Patriots Player Departure Antwaun Molden signs with Giants

[Mystery Pats Fan]

If you or anyone else takes the time to make a list of all the plays that (fill in the blank) did not perform to whatever standard you hold, it stands to reason that is all you will see. However it makes that list useless since there is no equal comparison with his peers.

No different than someone looking to make a positive result, right?

...........

 

[JackBauer]

And, I will repeat it again, Arrington was the worst corner on the Patriots roster last season.

With all due respect: you can repeat this until the cows come home, and it won't make a whit of difference to the fact that you are patently and utterly wrong.

In cases such as this, you'd be better off keeping your opinion to yourself.

 

[Ron Sellers]

If you or anyone else takes the time to make a list of all the plays that (fill in the blank) did not perform to whatever standard you hold, it stands to reason that is all you will see. However it makes that list useless since there is no equal comparison with his peers.

No different than someone looking to make a positive result, right?

Yes, that would be absolutely correct. That is precisely why I suggested that if you planned on reviewing those games again that you attempt to do so with an open mind, rather than simply looking for reasons to validate your already formed opinion.




As games were unfolding live last season I often had the same initial reaction as you. I would re-watch those games the following week; last night I re-watched several once again, fast forwarding in order to only review the defensive snaps.

My conclusion is that the biggest deficiency in the Pats defense overall and the pass defense in particular was the play of the safeties. Far too often the corners were left alone to twist in the wind without enough support from James Ihedigbo, Sergio Brown or Josh Barrett. Their subpar performances too often left the cornerbacks in unwinnable situations.

To me the second thing that stood out was not enough pressure on the opposing quarterback. On an alarming percentage of pass plays the Pats got little or no pressure on the opposing QB; far too often he seemed to have all the time needed to make a throw, and with open passing lanes as well.

The third thing that I noticed was Devin McCourty. He seemed to have trouble knocking a receiver off his route in press coverage, and also seemed to have trouble knowing when to turn around to pick up the pass after chasing down that receiver that went by him.

While the group as a whole was certainly nothing to write home about, after re-watching several games (I'm planning on watching the rest this weekend) Arrington was not only not the worst CB on the team, he looked to me to be the best. I suppose I could make the case that Ras-I Dowling was the best CB on the team, but does it really make sense to rank a player that played less than one game as 'the best'? To me the answer is no, though others may disagree. Based on what I have reviewed so far I would rank the 2011 Pats corners as being Arrington, McCourty, Moore, Bodden, Molden, Phillip Adams, and withhold a ranking for Dowling.

Perhaps you are right and I am wrong, but from what I watched Arrington outperformed at least five (if not six) other Patriots at cornerback in 2011. At the bare minimum he was not the worst corner on the roster last year.

 

[Ring 6]

To Ron Sellers and Andy Johnson: I have read both of your posts and appreciate your comments. I will attempt to be less vocal however, it is not my way, but will do what I can to tone it down a bit.

However, I do take exception to Andy's comment that I know nothing about football.

I did not exactly say you know nothing about football, I said if you watched the Patriots last year and conclude that Antowan Moulden was better than Kyle Arrington, you have no ability to assess what you were looking at.

Quite the contrary. Most of my opinions are based on what I see with my own eyes. And, when I tell you that I watch the games very, very intently, rarely do my eyes leave the screen for anything while the game is in progress
My wife has told me that it appears as if I tune everything else out and stare at the screen, all the time, with paper and pen in hand to write down what I see..

Most of the fans on this board watch the games intently.
Some of us go back and review each play in detail afterward as well.
How much you look at does not have a lot to do with whether you assess it correctly.

Also, to answer Andy's question as to what September has to do with it, by September we will know if Arrington is one of the 53, or not.

That has absolutely nothing to do with whether Arrington was worse than Moulden. How he does in camp does not rewrite history.
The facts that we have are that BB put Arrington on the field more than any other corner, and Moulden sat while a WR played nickel many times, not to mention while other players came in off the street and played ahead of him. Not good players either.

And, I will repeat it again, Arrington was the worst corner on the Patriots roster last season.

And again you will be wrong. Saying it over and over only means you are repeating yourself, not that it came true.

Unfortunately, people just look at the stats, seven ints, and really have no clue as to how those happened or what happened at many other times when he was lost in space.

What 'people' are doing that? Where have I even mentioned Ints a single time, nor any other stat. My assessment is based upon his play at corner. You seem to want to take the Ints, call them lucky, and use that as your logic for your assessment. If he dropped all 7, my assessment would be the same for his other 900 plays. Somehow you seem to consider those 7 Ints as the reason you say he sucks. I don't get that.

But, no more of that. September will be here soon enough and we will all know.

We already know. The assessment of how they played in 2011 is all there, they plays have all been played.

So, I take your comments, both of you, in the way they were intended and will pay heed to toning it down, a bit....

Fair enough