PP2
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.I've mentioned before that I believe Arrington is on the outside looking in, as far as the roster. I would not be surprised to see Dennard cover the slot if the matchup dictates it, with Browner on the outside or vice versa matchup-wise.
I would then add a 4a. If Ryan stays at corner, who will move to safety after Game 4 or 5?
It would appear that McCourty and Harmon are in the lead for the starting safety positions, wouldn't it? They are the ones seeing starting reps with the ones, and Harmon obviously played there last year as a higher round pick. Some even believe that Patrick Chung will be the 3rd safety as well, with a STOP behind him like Ebner, etc.
Former DEN safety Mike Adams claimed today that he has been contacted by both the Pats and the Jets as well, not to mention the fact that Logan Ryan hasn't even been approached to change positions (according to his own words several days ago).
It would definitely appear to me that Bill Belichick hasn't made up anything of a decision to use L.Ryan at safety any more than the sporadic times that he did last season, yet you continue to insinuate this strong belief in many of your posts on the subject.
If Belichick doesn't move any corners to safety, then so be it. IMHO, we would be back to safety being our weakest position. If this is indeed the case, I would look for us to add a safety.
Yes, Harmon is in the lead for a starting safety position. What is your point? I Harmon is practicing with the first team, does that really mean that Ryan is a corner, one who may end up competing for the dime back position?
If Belichick doesn't move any corners to safety, then so be it. IMHO, we would be back to safety being our weakest position. If this is indeed the case, I would look for us to add a safety.
Yes, Harmon is in the lead for a starting safety position. What is your point? I Harmon is practicing with the first team, does that really mean that Ryan is a corner, one who may end up competing for the dime back position?
Cutting Arrington in 2014 is a $1.25m additional cap hit and a $4.875 dead money hit.
This is why these kinds of debates are completely pointless in the late spring/early summer. There are things that can and probably will happen to make this whole debate futile, most notably injuries, competition, etc.
Strong CB play is a must, as some believe that it's the second most important positional grouping in the NFL aside from QB. We just had a season where L.Ryan showed glimpses of really being something, at least for a rookie. The only way to see if he's for real or not is to continue to allow him reps at that position, unless an emergency takes place, or he shows so much talent at safety that it warrants a permanent move for good.
We have questionable futures with just about all of our current CBs for one reason or another. We're crossing our fingers with Revis, even though we all know he'll be demanding top dollar and likely want something averaging in the mid teens per year, with crazy guarantees.We all hope it gets done, but it's nothing close to being anything close to a sure thing. There's a good chance that we won't know the answer to this question until Revis places other offers against what the Pats are offering in the early days of free agency.
Many are considering Arrington as having one foot out the door already, with the front office patiently waiting to correct their mistake when the season's over and a cap savings can be realized.
We're crossing our fingers that both of Browner and Dennard can not only stay out of trouble, but also remain injury free (not meaning to state that either is an injury problem, but it's a violent sport). And this all coming after a year when our 3rd round rookie pick in Ryan looked mediocre to good for a first year CB, our biggest competitor in Manning and DEN carved us up in the AFCCG, and the league has gone to a pass happy rules system? What is the obvious conclusion that one may draw from this?.....oh yeah, that he'll be our starting safety!!!!
The question that I am proposing to you is why do you continue to assume that Ryan will be a starting safety, per your comment of "needing a new safety in week 4 or 5?" You are insinuating that L.Ryan will not only be playing another position, but that he'll actually be starting? Why, due to the speculative media report? What matches up with Belichick:
1. Bringing in Patrick Chung
2. Reaching out to Mike Adams' agent
3. Not even bringing up a position change to Ryan himself
4. Using Harmon so far as the safety opposite of McCourty
It's one thing to give Ryan some different looks like we did last year at safety, but it's something altogether different to suggest that he's permanently moving there and that he won't be playing the position of CB. I'm just wondering why you continue to make this assumption, and what your thinking process is in doing so?
I'm not meaning to act like you're definitely wrong, because I have no idea. I'm just not understanding why you're so sure of things, that's all.
Yes I'm aware of that. And I could be wrong, of course.
I would think that BB wants his best players on the field as much as possible, and I just don't see either Browner or Dennard sitting too much unless we play a lot of nickel.
So, are we ready to depend on Chung for lots of reps? I expect that a new signee or draftee Thomas will take one of the roster spots.
BOTTOM LINE
For now, we can consider the move of a corner to safety as an illusion. If so, we should understand that consequence of that position is that Chung (or Wilson) is an INTEGRAL part of our defense, the #3 safety to be active in every game, and used in lots of situations.
You seem fine with this because we've started with worse safeties in the past. BE REAL! We are one injury away from being as bad as in the past. And we should be prepared for two injuries. Yes, the two injury contingency is probably to move a corner over, even if he didn't have many reps at safety before. I would note that our ONE injury contingency is to have Ebner play safety when we need a 3rd safety (we are probably not moving a corner to safety during a game). Are you ready for that?
IMHO, if all our corners remain as corners (which is fine), then our #1 free agent need at this point is to add a safety; some have suggested that we should re-sign Gregory.
With all due respect mg, I just showed you that our 3rd safety last season received about 1/3 of the total reps---and that was due to having him start in a couple of games. Remember that Gregory only started in 11 games, and McCourty was banged up for another game or two as well, which forced Harmon to raise his rep percentage all the way up to a whopping 36%....
After that, Wilson was the 4th safety who saw about 2% of the snaps.
I agree with the thought of adding another safety like Gregory (for the depth role), or even a guy like Mike Adams as well. I highly disagree with the thought of "them being an INTEGRAL part of our defense." This idea of them "being used in lots of situations" is something that I think you've somehow created, and this could go back to your opinion that a dime back = a 3rd safety, which is very rare and hardly the case lately for use of big nickel situations. Most of the time it's a straight up 4th CB, or even a CB like Ryan seeing some limited snaps at safety like last season.
We have McCourty and Harmon right now, with Chung, Wilson, Thomas, and a safety to be named battling it out as a depth role. Just like any other season, we'll have a couple of positions that aren't as strong as others. One would hope that Belichick would explore an additional safety, and a guy like Gregory should be explored. He'd be an excellent S3-4.
There's also the thought that our improved DL, better coverage LB, and an improved CB corps will go a long way towards masking any weaknesses in our 3rd or 4th safety who are unlikely to see that many reps in the first place. Either way, I agree with you that a guy like Gregory or Adams would be fine competition with the rest for the 3rd/4th safety.
They still don't have a 2nd safety. This team has 1 safety worth a damn as of the end of last season.
They still don't have a 2nd safety. This team has 1 safety worth a damn as of the end of last season.
Look, let's stop ***** footin' around. What we all want is a Kam Chancellor type at safety. A SS that BURIES Ray Rice at the 10 yard line, not bounce the eff off and let the little woman beater roll on into the end zone...and yes, I was there up close with Seacoast fan in 2012 and saw Rice run OVER Chung in the 2nd quarter...
1st and 10 at NE 15(No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Rice left guard to NE 7 for 8 yards (D.McCourty; K.Arrington).
2nd and 2 at NE 7(No Huddle) R.Rice right guard to NE 2 for 5 yards (B.Spikes).
1st and 2 at NE 2J.Flacco pass incomplete short left to D.Pitta.
2nd and 2 at NE 2R.Rice left end for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. NE-P.Chung was injured during the play.
I do NOT want to see another Pats safety EVER bounce off a RB and get trampled on the way to a playoff TD. EVER AGAIN. Hit hit hit hit. Rice should have been nailed for a three yard loss for Chrissakes on the 1st and ten. When your RB blows away their SS your offense smells BLOOD. I want a SS that SMASHES a little bowling ball like Rice into the next time zone.