Secondary - Two Very Different Choices

[willdeespats]

In my opinion, Arrington is not that great of a CB. When he gets beat, he stays beat and never looks back for the ball - McCourty had the same problem when playing man coverage. Arrington does play very well in front of him, does very well blitzing and has good instincts for where the ball is going. As I recall, most of his Ints were when the play w as in front of him. Thus, much like McCourty in this era of DB play, I think Arrington would be much better off playing SS. Not that I disagree with others that we don't need to play a SS all the time, but in those match-ups where it is appropriate, I think he would do a better job than Gregory or either Wilson. I definitely think Dennard can do as well as, if not better, job as the slot CB.

I would love to see the flexibility of having where the match-up receiver lined up, dictate who played the slot. And I can see dime packages where there are 4 CBs or 2 SS/1FS depending on the team and their match-ups.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Reiss's comment notwithstanding, with the number of times that BB sent out 3 CBs and McCourty last year, I see him thinking along the lines of guys who man-up well and guys who thrive in a zone; much like he thinks of 4-3 DEs and 3-4 OLBs somewhat interchangeably. I can see Browner playing SS, when he might have to get his hands on a pass-catching TE, like Talib did with Graham, and lining-up outside when there is a bigger receiver. As he gets more comfortable in the defense as the season progresses, I would expect him to move into a traditional SS role, while Dennard works outside if there is a faster smaller guy out there, especially if speed is needed at the SS position. If stopping the run is a premium, however, or if the TE is not a major receiving threat, AWilson would likely be the SS.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

I'm not as ready as you to give up on Adrian Wilson.
He was one of the best safeties in the NFL in the past decade, and that skillset would fit in very, very well with this group. (Think a Browner type at BOTH cb and S). I think there is a reasonable level of hope that the injury that caused him to miss all of last year explains his dropoff more than age. Given a year to rehab, that step may be back, and he could be a great fit with this group.

This. If he was running around on an ACL that required surgery, he would certainly be slower, but I suppose it could have popped at the end of pre-season. He will have had ample time to rehab, either way. AWilson was called The Hulk, indicating that he works pretty damn hard in the gym. He'll apply that same work ethic to his rehab, so we should get a pretty good look at him this pre-season. It's possible that he won't be any faster - maybe that Hulking stature plus age and wear-and-tear have already slowed him down too much, but I'm not betting against him.

 

[PatsFan2]

Anybody here who wouldn't want Brandon Browner at SS is nuts a Enforcer beside the mouse McCourty. We lack playmakers at the position Browner solves that. Let McCourty help over the Top of Dennard. I wouldn't be against Drafting CB with Upside in the Second.

 

[yopats]

We needed to solve the problem at strong safety.

BROWNER AS A STRONG SAFETY
----------------------------------
This is the direct approach.
CORNERS - Ryan and Dennard would compete for starter and dime back. Arrington would stay in the slot where he is one of the best. We would have a JAG as the 5th corner.
SAFETIES - McCourty and Browner would be an awesome combination. We'd have Harmon as the #3. Tavon Wilson would again fight for his position as #4 safety with a vet and/or a youngster.
CONCLUSION
This would be one of the best patriots secondaries ever.

BROWNER AS A CORNER
--------------------------
CORNERS - Our starters would be one of the very best in the league. Arrington is one of the best in the slot. Ryan and Dennard would be competing for the dime spot. This seems a waste of talent. It would seem that one might also get some reps at safety.
SAFETY - All safeties would play better having top corners. Harmon would be a starter unless Dennard or Ryan moves over and can beat him out for a job. Also, a free agent could beat him out. Unless a corner moves over, it would seem that we should be signing a veteran strong safety (to compete with the Wilson's).
CONCLUSION
The safety play would improve because of the awesomeness of the corners. If the strong safety situation were solved, this would be the best secondary the patriots have had since we started only first rounders.

YES I UNDERSTAND
that there could be injuries in camp. But for now, we have one two many corner capable of starting.

A couple of tweets really helped me think about this concept.. which has been brought up by a couple of other board members.

The league is signing a bunch of safeties, playing more 3-safety packages. Belichick is signing CBs, playing 1-safety packages. Ahead again?

From Steve Palazzolo (PFF) - https://twitter.com/StevePalazzolo/status/445004708965801984

BB always seems to want to create confusion on back end rather than in front-7. Safeties disguise half a tick longer than most

and this one from Ben Volin from the Globe

When #Patriots signed Marquice Cole and Kanorris Davis this year, they listed them as CB and S on press release. Browner listed as a DB #hmm

That being said.. I think BB is one step ahead of all of us.

 

[Sicilian]

BB is the type of guy that likes to play things out week to week and match up to match up, but for me if Jamie Collins can make the step in year two and became a really good coverage LB I would use him as the SS with Browner Revis and Dennard as the CB's with McCourty deep over top,


I don't know if that works as a base defense but for 3rd and long it could work you got McCourty over top so no one can get deep with Collins a 250lb LB ready to hit any WR or RB coming over the middle and Revis Dennard and Browner locking down the other teams top 3 WR's

I think even aside from Collins, just the presence of Revis would facilitate this type of formation. If you can trust Revis to take his man and not get beat over the top, McCourty can really shade to the other half of the field. While not completely eliminating the need for a second "safety" on the field, it does lessen the need for one on every play.