Should Tavon Wilson be Starting?

[VJCPatriot]

Just throwing the question out there. Wilson has looked good in camp and has looked good in limited snaps so far. He has shown that he can be a ballhawk who forces some turnovers. I know that he's still a ROOKIE. But doesn't BB usually go with the more effective player? It's only 4 games into his first season but he already has 2 ints and 3 passes defensed. That would make him by the numbers, one of the Pats most effective DBs.

Is there anything or any reason holding Wilson back from being a starter for the Pats? Goodness knows they need all the help with coverage that they can get in today's pass happy NFL. Weigh in with your opinion!

 

[Kay Mad]

I didn't vote in the poll..
But it will happen soon enough.......

 

[Kontradiction]

If Gregory doesn't play this week, we'll get much more of a sample size in regard to where he's at in the defense. If he looks good against Manning and the Broncos, I don't see any reason why he shouldn't start. If he stinks up the joint, keep bringing him in on certain subpackages and let him fine tune his skills there.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Tavon Wilson by far has been our best Safety, he deserves a chance to start. He can actually cover, and has made some key tackles on 3rd downs.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Play Wilson & Ebner. What could go wrong?

 

[randomk1]

I'm 50/50 atm. if the safety play becomes too much of a liability then yes.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Maybe he's best suited for a limited role at this stage and BB doesn't want him to get exposed/lose confidence. Problem is I think that's what people were saying about Gregory in SD, that he really isn't a starter but effective in part time play. We really need one of them to step up, hopefully be season's end Tavon is the starter with Gregory's snaps more limited.

 

[BSR]

Its not the right question. The question is "Can he start?". I have no doubt in my mind that BB puts out the players that give him the best chance at winning in any given situation. Obviously, to this point, Wilson hasn't shown enough through either a lack of experience or ability to start. Can he? I hope so.

I also wouldn't throw out Gregory just yet either. There is a learning curve for him as well in this defense. I just hope that one of these safeties figures out where they are supposed to be with some consistency. Its the only thing holding this defense and team back.

 

[Gumby]

I said he is not ready YET; but would think that he will be "A STARTER" before long.

THAT SAID; For a lot of positions on the Pats, I am really not sure what it means to be A STARTER.

For the VWs, TBs, sure its clear - they play almost 100% of the snaps in their phase.

But for the other guys particularly on D: CBs and Ss, LBs - they are interchangeable based on what the offense is trying to do and how the D wants to stop it or match up. So is the 3rd S guy in the 3S package a starter if they see more snap-counts than the #4 LB in the 3-4? And what if BB uses one safety in the 2 S package but doesnt use him in the 3S package? who is the 2nd starter ( 3A, 3B or #2)?

I just hope Tavon is seeing 40+ snap counts within the next 2 weeks and you can call him what you like.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Play Wilson & Ebner. What could go wrong?

Seriously though, could they really be worse than Brown and Ihedihgbo?

 

[DarrylS]

The sample is too small to make a decision... what does it mean to start for this team???

But I like what I see, he seems to be a "playmaker"...

 

[Rob0729]

I don't know. I thought he played well, but some of the media who have broken down the film say that he was out of position quite a bit. He probably isn't ready yet.

 

[mgteich]

That is NOT the question. No one wants to go back to what we had last year. We now have Chung and Gregory as starters, not Ihedigbo and Brown.

Seriously though, could they really be worse than Brown and Ihedihgbo?

 

[RobertWeathers]

2 picks in 4 games means that the kid is finding the ball and the ball is finding him. Does he deserve to start? If he keeps this type of production up and continues to improve in coverage, run support, etc.- absolutely!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Seriously though, could they really be worse than Brown and Ihedihgbo?

No, they could not.

Add that 2011 staffing decision to BB's failures.

I really liked Sergio the 1st summer camp he was here. Later, not so much.
James Inhedigbo seems like a great guy; just not a good player.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

That is NOT the question. No one wants to go back to what we had last year. We now have Chung and Gregory as starters, not Ihedigbo and Brown.

The capitalized word lets me know you mean business...

I was referencing a specific sarcastic comment, which I conveniently quoted. Calm down.

Since thou shalt not reference anything but the strict course of the thread, I'm happy with the amount of PT he's getting right now. He's out there enough to get the experience and make a difference. He has been beaten a handful of times, but it hasn't burnt us. I'm comfortable with him being the starter on paper if Gregory is out. I'm not comfortable putting Ebner out there yet. Oops, sorry, that was off-topic.

 

[Urgent]

Some insight from the Globe's Gred Bedard, who watches this closely at the game and reviews the All-22 tape for his Globe breakdown:

There was some good in there with cornerback Devin McCourty’s two interceptions, safety Tavon Wilson’s gift-wrapped pick from Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and all-around solid play from No. 2 cornerback Kyle Arrington.

...

On the 14-yard third-and-10 conversion to Brad Smith right before halftime, the Patriots were in a three-deep coverage with Wilson in middle of the field specificially to take that play away. Wilson failed to drive properly on the ball.

Not sure what defense the Patriots had on when the Bills converted a third and 15 on a 16-yard screen pass to Fred Jackson early in the third quarter. No one had Jackson, and Wilson appeared out of position in the zone.

...

The Bills’ final touchdown, a 35-yarder to Smith on third and 8, was part good play by the Bills, part bad play by the Patriots. New England was running a newer coverage, an inverted Cover 3, if you will. The Patriots show Cover 2 (two deep safeties) at the start, but at the snap, the two safeties come up to play the intermediate routes, and Wilson retreats to patrol the middle of the field. The two edge cornerbacks play over the top to divide the field into thirds with Wilson. The Bills hit the seam perfectly, but Wilson likely is supposed to recognize the vertical threat sooner.

The Patriots got away with that stuff — and more — against the Bills thanks to an offensive explosion and Buffalo’s lack of precision and ball security, but it has to be cleaned up.

None of the safeties has played well. But in-depth analysis didn't show Wilson outperforming the others. Wilson may progress in ways that Chung, McCourty, Butler, Dowling, Wheatley, Brown, and Ihedigbo have not. But I don't think he is ready yet.

 

[patsfan-1982]

i said yes but it doesn't matter in a BB Defense because he plays alot of DB's so he will see lots of playing time anyways

 

[Rossmci90]

He's not quite ready to be a full time started.

I'd like to see the safety position operate with a rough 3 man rotation and evolve from there based off performance.

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't really see the question as "should Wilson be starting?" as much as I see the question as "Has Gregory lost his starting job?". They're basically the same question, but I think the perspective is the key.

I note elsewhere that I haven't focused as much on Wilson when he's been in but, from what I have seen, Wilson's probably becoming more competitive more because of Gregory's struggles than because he's making major jumps in his play.

This isn't Ihedigbho/Brown, but it doesn't seem like it's a solid starter being overtaken by a hard-charging rookie, either.