Sign the Beast(s) XXXI -- CB Contingency plans

[strngplyr]

Yeah, it's tough to know either way as to how much injuries may have contributed to their lack of playing time etc, especially Dennard who seemed to play well enough the first 2 years, but has been oft-injured only playing in a total of 29/48 games.

Dennard is so disappointing to see inactive for reasons you said, in 2013 I agreed with the vast majority that he appeared to be a top 10, maybe even top 5 #2 corner in the NFL, and was an absolute steal being drafted in the 7th round (after he had a 2nd-3rd round grade before his draft day incident).

2014 was a disaster for him and hopefully just a misstep. I also hope 2014 was a "sophomore slump" for Ryan, who was very easily the rookie corner of the year in 2013.

Even without adding to the corner group, if Dennard and Ryan return to 2013 form and Arrington does his thing in the slot with McCourty playing deep and Chung/Harmon filling their roles, this secondary wouldn't be an absolute disaster as long as we continue upgrading the front 7. Also add Butler, who hopefully doesn't have the dreaded sophomore slump.

We've started by adding Sheard and are in contact with Knighton, Fairley, and Wilfork.

 

[strngplyr]

Him going to jail probably didn't help his status on Belichick's list.

It also didn't hurt his status as he had plenty of early play time before he suffered his injury which seemed to be a recurring theme.

 

[supafly]

Him going to jail probably didn't help his status on Belichick's list.

I think that whole situation was understood from day one, though. It's the main factor why Dennard's stock slipped from the 2nd/3rd round all the way to the 7th, so Belichick was aware that there could be punishment the entire time.

As a matter of fact, Belichick and the team worked with Dennard and his attorney to petition the judge to allow him to serve the month in jail during the slow period of the offseason.

It could be an obstacle if/when it's time to negotiate a new contract however, if he's still on probation in a year from now.

 

[strngplyr]

I think that whole situation was understood from day one, though. It's the main factor why Dennard's stock slipped from the 2nd/3rd round all the way to the 7th, so Belichick was aware that there could be punishment the entire time.

As a matter of fact, Belichick and the team worked with Dennard and his attorney to petition the judge to allow him to serve the month in jail during the slow period of the offseason.

It could be an obstacle if/when it's time to negotiate a new contract however, if he's still on probation in a year from now.

^

Dennard's jail time was basically a given entering the draft and it was a celebrity gift to be delayed until the offseason.

 

[supafly]

^

Dennard's jail time was basically a given entering the draft and it was a celebrity gift to be delayed until the offseason.

Yeah, I don't imagine anyone would care when I wanted to serve my month-long sentence, if that ever occurred.

Dennard needs to stay away from Lincoln and finish out his probation, b/c the judge said she'd take away the lesser sentence and re-sentence him on the original charge, should he violate his probation again.

I think it would definitely be a major issue as far as re-upping him goes, but that's a whole year away if/when we ever get that far down the road.

 

[Jlaff]

10 total starts, doesn't change direction well, shys away from contact....doesn't exactly sound like the kind of guy that Bill Belichick will be looking at, let alone moving up (a lot) into the mid-20s to get.

That's the kind of pre-draft assessment that gets you drafted in the top 20?

 

[supafly]

That's the kind of pre-draft assessment that gets you drafted in the top 20?

To be fair, I only pointed out some of the question marks and negatives, but yeah---it doesn't sound much like that's the kind of pick that's going to go in the 20s in my opinion.

From most accounts, the "experts" have all said that this could be a year where the first CB off the board isn't even taken until the early 20s, so I think that particular poster may be overestimating the worth of that specific player.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Pimp your thugs elsewhere, like St Louis and head coach Jeff Fisher.

So to be clear you didn't read your own link?

 

[OhExaulted1]

Because we actually draft consistently well and Seattle doesnt? They hit on Sherman, Chancellor and Wilson and since then had 2 aweful drafts with not a single starting caliber player in a row.

I am very tired of this myth.

Please do not forward this response to Felger, Borges or Shaughnessy. It would ruin their day.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

What I think McShay is saying there is basically that there is a lack of CBs who are obvious top-15 picks. That's true for a couple of reasons, the main one being Marcus Peters' draft stock falling after he was kicked off his college team.

What I don't think McShay is really referring to--or where I disagree with him, if I'm reading the statement wrong--is that I think there are a lot of good corners in this draft who have potential to be really good. With the possible exception of Trae Waynes after the combine he had, there's no 'can't miss' prospect... but then again, there very rarely is. Even the guys who eventually live up to the hype, like Haden and Peterson, rarely get anywhere close to it as a rookie. Then you have the other 'can't miss' top of the class prospects like Morris Claiborne and Dee Milliner. And I think Justin Gilbert's going to join that group too, because being the #8 pick aside, I'm not very high on him.

I don't believe the hype on corners when it speaks well of them, and I don't believe it in years like this one either. For a number of reasons, the main one being that no college corner is anywhere close to being a finished product, even relative to other positions. And since the 'can't miss' guy seems to be whatever corner played for a major conference team, came in 6'0" in the combine, and ran a sub-4.40 40, I'm inherently skeptical of any corner who gets that kind of billing. Half the time, they're being awarded that based on a deeply flawed criteria that doesn't speak to what they'll be doing in the pros. If I see a long corner who can consistently press at the LOS, can flip his hips smoothly and can get in and out of breaks quickly, I see a future outside starter. I don't care if he 'only' runs a 4.5 at the combine, as long as he isn't getting beaten on tape. That's why I like Peters so much, and why I was borderline happy that he ran the 40 that he did. If he runs a 40 time that's consistent with his game speed, he's probably a top-15 pick right now even with the character concerns. Since he didn't, there's a shot that he falls to us.

Basically, in general I think that worthy day-one starters at CB are extremely rare, so I don't see why the lack of one in this class would be a big deal. If everyone agrees that there isn't a day-one starter right now, then for once they're talking sensibly, because even the best CBs need time to develop. Best case scenario, you get guys who flash a lot of talent early but are inconsistent and have holes in their game. If you get Jason Verrett or Kyle Fuller, that's pretty much a win since it's unreasonable to expect more than that from a rookie corner.

So if we're looking at ceiling instead of plug and play potential, I'll go out on a limb and say that I think Marcus Peters is the best CB prospect of the past two years in terms of his on-the-field potential. He does have some obvious character concerns, considering that he got kicked off his college team, but FWIW Steve Sarkisian has been going to bat for him. And there's a cluster of guys following him who I don't think are as talented, but who could all become plus starters with proper coaching. But they absolutely do need coaching.

As far as what that means for the Pats - it means in 2015 our corners are probably going to be a weakness. Kinda sucks, but oh well, it is what it is. If they go and draft corners now, the impact should be felt this year--especially if they bite the bullet and take Peters, who can at least play right away IMO--but it should be more felt in 2016-2018.

Honestly, Injuries aside, Dee Milliner wasn't that bad of a player. He basically got thrown into Rex's defense as a rookie, and asked to replicate what revis was doing, which was next to impossible. He had a horrible first half of the season, but finished his rookie campaign pretty strong. He had a very off and on injury plagued season last year, before suffering a season ending injury. If The jest do happen to to sign Chromartie, Id be willing to give up a late round pick for him.