Prediction: The Pats' Pass Defense is About to Go From Terrible to Very Good

[Mack Herron]

So for me the Jacksonville game so far is the exception that proves the rule. Take Dennard and Talib out, move McCourty back to CB, put Chung and Gregory as the safeties ... and we are getting absolutely shredded by Chad Henne. It's pitiful.

It doesn't work. The coaching staff should know better. I know we're banged up, but it's been proven that it doesn't work.

We need to keep McCourty at FS. Stop moving him back to CB. Get Chung off the field at all costs.

This game should serve as an absolute guideline for the offseason. We need to build around Talib-Dennard at CB and McCourty at FS. Otherwise we should scrap the entire secondary and start all over.

without Talib this defense is cooked. No depth at CB kills them.

 

[BradyFTW!]

So for me the Jacksonville game so far is the exception that proves the rule. Take Dennard and Talib out, move McCourty back to CB, put Chung and Gregory as the safeties ... and we are getting absolutely shredded by Chad Henne. It's pitiful.

It doesn't work. The coaching staff should know better. I know we're banged up, but it's been proven that it doesn't work.

We need to keep McCourty at FS. Stop moving him back to CB. Get Chung off the field at all costs.

This game should serve as an absolute guideline for the offseason. We need to build around Talib-Dennard at CB and McCourty at FS. Otherwise we should scrap the entire secondary and start all over.

This, absolutely. I actually like McCourty at CB, though. I like him more at safety, but with Talib and Dennard out, I'm not sure what other option there is. Cole has been surprisingly capable, but do we really want him starting?

 

[JackBauer]

Except McCourty is playing well AGAIN at corner.
We really should get 2 new safeties and play Talib and Mccourty at corner, and if the safeties can play we will have a terrific secondary.

Nah. McCourty is an excellent safety with a rare skill set, so that's where he should and will stay.

 

[Mack Herron]

Nah. McCourty is an excellent safety with a rare skill set, so that's where he should and will stay.

He should but he can't because they are too thin at CB. Talib is worse now than he was 2 weeks ago. Does not look like he is going in the right direction with his injury. With McCourty as S, your starting playoff CBs could easily be Dennard and Arrington.

 

[olschool]

Except McCourty is playing well AGAIN at corner.
We really should get 2 new safeties and play Talib and Mccourty at corner, and if the safeties can play we will have a terrific secondary.

That pass McCourty gave up on fourth down is a perfect example of why he should be a safety. He never should have taken the fake on the deep route in that situation, knowing they were looking for a first down not a hail mary td.

He just doesn't have the instincts to be a good corner.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Not to mention that Chung is a pass interference/unnecessary roughness call waiting to happen.

 

[DocHoliday]

Butler, Ihedigbo, and Moore ain't bad recently - all starters

 

[mayoclinic]

Devin McCourty on the switch from CB to FS:

It Is What It Is » Devin McCourty explains why he feels so comfortable at safety

I expect McCourty to be back at FS for the Houston game, with Talib not 100% but reasonably effective. Dennard is a bigger question mark, but I'm hopeful. If he's able to go, we'll finally get to see in 3 days if the pass defense is playoff ready.

 

[ay-yo]

Devin McCourty on the switch from CB to FS:

It Is What It Is » Devin McCourty explains why he feels so comfortable at safety

I expect McCourty to be back at FS for the Houston game, with Talib not 100% but reasonably effective. Dennard is a bigger question mark, but I'm hopeful. If he's able to go, we'll finally get to see in 3 days if the pass defense is playoff ready.

. . .you also put the communication level and the importance is way greater at safety. At corner where you’re only one side of the field, you’re not asked to communicate as much to the rest of the defense as you are at safety.

“With [Jerod] Mayo making so many calls, he has to really worry about handling the linebackers and the front four. I think once you talk about the secondary, the safeties have to worry about handling everything with the coverage aspect. When you’re at safety, you have to really make sure everyone gets the calls and everyone is listening. Whenever I’m back at that position, I put a lot of that on myself. Along with Steve [Gregory] and Pat [Chung] being back there, just making sure everyone gets what we’re doing.

We hear that he is a student of the game and has been a captain two straight years. A small assumption but I think McCourty doesn't just know his job for a given play he knows all 11 guys job. And he doesn't just know what he is supposed to do but why he is doing it and how it effects everybody else's responsiblities.

Combine that with the importance of communication from the safety spot (highlighted above) and it's no wonder McCourty at safety has really benefited the defense. I also expect him to play FS this Sunday.

McCourty's quote also highlights how continuity can benefit a defense. For years we couldn't gain continuity because the players weren't talented enough to keep around. Now it seems we have the majority of the pieces needed for a successful defense. Hopefully we can add 1 or 2 more and keep this young group together for the next several years.

 

[supafly]

I think that a big part of the secondary's failure earlier on was poor play by the safeties as a whole. As a matter of fact I'd go as far to say that poor play from the safeties likely plagued us for awhile, and may even have contributed to McCourty's falloff in the 2011 season too, but I have no hard proof of that.

Wilson just wasn't getting the job done and is too green at the moment (proven by spending the rest of the season in BB's doghouse after making the exact same mistake twice in 2 games that led to long bomb TD's), Gregory was just starting to get used to the assignments and responsibilities here in the beginning, and Chung just isn't too good in pass coverage/carrying out his assignments and reads/maybe even all of the above.

The improvement of the safety play is the biggest turnaround for this pass defense, and that isn't knocking McCourty at all because I think he has played great back there--tremendous actually, it's just stating that I think that safety play in and of itself was an enormous factor on this team as a whole, and has trickled down throughout the CB's too for obvious reasons.

I would still love to know if the reports from Bedard and SMY earlier in the year are true or not, as to whether the team wanted McCourty back there all along at FS? The claim is that Belichick just wasn't happy enough with the depth at CB during training camp, and that's why they couldn't start the season with him playing FS.

If that is true I wonder if the Dowling situation of the poor play and injury combo didn't once again catch them off guard a bit, as they likely had a bigger role in mind for him for sure. It's possible that they realized earlier than we even imagine that he was not the answer, but that's all speculation of course.

I know that the addition of a couple of draft picks at S and CB, combined with a FA signing or 2 will likely shore up the secondary much more for next year, and allow DMcC to continue his role at FS. The growth of Dennard is certainly another factor as he'll head into his 2nd year, along with the FA moves of possibly retaining one or more of the Talib, Arrington, Chung combo.

 

[captain stone]

This could be Chung's last chance to show us why he was drafted ahead of James Laurinaitis,
Connor Barwin, Will Moore or Oregon teammate Jairus Byrd. Houston will want to establish
the running game, then use play-action to hit the deep seams with Andre Johnson & the TEs.
Chung should be able to help on 1st/2nd downs to slow Foster enough to force 3rd/long-type
situations; then Bill can bring out Gregory for pass defense (I'm not sold on him as a consistent
in-the-box defender).