Welcome Alfonzo Dennard

[DarrylS]

i don't understand how Tavon Wilson is a debacle without him having played a single snap as a patriot.

The rush to judgement is a debacle, not like BB threw some names into a hat and picked out Tavon.. lets see how the Pats are going to use him...

Like this Dennard pick, low risk, high reward... channeling his energy into something positive, is probably gonna be beneficial.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Maybe Fonzie plus a rugby ball can make up for the volleyball in the second:

but why draft a volleyball in the second to begin with?

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

The Patriots really really need this type of CB. Not only is a slot CB a huge need but they need some attitude and chippiness from their defensive backfield.

So Fonzie please do not screw up; you could be part of a dominating new defense for the Patriots.

 

[Water Boy]

In my opinion, I think this Dennard pick salvaged this draft from a DB perspective. Nothing personal against Wilson, but I don't see him has 2nd round talent.

 

[resdubwhite]

Would attacking a fan make you a bigger fan?

A liverpoool fan taking the high moral ground.

Isn't it still a bit soon for that since "Suarezgate".

 

[Triumph]

Patriots wouldn't have taken a flyer on him without inquiring into his legal situation.

Money and connections can ease the pain for almost anything in the legal system.

Kraft will have him out doing charity work before this thing gets to trial.

 

[Triumph]

At least he isn't backing down from a 6'4 230 WR.

No, thats the point.

He has an attitude like Rodney Harrison. Im not comparing Dennard to him, but he it seems that Dennard doesnt take any crap from anyone. I can envison Dennard starting a skirmish in training camp like Harrison did when he arrived.

Im glad, the NE DBs have been like puxxies lately.

 

[Triumph]

Woot, I come home to Dennard being drafted. I've complained how drafting a 2nd round CB to be #4/5 would be a waste, but now we get a 1st-2nd round talent in the 7th be our #4/#5. We are very deep at CB and Dennard will be the nickelback if Arrington leaves next year, I love it.

Even if we have 2 CBs injured at any point during the season, instead of having bums like Wilhite, Molden, Adams out there, we will still have 3 good CBs.

Hopefully.

Thats what Ive been saying. The NE secondary is the most injured area on the team and you better have a stable of GOOD capable DBs.

 

[Triumph]

Hasn't worked for Ocho....

Hill went to Georgia Tech so he cant be an Imbecile like Cinko.

 

[Triumph]

Look again - - he IS there at the 4th team.

Jeremy Ebert is 2nd team WR

The Pats drafted heavy Big 10: Northwestern, OSU, Nebraska and U of Illinois.

 

[patriotscpfc]

Would attacking a fan make you a bigger fan?

Or how about murdering a fan?

 

[mrscruff]

I am not enamored with the selection of the Dennard pick. He is worth a punt in the 7th round but I don't believe he should have been considered a 1st or 2nd round pick personally. I just question his ability to turn.

However there is some cause for optimism.

In the Bowl game he got in Alshon Jeffrey's face and mad it difficult for him. I do like his feistiness and willingness to challenge the WR.

I was concerned at his performance in the Senior Bowl practices. But he could not really show his strengths because he was asked to align in off coverage by the Vikings coaches in cover 2, so it failed to showcase his talents. He is a press corner and very physical at the line which is his main selling point. He can't really turn and run. The caveat here is that he left the Senior bowl with a hip injury which could explain why he struggled in that regard.

I think the Patriots need a guy with a little nasty in the backfield and he fits the bill. Lets hope (as with all the draftees) they contribute positively to the Patriots in the near future.

 

[Joey007]

Never thought I'd see the day when one the big topics after the draft is "Will our 7th round pick go to jail?"

 

[patsinthesnow]

After readnng up on his game around here, I'm even more glad we got him and not another AFC team, he seems like a CB who could've gave Welker fits. (Great at press coverage, bumps smaller WRs off their routes, best suited for slot)

I can't wait for him to rough up that D-Bag Holmes, and he'll also be great to put on Davone Bess.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't know if this was posted, but NFL.com gives Dennard a first round grade:

Alfonzo Dennard Draft Profile

 

[onegameatatime]

Never thought I'd see the day when one the big topics after the draft is "Will our 7th round pick go to jail?"

It sure beats, "Will our 1st round pick go to jail?"

In recent years, Pats have taken several guys with issues of one kind or another where they were projected on talent alone to go higher, like Mallett and Cannon.

 

[patchick]

It sure beats, "Will our 1st round pick go to jail?"

Bingo.

The Pats' first five picks were all ultra-high character guys considered strong leaders. In that environment, rolling the dice on one talented hothead who has just received a 7th-round humbling is a very modest risk with a very really potential of high reward.

Compare to the Rams, who just stocked their defensive backfield with two high-round picks with major character concerns. Janoris Jenkins is going to be an instant millionaire in St. Louis, and as the #39 overall pick knows his job is safe. Dennard is going to be pulling in rookie minimum and knows he's one false step from the waiver wire.

 

[unoriginal]

Well, at least people are consistent. Tavon Wilson was a bad pick because the media predicted he'd go in the sixth, and Alfonzo Dennard is a great pick because he was mocked to go in the first.

And there are comparisons to Darrelle Revis as a press corner.

It was not too long ago that Ernest Shazor, a physical first-team Big 10 and All-American safety who was projected as a first round grade by the majority of scouting publications, went completely undrafted. Downfall? Combine 40 time was too slow. Could keep up with college receivers enough so that his toughness and instincts could come into play. Did not project to the NFL at all.

The difference between a college press corner and an NFL press corner is immense. NFL receivers are more mature and better at getting off the line, and faster getting by you when they do. Darrelle Revis was the first corner off the board in 2007 because he was a 6' press corner with 4.37 speed at the combine. That is bona fide NFL recovery speed. He can lose the battle at the line and still stay with a wide receiver in man coverage.

Alfonzo Dennard ran a 4.55 official combine time, and the lowest I've seen is 4.51 with a stopwatch. He is also 5' 10", not 6'. He does not have recovery speed. He is going to have to be very good at jamming people, otherwise he's looking at a possible move to safety. Maybe he's a Chad Scott red-zone corner but, again, Chad Scott was tall at 6'1".

People have talked about Dennard's struggles at the Senior Bowl in Cover 2. Cover 2 can be played a few different ways, but the standard way is to have the corner sit at five yards and jam the outside shoulder of the wide receiver in space at that location, to (1) knock him off his timing route if its a quick one, like a slant or hitch or such and (2) keep him from getting a free outside release on the Cover 2 safety. Dennard apparently struggled jamming in space against elitle college players.

I think his struggles jamming in space at the Senior Bowl, plus his slow 40 times, are more important in explaining his fall than his noted pugilistic instincts. They paint the picture of a great college player whose game is very dangerous at the NFL level. He's probably not going to get any faster, so the Pats had better hope he can learn to be physical in space, otherwise he doesn't really have a place on the football field.

 

[knight7]

Revis measured in at 5'11" 204 at the combine, compared to Dennard at 5'10" 204. As far as 40 times go, Revis ran 4.38 handheld at his pro day, where times are typically at least .1 sec faster than at the combine. Dennard had been suffering from a thigh injury dating back to the Senior Bowl, where it was bad enough that he couldn't play in the game. Whether or not it's an indicator of his character, his twitter account is worth taking a look at.

http://twitter.com/#!/FonzieDennard15

 

[scout]

As a huge nebraska and patriots fan, I absolutely love and cannot believe that we got Dennard...in the 7th round!!! I have seen Dennard play every game over the past three years, and he is an absolute stud. Pretty much every husker fan I've talked to agrees that Fonzie was a better player than Prince. A good story came out about him after the Okie State game last year. Prince was getting abused by Blackmon in the first half, and at halftime Fonzie told the staff to put him on Blackmon and that he would shut him down. In the second half he did just that. Every game he would make multiple plays where all you could do was just shake your head in amazement. In press man he is unbelievable, think Darrelle Revis. As for his character, in all of his time at UNL there was never anything but good things said about the guy. I think this year that Prince leaving and all the preseason hype got to his head a little bit. He is very intense in both practices and games, and perhaps that carried over off the field with the incident involving the police. I highly doubt he will be anything but a great player in New England, and in the future he will be regarded as one of the biggest draft steals ever. I know I'm rambling and drinking a bit too much kool aid, but I just cannot believe he fell to the 7th round.

Sticky worthy.