Pats looking to replace Samuel?

[The Gr8est]

FWIW From Pro Football Weekly:

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/default.htm?mode=afceast


"Though the defense played well in the divisional playoff loss to the Broncos — limiting Denver to just 286 total yards — we hear that one of New England’s top priorities this offseason will be upgrading the secondary, particularly the CB position. Word is the Patriots will decide whether they can continue to start Asante Samuel at corner. While Samuel is a smart player with good hands and instincts, he lacks top-end speed and gets picked on by opponents who believe they can beat him deep. We hear that the Pats will likely look to acquire a veteran cover corner via trade or free agency as opposed to addressing the position in the draft. This will be the second straight offseason that they will attempt to replace Ty Law, who we hear is still a possibility to return to the Pats, though there are concerns about the extra weight he was carrying this past season."

 

[RPCity]

If you want a guy with top end speed, bringing Ty Law back in isn't exactly the best solution.

That said.....I STILL say he's the best cover corner in the league. Of course, I'm kinda biased.

 

[BelichickFan]

CB is clearly one of our weaknesses. It's always a danger to have OK guys and think of them as not a problem. Just because Samuel and Hobbs were OK and not Duane Starks doesn't make them good enough for a Super Bowl contender. If we could somehow get a #1 type CB and let Hobbs, Samuel and Gay battle for the #2-#4 spots we could be reasonably strong there.

 

[RPCity]

I'm really curious to see Starks in training camp. The doctor said he was playing with one of the worst shoulders he's ever seen. If he's healthy I want to see what he can do. He may still be brutal trying to play press coverage, but....its worth not cutting him.

 

[flutie2phelan]

While the writer's RECOMMENDATIONS correspond to what almost everyone here thinks should be done - upgrade and deepen the secondary ... singling out Asante as the source of a problem makes no sense. By the last few games, he was playing as well as had done last year. While perhaps they were picking on him ... he left little to be desired - once he began holding onto the INTs he got to.

I offer the notorious play with Lelie as evidence ... that he can cover the swiftest, look for the ball, fend off offensive interference, and avoid committing PI himself. That was superb coverage! All he needs is honest officiating.

 

[ilduce06410]

lay off samuel

FWIW From Pro Football Weekly:

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/default.htm?mode=afceast
"Though the defense played well in the divisional playoff loss to the Broncos — limiting Denver to just 286 total yards — one of New England’s top priorities this offseason will be upgrading the secondary, particularly the CB position. Word is the Patriots will decide whether they can continue to start Asante Samuel at corner. While Samuel is a smart player with good hands and instincts, he lacks top-end speed and gets picked on by opponents who believe they can beat him deep. We hear that the Pats will likely look to acquire a veteran cover corner via trade or free agency as opposed to addressing the position in the draft. This will be the second straight offseason that they will attempt to replace Ty Law, who we hear is still a possibility to return to the Pats, though there are concerns about the extra weight he was carrying this past season."

asante samuel is a great value for the patriots. we ggot him and eugene wilson the same year. samuel's salary this year was $460 and he's locked up for next season. IMHO samuel has been made a scapegoat for the patriots Defensive Backfield play. frequently he was the best corner we had out there, so the safeties were rolling to the other side. samuel was left over there wiith the likes of eric moulds, eddie kennison, chris chambers, and houshmanzadeh.

he and randall gay are about as good as you could ever hope to find for a 5th
rounder and a ufa. i'd love to see them work in the nickel and the dime. they could be dangerous working the middle of the field. they should not have been working game-after-game as starting CBs

they're great. now we need a couple 205-pound, 6-1 DBs

 

[ilduce06410]

thank you

They are nice, agressive players and they need to remain...but, as I have stated many times...THEY ARE TOO FRIGGIN SHORT.

too short and too small.
these are 170, 180-lb guys. pro teams ask a lotta hitting from CBs, on sweeps and screens. with patriots this year those have been FIRST hits becaause RBs were getting through to them untouched.
yeah, they'd come up and make the hit, but what you get is your top 4 CBs on the disabled list by Game 8.

 

[The Gr8est]

Of more interest I think, is that the writer says they are looking at trade or FA to upgrade the position rather than the draft.

Any ideas about there who we might be targetting? I'm not a real proponent of bring Law back at the money he wants.

 

[mgteich]

The question is whether we need a top shut-down corner, or whether we don't. IMHO, this one player would have a greater effect on the defense of these past few weeks than any other, not excepting a veteran safety, recovering from injuries.

Other than a shut down corner, I don't think we really have any needs on defense. We can sign Hawkins, sign Poteat, wait for Harrison, sign some kids for the future, and be ready for the season.

Samuel reminds me in some ways of OTIS. He can be a great #2 corner, or a great nickel. There is nothing wrong with that. BTW, Samuel's contract ends after 2006.

 

[The Gr8est]

One of these two would look good if they want to try the draft route:

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Jimmy Williams

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Antonio Cromartie*

 

[aabtec]

They are nice, agressive players and they need to remain...but, as I have stated many times...THEY ARE TOO FRIGGIN SHORT.

put them on the rack and strench them ?

 

[CheerforTom]

I don't know about them being too small... I vividly remember the Jacksonville game and everyone saying that their WRs were too big for our CBs... I know Leftwich wasn't exactly at his finest, but he wasn't awful either, and they COMPLETELY shut him down. I know it might have been due to good pass rushing, but that just goes to show you that those two aspects of the defence aren't self-sufficient.

 

[aabtec]

One of these two would look good if they want to try the draft route:

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Jimmy Williams

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Antonio Cromartie*

cromartie has a seriously messed up knee...

 

[Digger44]

I'm really curious to see Starks in training camp. The doctor said he was playing with one of the worst shoulders he's ever seen. If he's healthy I want to see what he can do. He may still be brutal trying to play press coverage, but....its worth not cutting him.

I am really curious to see Starks in somebody elses training camp.

 

[hwc]

This seems like kind of a "well, duh!" article to me. Obviously, the Pats have to be interested in strengthening their defensive secondary in the off season. In all likelihood, they will be losing veterans Tyrone Poole (who has missed the last two seasons) and Rodney Harrison. The two vets they brought in last year (Starks and Chad Scott) contributed nothing due to injury. And, the young safety Guss Scott spent his second consecutive year on IR.

Of course they will be looking to bolster the secondary and that would be the case no matter how Asante Samuel graded out for the year.

The good news is that they have four young players who have contributed as starters in Wilson, Samuel, Gay, and Hobbs. Three more youngsters who showed enough potential to be in the training camp mix (Stone, Guss Scott, and Sanders). And, a veteran, Hawkins, who seemed to find a role in the Pats system in fairly short order. It's only logical that adding a veteran free agent to that group would make sense. They would be insane to not take a hard look at the strong safety position -- a position that lends itself to either the free agent market or a top rookie falling to the Pats at #21. They certainly can't count on Rodney Harrison to be an every down player starting in September.

Likewise, they have to be considering options at wide receiver with Troy Brown's pending retirement, Bethel Johnson's busto, and the likely loss of David Givens.

It's way too early to start projecting starters at any position. That's what training camp is for. I don't even think it's possible to say what the Pats will "target" in free agency and the draft because we have no idea who is available and how the Pats grade them. Just because we see a recognizable name on a free agent or draft list doesn't mean that the Pats have any interest in that player. They aren't going to get a free agent or draft a specific position just to sign one if the value is not there.

 

[mgteich]

Just beacuse they have played well against JAX is not a reason to consistently prefering midgets, who are prone to injury.

I don't know about them being too small... I vividly remember the Jacksonville game and everyone saying that their WRs were too big for our CBs... I know Leftwich wasn't exactly at his finest, but he wasn't awful either, and they COMPLETELY shut him down. I know it might have been due to good pass rushing, but that just goes to show you that those two aspects of the defence aren't self-sufficient.

 

[PatsSaintsSox]

I remember an interview with Rosie, who said Asante was one of the top 5 fastest guys on the team...

 

[marty]

I seem to remember reading something about the average height of CB's in the NFL was 5'10". Our guys do not appear to be much shorter than average do they? Isn't more about speed and quickness than height? Not to mention vertical measurements, and long arms/hands? Ok, getting out of hand here, but shouldn't we have fast, quick, knuckle-draggers out there?

 

[jczxohn1]

I seem to remember reading something about the average height of CB's in the NFL was 5'10". Our guys do not appear to be much shorter than average do they? Isn't more about speed and quickness than height? Not to mention vertical measurements, and long arms/hands? Ok, getting out of hand here, but shouldn't we have fast, quick, knuckle-draggers out there?

IMO, you have a good point. BB seems to have adjusted his specs for corner in response to the rule enforcements on contact after 5 yds, prefering quickness and speed. Hobbs' draft is a good example. In our 3-4, the OLB's are supposed to set the edge and turn stretch runs back in, with occassional support from the CB when contain breaks down. This worked fine the second half of the season when we had our starting LB's playing as they should. We may expect CB injuries occassionally because of the system, we just have to have younger guys step up, as Hobbs did.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

And another reason to keep Asante: who else can stop Ricky Williams and embarrass him in the process?