Why Pats drafted Dowling

[TheSolderKing]

CB's are hugely important to any defense



I like the pick

 

[Nikolai]

He's from my hometown, so I like the pick for that reason.

Honestly, we've got some nice talent at the top of the CB depth chart, but it gets pretty sketchy beyond McCourty and Bodden. Given the 30th ranked pass defense last year, I think this was a need. His injuries do concern me a little, but his ceiling is very high; higher than the aforementioned Wheatley's ever was.

 

[tombonneau]

I know u cant have to many CB, however this is also a sign how bad the Darius Butler pick is....

Another second round corner drafted to make up for a second round corner bust who was drafted to make up for a previous second round corner bust.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Unless I'm missing something, Dowling had no injury issues until this past season. When did it become a huge leap of faith to figure that a 21 year old could recover from an injury that players recover from all the time?

We saw this with Gronkowski last year, too: Belichick has identified a market inefficiency in the draft, which is that teams devalue players far too much when they suffer a recoverable injury during their senior season. To a lesser extent, we saw the same thing with Cannon, who is clearly a far higher-risk pick, but it's a risk you can afford to take with a 5th round pick. No complaints here; if that's what enables us to continue grabbing top-tier talents in the second round (and a guy with Dowling's size, speed, intelligence and character is absolutely a top-tier talent).

 

[JoeShmoe]

Unless I'm missing something, Dowling had no injury issues until this past season. When did it become a huge leap of faith to figure that a 21 year old could recover from an injury that players recover from all the time?

We saw this with Gronkowski last year, too: Belichick has identified a market inefficiency in the draft, which is that teams devalue players far too much when they suffer a recoverable injury during their senior season. No complaints here, though, if that's what enables us to continue grabbing top-tier talents in the second round (and a guy with Dowling's size, speed, intelligence and character is absolutely a top-tier talent).

Dowling said in his presser that as of now he's 100% and ready to go, he had a season of injury last year but so did Gronk in his last year and he wasnt bad was he

I think he'll be an excellent CB/FS hybrid and potentially a long term starter opposite Chung when (not if) Merriweather goes

 

[BradyFTW!]

Another second round corner drafted to make up for a second round corner bust who was drafted to make up for a previous second round corner bust.

a) it's way too early to call Butler a bust
b) Wheatley and Dowling shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence, because they're completely different types of players. They're about as different as two players who play the same position can be. If anything, Wheatley > Butler > Dowling represents a shift back towards big, physical CBs, which I 100% support.

 

[BTTA]

Everyone around the Virginia program was delighted that Dowling decided to come back for his senior season. He was expected to contend for ACC Defensive MVP, and an all-American slot. He is physically gifted but that is the least of his assets.

When he broke the ankle, the air left the Virginia season like a released balloon.

I'm worried about the injury bug with him but that's the only thing that could keep him from being a solid pro. He will set the bar for attention to learning for the rookie class.

 

[BronxPatsFan80]

I love this pick as well. You can never know if a draftee will prove 'injury prone' in the NFL and Dowling's senior-year injuries don't worry me . . .

I remember hearing about how 'injury prone' Curtis Martin was when the Pats drafted him in 1995 . . . and we know how that turned out . . .

"When Curtis Martin arrived at the University of Pittsburgh, he was immediately compared to the former University of Pittsburgh great, Tony Dorsett. Martin was expected to be the player who would turn the University of Pittsburgh football around, but things did not turn out as planned. During his freshman year, Martin suffered a foot injury that kept him off the field and his sophomore year was cut short by an Achilles’ heel injury. Finally, in his junior season, Martin displayed the talent that had drawn so much attention from University of Pittsburgh fans only two years earlier. That year Martin ran for 1,132 yards behind an offensive line that was not impressive. Martin began his senior season well, running for 251 yards against Texas in the season opener. The next week, against Ohio University, Martin’s injury troubles revisited him as he was taken out of the game with an ankle injury which would bother him the rest of the season. Plagued by injury after injury, Martin’s college career was merely mediocre. Martin had the opportunity during his senior season to apply for a medical redshirt year of eligibility and stay in school for another year, but instead opted to enter the 1995 NFL draft. The fans and media thought that Martin was making an unwise decision, saying that he would be a low-round draft pick if he even got drafted. Little did they know what kind of history Martin would make in the National Football League.

Drafted in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft by Bill Parcells and the New England Patriots, Martin got right to work in his first year as a pro. After rushing for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns, Martin earned the honor of being the AP Rookie of the Year and he never looked back."

 

[drew4008]

Butler was getting substantially better by the end of the year. He looked like he was gaining confidence too... I wouldn't count him out yet.

 

[Synovia]

Butler was getting substantially better by the end of the year. He looked like he was gaining confidence too... I wouldn't count him out yet.

I'm not sure I agree with that. The only reason he got on the field was because Wilhite got IR'd. And even then, I don't think he was that good.

2010 Patriots Defensive Snaps - Sons of Sam Horn - Page 7


Erik Moore was clearly the starter right after they picked him up. He played 50% of the snaps his first game, and then pretty much 90% after that.

 

[ATippett56]

The New England Patriots drafted Ras-I Dowling because it allows Kyle Arrington to focus on his pass rushing technique.

 

[MossWelkowski]

I dont know why people are worried....


Patriots nutrition specialists and trainers and >>>>>>>>> uva trainers

Simple as that

You never see people in the NFL miss time hamstring injuries that much... this isn't baseball... Its the ACLs and MCLs that hurt players in the NFL

I wouldn't worry... Mccourty and Dowling against holmes and cromartie... please

Where can I get my dowling jersey?

 

[tombonneau]

a) it's way too early to call Butler a bust
b) Wheatley and Dowling shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence, because they're completely different types of players. They're about as different as two players who play the same position can be. If anything, Wheatley > Butler > Dowling represents a shift back towards big, physical CBs, which I 100% support.

I like Butler and have hope for him, but he's closer to bust than not. Put another way, if Butler was living up to his second round draft pick potential, I'd bet good money Dowling would be wearing another uniform right now.

 

[sbpatfan]

Why? 'Cause not a whole bunch of corners play like this.

YouTube - Ras-I Dowling vs. North Carolina ('09)