Safeties

[bucky]

74. Safety Sergio Brown:[/B] Probably a little low here — we saw the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder make a few nice plays in spring practice. But the rookie free agent also has a really big plus working in his favor — his college coach was current New England safeties coach Corwin Brown, which will certainly ease the transition. He’ll struggle to see the field on defense in 2010, but if things come together for him, he could make his bones as a special teamer and go from there. Almost every year, a relatively unheralded defensive back makes his mark as a special teamer and ends up beating the odds and sticking around. Last year in was Kyle Arrington. This year, it could be Brown.

Pretty good showing from this kid last night. Not only on the big hit to end the game, but also on special teams. I think he's a dark horse to make the team this year over guys like Slater and possibly Sanders.

 

[Kontradiction]

Pretty good showing from this kid last night. Not only on the big hit to end the game, but also on special teams. I think he's a dark horse to make the team this year over guys like Slater and possibly Sanders.

Slater probably, but I don't see Sanders. He's ultra-valuable as a back-up. He's got a spot for him. Slater is another story.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I don't know why there is such angst about my assessment that Chung is coming along slowly.

It's because this opinion which you keep repeating over and over, is pretty silly and ridiculous for multiple reasons:
- Others have already named multiple other Patriots players who were higher draft picks, who had even less productive rookie seasons than Chung did.
- Despite a crowded depth chart, Chung still put up better stats than Meriweather did in his rookie season despite Meriweather getting more playing time as a rookie.
- The value argument you keep making over and over, stems from your apparent man-crush on Dumas, which is unfair in how you perceive Chung. It's like you keep ignoring all the camp reports of Chung set to make an impact this year, and cling to your original thoughts of disapproving the pick from the 2009 draft.
- No matter what Chung does this year, your comments suggest you'll always think the pick wasn't worth it, just because of your entrenched thoughts about safeties in general, about Dumas, and about other needs you think we had.

 

[mgteich]

Chung looked good and will likely start at safety.

I contimue to think that we could have gotten Chung or another in the mid second.

Yes, I "cling" to my assessment that I would rather have drafted Laurinitis. Perhaps some of you liked the mighty lineup of Guyton and Seau when Mayo was injured, with Alexander as the backup. But, the 2009 season is now gone. The decade is now gone.

I am fine is starting the new decade with Chung and Spikes as starters! We finally got our ILB to play next to Mayo. And yes our 2009 safety (we all would ahve drafted one), is ready to start or at very least be a major contributer.

It's because this opinion which you keep repeating over and over, is pretty silly and ridiculous for multiple reasons:
- Others have already named multiple other Patriots players who were higher draft picks, who had even less productive rookie seasons than Chung did.
- Despite a crowded depth chart, Chung still put up better stats than Meriweather did in his rookie season despite Meriweather getting more playing time as a rookie.
- The value argument you keep making over and over, stems from your apparent man-crush on Dumas, which is unfair in how you perceive Chung. It's like you keep ignoring all the camp reports of Chung set to make an impact this year, and cling to your original thoughts of disapproving the pick from the 2009 draft.
- No matter what Chung does this year, your comments suggest you'll always think the pick wasn't worth it, just because of your entrenched thoughts about safeties in general, about Dumas, and about other needs you think we had.

 

[Kdo5]

not to mention the fact that he is the only one in the secondary who can call signals

Unfortunately. Because despite that fact, he is also flat out mediocre.

 

[billdog3484]

with all due respect to the below quote. you push aside the third argument because it has nothing to due with chung. however, chung performing better than other patriots rookies and having better stats (the first and 3rd) are the same arguments. they have nothin to do with how chung himself is doing.

It's because this opinion which you keep repeating over and over, is pretty silly and ridiculous for multiple reasons:
- Others have already named multiple other Patriots players who were higher draft picks, who had even less productive rookie seasons than Chung did.
- Despite a crowded depth chart, Chung still put up better stats than Meriweather did in his rookie season despite Meriweather getting more playing time as a rookie.
- The value argument you keep making over and over, stems from your apparent man-crush on Dumas, which is unfair in how you perceive Chung. It's like you keep ignoring all the camp reports of Chung set to make an impact this year, and cling to your original thoughts of disapproving the pick from the 2009 draft.
- No matter what Chung does this year, your comments suggest you'll always think the pick wasn't worth it, just because of your entrenched thoughts about safeties in general, about Dumas, and about other needs you think we had.

 

[mgteich]

Was he mediocre when Belichick decided to sign him to a $3M a year contract extension?

Unfortunately. Because despite that fact, he is also flat out mediocre.

 

[Kdo5]

Was he mediocre when Belichick decided to sign him to a $3M a year contract extension?

Yes he still is.

 

[jmt57]

Upon Further Review: Patriots vs Saints by Christopher Price for WEEI:


Pat Chung. This is a guy who had himself a good night against the Saints. The safety had a really good shot at New Orleans’ running back Reggie Bush early, and also stopped Saints wide receiver Lance Moore just short of a first down. Aggression, energy and attitude were all plainly evident in Chung’s game, who is now the leader in the clubhouse to be the guy who is playing next to Brandon Meriweather when the regular season opens on Sept. 12 against the Bengals.

“Communication is key. It’s the first game, so we have a lot of communicating to go. We just have to keep working now. Keep working together being on the same page,” Chung said. “We’re together. We’re family. Once you get with family, you know what you are doing real fast.”

 

[jmt57]

A profile from Price's roster rankings on July 28th:

It Is What It Is Rating the Roster, Training Camp Edition (Part 6)


22. Safety Patrick Chung: Chung was brought along relatively slowly as a rookie, but will undoubtedly have more on his plate in 2010. With a crowded field at safety — including Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, Brandon McGowan — the 5-foot-11, 212-pound Chung will have a fight on his hands, but it should make for one of the more interesting positional battles during training camp. For what it’s worth, this spring the combination of Chung and Meriweather appeared to mesh nicely. “It’s competitive. We make it real competitive,” Chung said this spring of his on-field collaboration with Meriweather. “It’s fun. It makes practice fast. When you get fast practice, the games come easy. I like it.”

 

[jmt57]

The final safety from Christopher Price's pre-camp roster rankings:

It Is What It Is Rating the Roster, Training Camp Edition (Part 7)


14. Safety Brandon Meriweather: A Pro Bowler, Meriweather still gambles and loses too often for many people, but he remains the best the Patriots have at the position, which is why he gets a spot in the Top 15. As the year begins, he’s probably the only safety in a group that includes James Sanders, Brandon McGowan and Pat Chung that has a job nailed down. Mentioned this before and it bears repeating — the Chung/Meriweather combination looked awfully frisky in spring practices.

 

[jmt57]

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald offers us his surprise player to make the roster:

– If you want a prediction for one wildcard free agent to make the team, I’m putting my money on safety/special teamer Sergio Brown. He seems to be taking core special teams reps. For instance, he may be the gunner on punt coverage. Not great news for James Sanders.

 

[jmt57]

Carl Desburg of Boston Sports Then And Now believes the answer to the question of where the pass rush will come from is the safety position.

Defensive Weakness: Patriots Pass Rush | Boston Sports Then and Now

Plan B for Patriots fans and a more likely scenario is Belichick getting creative. Quite often last season, the Patriots deployed defensive sets featuring three safeties. They played Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders deep with the bigger Brandon McGowan in the box. BB has been trying to find a safety to play in the box for years now (ie the Tank Williams experiment).

McGowan did not have any sacks last year, but three safeties is one way to shake things up and put some more speed on the field. Perhaps with a year in the scheme under his belt, McGowan will be better served as an “in the box” weapon.

 

[jmt57]

Russell Goldman comments on the play of Pat Chung in the Saints game in his Pats Confidential here at PatsFans: What We Learned From Watching The Patriots Pre – Season Game Agianst The Saints. ats Confidential

4. Will the young secondary be able to handle the high power offense of the Saints? This unit overall did their job last night. The one huge stand out had to be Patrick Chung. He had 7 tackles and seemed to be all over the field. Also, I noticed he was trying hard to rip the ball out when a reciever made a catch. I think he is making serious strides.

As a unit, the defensive backs seemed to be in place and ready to hit the Saints when needed. There weren’t open receivers all over the field like the last time these teams played. This unit did their job. Again, I feel encouraged.

 

[jmt57]

Jeff Howe from NESN ranks the safeties for his current depth chart:

Safety
1. Brandon Meriweather: Obvious starter
2. Patrick Chung: So fast and has great closing speed
3. James Sanders: Having somewhat of a tough camp
4. Brandon McGowan: He's getting a lot of time as the big-nickel safety
5. Sergio Brown: Big hit helped cause a late interception against the Saints
6. DeAngelo Willingham: Late addition hasn’t had much of a chance
7. Bret Lockett: Hasn’t practiced since Day 1
Injured: Josh Barrett: Belichick said he'll undergo surgery. Unlikely he'll ever appear this season

Prior to training camp I thought Lockett had an outside chance of making the roster with his special teams play, but that's not going to happen if he can't get on the field; he has missed 19 consecutive practices at this point.

 

[jmt57]

Mike Reiss' 8/17 Mailbag - espnBoston


Q: Mike, has anyone picked up on the fact that Sergio Brown is on first team kickoff coverage? Seems to me that when trying to figure out the last few spots on the roster, special teams is the place to look. He also made a big hit leading to the game-ending INT vs. the Saints, and has the coach connection (played for Charlie Weis at ND, as well as Corwin Brown, now with Pats). Thoughts? -- Will (Dover, Mass.)

A: Will, I think this is a sharp observation. Brown looks like a player who will land on the practice squad at the least, and possibly sneak onto the active roster. Because the Patriots have had a run of injuries to special-teams players such as Bret Lockett and Matthew Slater, those type of opportunities have opened for Brown. I'm not sure it clinches his spot, but I do think it's something to watch.

 

[jmt57]

A legacy returns: Ventrone returns to Patriots with no hard feelings by Bob Picard for Comcast SportsNet New England:



Ventrone wouldn't go into detail as to what the Patriots told him on the day he was released. But the fact that he hung around the New England area last week with his brother's family should give you an indication that he knew he'd be returning.

"I was just worried about just staying into it," said Ventrone after Tuesday's indoor practice. "My brother always told me to just keep working, there's a lot of ups and downs, and so much stuff happens with every team, with rosters and everything. So I mean, I was just hoping that something would happen, and it did, and I'm just happy to be back now. That's what's important."

"It's a numbers issue, and I never really worried about that," said Ventrone. "I know that it's going to come down to me just learning and making plays. That's ultimately what I have to do, so that's all I'm worried about.

"When I wasn't here, it was miserable. It was boring, and I'm glad to be back on the field playing football. So I'm happy to be doing that."

 

[mgteich]

1) Let me be the 10th to say that I think that our top four safety positions are all set. This position is a strength. There is no reason to weaken it by cutting or trading one of our valuable assets. Personally, I find James Sanders a strong #2 or #3 or #4, as well as being a top special teamer. But then, wanting to cut James Sanders is an annual hobby of several posters.

2) That being said, there is room for three or so special-teams (or utility or developmental)players who may or may not be valuable as a 2010 position player. Lockett and Brown are competing with Arrington, Aiken, Woods, Alexander, Green-Ellis and Williams for those positions.

 

[jmt57]

Andy Hart of Patriots Football Weekly comments from Monday's practice:

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog - From the Hart: Monday post-camp practice observations

–It was a big day for my boys, as both James Sanders and Rob “G-Force” Gronkowski stood out.

Sanders spent a lot of time lined up with what looks like the makings of a first defense. Maybe the most reps he’s seen in such a mix all summer. He saw time next to both Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung.

–The closer we get to regular season action, the more likely it is we see the three-safety look in game action that we’ve seen throughout the summer. The look usually has both Meriweather and Chung, with the third guy varying between Sanders and McGowan.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Andy Hart of Patriots Football Weekly comments from Monday's practice:

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog - From the Hart: Monday post-camp practice observations

I'm a little down on McGowen. He lays the lumber, but hes a little too reckless in coverage and open field tackling.