Steve Gregory: Chung Part Dos.

[condon84]

Personally, I'm going to be outraged until our team is 30 million under the cap and has top 5 players at every position.

Your setting the bar too low

 

[Betterthanmost]

Don't like what I am seeing from him.

 

[UK_Pat37]

I have an untrained mind in watching defensive players, however, when I watch Steve Gregory, I can swear I am watching Patrick Chung.
I have been seeing Gregory take the most horrible of angles at tackling, fly with reckless abandonment into patriots players in the name of trying to make plays.
Those much more acute in discerning defense, please explain to me what Gregory is doing out there and how is he any different from Chung or for that matter me! I can also close my eyes and pretend as if I am trying to tackle and just fly when anybody with the ball comes close.

Are you effing kihding?

One of, if not the, most consistent players and importantly stepped up as the signal caller when both Mayo and Wilfork went down.

He didn't even have an atrocious game. That whiffed tackle annoyed the hell out of me.

Go train that eye up!

 

[SeymourTrophies]

I have trouble finding too much criticism for anyone in the secondary yesterday. Flacco had all day to throw for most of the game, and the secondary (and Hightower ) was getting their mitts on the ball and forcing the odd coverage sack.

 

[reflexblue]

Don't like what I am seeing from him.

The guy went limping off with what looked like a serious leg injury. I guess you didn't see that part.

 

[reflexblue]

Are you effing kihding?

One of, if not the, most consistent players and importantly stepped up as the signal caller when both Mayo and Wilfork went down.

He didn't even have an atrocious game. That whiffed tackle annoyed the hell out of me.

Go train that eye up!

My impression was that he went to push him out of bounds and couldn't because of his not being able to plant his foot because of the knee. I never thought he'd be back out there after he went off the field the way he did.

 

[BKBroiler]

My impression was that he went to push him out of bounds and couldn't because of his not being able to plant his foot because of the knee. I never thought he'd be back out there after he went off the field the way he did.

That missed tackle wasn't due to his injury. Gregory is just a below average tackler and has proven that many times over the past two years. His problem is that he usually leads with his shoulder rather than wrapping up and finishing the tackle. Since Smith was on the sideline, Gregory most likely didn't want to risk a penalty and thought Smith would just run out of bounds. Obviously he didn't. If Gregory would have just wrapped him up, then he could have run him out of bounds fairly easily.

That said, Gregory is important to calling signals on defense. As long as his value doing that outweighs his poor tackling, then I don't mind him being out there (although I prefer seeing McCourty and Harmon on the field for passing downs).

 

[Brady6]

I have an untrained mind in watching defensive players, however, when I watch Steve Gregory, I can swear I am watching Patrick Chung.
I have been seeing Gregory take the most horrible of angles at tackling, fly with reckless abandonment into patriots players in the name of trying to make plays.
Those much more acute in discerning defense, please explain to me what Gregory is doing out there and how is he any different from Chung or for that matter me! I can also close my eyes and pretend as if I am trying to tackle and just fly when anybody with the ball comes close.

I honestly would not be surprised to find out that Gregory tore an ACL or MCL and played through it in the second half so I can’t beat him down too much for his play in the second half yesterday. I think he plays solid at the safety position and that’s what I expected when he was signed, anyone who was expecting a former UDFA who was primarily a backup and STs player in SD to come here and be an all pro safety is going to be disappointed but if you expect him to play solid, make the plays an average safety makes and be a good veteran presence in terms of working hard, etc. I think you would be pleased with what Gregory has given us this season.

I would prefer to see him as our 3rd safety but right now he is the most sound and when paired with McCourty we very rarely have issues, his struggles yesterday came when McCourty left with a head injury and he was finding himself playing centerfield a lot more.

 

[BKBroiler]

I honestly would not be surprised to find out that Gregory tore an ACL or MCL and played through it in the second half so I can’t beat him down too much for his play in the second half yesterday. I think he plays solid at the safety position and that’s what I expected when he was signed, anyone who was expecting a former UDFA who was primarily a backup and STs player in SD to come here and be an all pro safety is going to be disappointed but if you expect him to play solid, make the plays an average safety makes and be a good veteran presence in terms of working hard, etc. I think you would be pleased with what Gregory has given us this season.

I would prefer to see him as our 3rd safety but right now he is the most sound and when paired with McCourty we very rarely have issues, his struggles yesterday came when McCourty left with a head injury and he was finding himself playing centerfield a lot more.

I doubt he tore his ACL. CBS showed the training staff doing the ACL tests on the field and neither the trainers nor Gregory looked concerned after doing them or while walking off the field. He also went directly to the bench afterward without the training staff swarming him. Not to mention he was moving around considerably better than Flacco, who only has an MCL sprain.

 

[Brady6]

I doubt he tore his ACL. CBS showed the training staff doing the ACL tests on the field and neither the trainers nor Gregory looked concerned after doing them or while walking off the field. He also went directly to the bench afterward without the training staff swarming him. Not to mention he was moving around considerably better than Flacco, who only has an MCL sprain.

I hope it isn't the case and you're correct I just see the possibility.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Gregory has been pretty good this year, and after one bad game the pitchforks come out.

Figures.

I wouldn't say he's been good, really, but I wouldn't say he's been bad either. He's basically been acceptable, which is good enough as long as he's one of the worst starters on your D (and he would be, if not for the rash of injuries). I do think that he's someone that the Pats should actively look to improve on, and hopefully that improvement comes from Harmon making progress this offseason and passing him on the depth chart, but that said he's still a huge improvement over the sorts of guys we had starting at safety just a couple of years ago.

 

[PatsFan2]

I would rather have Steve Gregory than Tavon Wilson any day of the week in our Starting Defense!

 

[Sciz]

Hard to tackle a guy you can't see.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

Gregory has regressed over the course of the season.

When he first started playing for New England, he had horrid form on tackles and took terrible angles. Those things got a lot better as the first season progressed. The first month of this season, he was making good tackles and even did a great job of reading the run stuffing a few.

Gregory is playing a lot like the guy the Chargers let go of now. He tries to tackle like he's playing two hand touch. He will grab, but not use his body to tackle. This is where you'll see him sling around a player, standing up behind them while the opponent picks up more yardage.

 

[JackBauer]

I wouldn't say he's been good, really, but I wouldn't say he's been bad either. He's basically been acceptable, which is good enough as long as he's one of the worst starters on your D (and he would be, if not for the rash of injuries). I do think that he's someone that the Pats should actively look to improve on, and hopefully that improvement comes from Harmon making progress this offseason and passing him on the depth chart, but that said he's still a huge improvement over the sorts of guys we had starting at safety just a couple of years ago.

I agree with your take, though I think he has been pretty good, especially when compared with how bad he was last season. You're correct in that he's not an ideal starter, and I fully expect to see a McCourty-Harmon tandem starting on opening day 2014 (which kind of excites me - that's a lot of range between your putative starting safeties).

 

[Deus Irae]

Gregory has regressed over the course of the season.

When he first started playing for New England, he had horrid form on tackles and took terrible angles. Those things got a lot better as the first season progressed. The first month of this season, he was making good tackles and even did a great job of reading the run stuffing a few.

Gregory is playing a lot like the guy the Chargers let go of now. He tries to tackle like he's playing two hand touch. He will grab, but not use his body to tackle. This is where you'll see him sling around a player, standing up behind them while the opponent picks up more yardage.

At the beginning of the year, the Patriots starting defense was this (3rd CB added in deference to the nickel sub-package that often started or played huge numbers of snaps):

Ninko/Kelly/Wilfork/Jones
Mayo/Spikes/Hightower
Dennard/Talib/Arrington/McCourty/Gregory

Gregory was the worst starter on that list (along with Hightower), but he was protected by a solid front 7 and a very good group of co-workers in the secondary.

Much of that has changed. Talib's not 100%, and neither is Dennard. Mayo, Kelly and Wilfork are gone. Gregory is no longer in a position where he can be protected, and he's getting exposed as the backup he is. I don't think he's regressing as much as I think he's now being forced to attempt plays he didn't have to make in the early going.

 

[zoostation]

Gregory has been pretty good this year, and after one bad game the pitchforks come out.

Figures.

More than 1.....but who's counting

Watch the 90 seconds of football before the half in the Lol-phin game and you
Will see him at his ummm best