Delmas and maybe we traded back to the second round thinking that we could still pick him up.

 

[mcsully]

Just wanted to say some great posts and ideas from everyone.. I really enjoy reading peoples POV.. Especially when it doesn't get out of hand and things get personal..


Thanks for helping me blow 20 minutes of my work day (its slow today around the office)


Just my .02 cents..

James Sanders - average player who shows up every day. Yes he's not a highlight reel type of guy and yes he doesn't create turnovers but he is a solid tackler and a veteran presence on a young defense..

I'm not a big fan of him and I believe in time you will see more of Chung.. Not sure if Chung can't pick up the playbook, I think its more BB way of doing things.. I can only recall two #1 picks starting from day 1.. Mankins and Mayo..
Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Merriweather, Watson, and so on really who didn't start or see significant playing time until week 9 or 10..


that is all