It must be the bye weekend but I disagree with just about everything in this post as well. Samuel has said maybe 3 words since he got here, Hobbs was born yapping his mouth. Not sure what the connection between being verbose and on field production but clearly the silent one is a much better corner than Hobbs or Gay.
If BB loved ready steady Randall why doesn't he start him instead of Samuel? Samuel is in another league and he will 'Get Paid' because he is damn good. Is he better because of the excellent front seven he plays with? of course, but he is young, understands the system and improving. I wouldn't rule out the Patriots signing him long term but don't think it will happen. He is the type of player you build your cornerbacks around, Gay is a pretty good JAG but nothing to write home about (and just a tad bit prone to injury).
First off, you are comparing apples and oranges. Hobbs, not counting his speed and ST versatility, is playing at least as well as Samuel did in the first 2.5 years of his career. How really quickly some of you forget bad, bad, bad Asante circa 2005. Because he's only in his second full NFL season it's kinda hard not to say Gay wouldn't be as well except he's the nickle on this roster because Bill chose to retain Asante at the tag price and he showed up.
This team thrives on talented playmakers who are leaders. Samuel thus far has proven to be two of three. Hobbs, while not yet quite the playmaker at corner that Asante is with two more years under his belt, has been a playmaker particularly on ST and a team leader from the get go.
I still hope that given the $7.8M he now has banked Asante will be more reasonable this off season. But he's not getting even a phony 8 year $80M deal with another $22M guaranteed here. Asante is a zone corner and a ball hawk - and put in a position to win by BB's schemes and a great front 7 he has tremendous value. He's not an outstanding cover corner, nor would he be a shutdown corner with lesser coaching or on a lesser team.
It will really come down AGAIN to what Samuel believes he's worth vs. what Belioli believes he's worth to this team. And whether Asante is determined to be at the top of the scale or whether he cares more about being paid very well to win championships. The former player doesn't fit the system here, the latter does. I don't believe we currently have a player on the roster who is the highest paid at his position, and Asante won't be the first...in part because he's not THAT good. Top 5 WHEN playing on a great D with a superior front 7 and exceptional coaching, sure. But I've seen what he is when he's not, and so has Bill.
One of my favorite BB quotes, and probably one of your least favorites, is when Bill said "Ellis Hobbs is good for this team".
And as for future decisions, the game is won or lost in the trenches. If I had to choose between retaining Mankins or Samuel tomorrow, I'd take the pro bowl caliber guard over the corner, thanks. Especially since he's lined up next to Light...
