Secondary appreciation thread

[JayNM]

How awesome it is to have a great secondary?

I think we all agreed that our CBs were doing well, but yesterday was a statement game for sure: Thielen and Diggs combined for 77 yards, 10 catches and 1 TD.

JC Jackson is a diamond. He needs to keep watching his hands - he got away with at least 1 big PI last night - but he has instinct to know when the ball is coming, not to mention that sweet 6'1'' length.

J. McCourty is quickly becoming our best acquisition this offseason (not counting trades). He got burned by Thielen on the TD, but the guy needs to eat too (Actually both McC brothers were fooled)

And Gilmore... the guy is a top 5 CB in the league. Not only he has elite cover skills, he is great against the run and a great tackler. Having him for 4 more years at 14m is going to look like a complete steal in a couple of years.

The safeties are also doing their job really well. Harmon is really developing and is the reason why I think D. McCourty could be in trouble next off-season, although he is playing well too. Chung is also always doing his job, week in and out, slowing TEs all over the league

Do you guys remember the days when we would cover WRs with 10 yards cushions? Seems just like yesterday....

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

And we still have dawson waiting in the wings. Crossen has potential too

 

[patriot1136]

I especially like the development of Jackson. Dude looks like a stud in the making.
Crossen is a good STer, maybe more and I'm excited to see what we get from Dawson.

 

[patchick]

Good thread, this secondary is developing into one of the deepest and most flexible the team has fielded. With the current state of the game, a secondary roster that you can feel good about top to bottom is an extraordinary asset.

 

[patriot1136]

^. Agree, the flexibility is great too. I think it is good to be able to mix it up and confuse the other team. Plus, to have a good gameplan and make in-game adjustments.

 

[203Pat]

Thought they all looked great last night aside from the Thielen TD. I don’t know what the hell the McCourty’s we’re doing on that play. I would assume that Jason bit on the inside fake because he assumes Devin would have him over the top. Next thing you know Devin bites too and Thielen is catching a TD with the twins following behind.

 

[Ring 6]

Good thread, this secondary is developing into one of the deepest and most flexible the team has fielded. With the current state of the game, a secondary roster that you can feel good about top to bottom is an extraordinary asset.

Yesterday Kirk cousins who is one of If not the highest paid QBs in nfl dropped back to pass 46 times and gained more than 10 yards twice. One was a screen pass.
Cousins targets WRs 26 times and gained 127 yards.
He netted 184 yards on 46 drop backs.
Coming into the game cousins had thrown for an average of 214 per game to WRs (on 27 targets) and completed 11 passes per game of more than 10 yards, one out of every 3.6.

This could be one of the best games by a secondary this year.

 

[patsinthesnow]

As Jackson’s sample size grows, his stats start to get eye popping. He has the #1 passer rating against of any CB in the NFL by over 15 points (33.7). It would be huge for the future of the team to have a great CB2 on an UDFA contract across Gilmore.

J. McCourty was by most accounts a pretty good CB last season (eye test, stats, PFF) & yet the Pats got him basically for free via trade on a $3 million cap hit. Just a whiff by the rest of the league.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Jonathan Jones says hello. With another INT

 

[mgteich]

We need a high tender for J Jones and a re-sign of Jason McCourty. Then 2019 will be as good as 2018, or perhaps even better (as the youngsters improve).

 

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

JC Jackson opposite Gilmore is money.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The Patriots' ability to find late-round and UDFA gems at CB on a seemingly annual basis almost makes you wonder why the Pats even bother to draft them high.

 

[mgteich]

Yes, I like Jackson a lot.

However, our excellent starter opposite Gilmore is Jason McCourty.

JC Jackson opposite Gilmore is money.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Gilmore is a quiet beast.....unless someone asks him a question.

 

[farn]

In 2018, a “good secondary” is hard to notice because it usually doesn’t include “shutting down teams completely” anymore.......

Gilmore is such a pick up.

 

[ivanvamp]

There's no doubt that the secondary is really improving. They are good and deep, with a good mix of veterans and youngsters. As of this moment, the Patriots have the #6 rated defense in the NFL in terms of passer rating against. Teams have just an 85.7 passer rating against them this year.

Also, they rank 3rd in the NFL in pass completion allowed, at 61.7%. Tied for 3rd with 14 interceptions. 5th in yards per attempt at 6.8.

In other words, this pass defense has become....kind of elite. It's hard to believe but it's true.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Also, they rank 3rd in the NFL in pass completion allowed, at 61.7%. Tied for 3rd with 14 interceptions. 5th in yards per attempt at 6.8.

FWIW, to explain how the game has changed, in 2007, 61.7% would have ranked 21st!

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Thought they all looked great last night aside from the Thielen TD. I don’t know what the hell the McCourty’s we’re doing on that play. I would assume that Jason bit on the inside fake because he assumes Devin would have him over the top. Next thing you know Devin bites too and Thielen is catching a TD with the twins following behind.

Well, Thielen is one of the top 5 WRs in the league this year and is going to produce once in awhile.

They held him to 28 yards, so to be upset about them scoring a single TD in the redzone would be fishing to an extreme looking for a reason to be mad

I forgot who, but someone was calling for DMac to be cut because they scored 1 touchdown against us lol.. like really? Holding GOOD teams to 10 points isn’t even enough for the haters anymore. Anything less than a shut out and they would complain, but even then they would point to some 15 yard completion as evidence to cut some of our best players. The other team gets paid to play as well, and they had some great weapons on offense


Secondary was great last night, the Vikings have a legitimate offense and were held to 10. That should be very satisfying coming out of a bye and handling a playoff caliber team like that

Great win last night, Go Pats!

 

[203Pat]

Well, Thielen is one of the top 5 WRs in the league this year and is going to produce once in awhile.

They held him to 28 yards, so to be upset about them scoring a single TD in the redzone would be fishing to an extreme looking for a reason to be mad

I forgot who, but someone was calling for DMac to be cut because they scored 1 touchdown against us lol.. like really? Holding GOOD teams to 10 points isn’t even enough for the haters anymore. Anything less than a shut out and they would complain, but even then they would point to some 15 yard completion as evidence to cut some of our best players. The other team gets paid to play as well, and they had some great weapons on offense


Secondary was great last night, the Vikings have a legitimate offense and were held to 10. That should be very satisfying coming out of a bye and handling a playoff caliber team like that

Great win last night, Go Pats!

Obviously overall they played well it was just more odd than anything to see two twins chasing a guy scoring a TD.

 

[maineman209]

J. McCourty is quickly becoming our best acquisition this offseason (not counting trades). He got burned by Thielen on the TD, but the guy needs to eat too (Actually both McC brothers were fooled)

JMac was acquired in trade from the Browns.

I haven't checked in with the re-watch thread yet, but it looked to me like DMac had great position in front of Thielen in the EZ ... until Gilmore collided with him crossing in the opposite direction (pick play/rub-route). JMac was behind Thielen and trailing a step, guarding against Theilen reversing field toward the post.

It was actually perfect coverage until the pick worked.

@203Pat