Could Devin McCourty lose his starting job?

[PatsGirl2011]

Honestly, the biggest upgrade on this team that needed to happen was in the secondary. Sad to hear that it may be more of the same this year.....Arrington is average. Moore is below average, and I guess you count McCourty as average too.

 

[Joey007]

Honestly, the biggest upgrade on this team that needed to happen was in the secondary. Sad to hear that it may be more of the same this year.....Arrington is average. Moore is below average, and I guess you count McCourty as average too.

We don't know about Moore yet, do remember last season was his rookie year.

As for McCourty, I guess it depends on whether we get 2010 or 2011 McCourty. Even if he performs in between those two seasons would be nice.

 

[Marqui]

Curran:

WHO's HOT:
Devin McCourty. He’s been very good in press coverage when asked to do that – a weak point in 2011.

Great news if true.

 

[supafly]

Honestly, the biggest upgrade on this team that needed to happen was in the secondary. Sad to hear that it may be more of the same this year.....Arrington is average. Moore is below average, and I guess you count McCourty as average too.

I'm not seeing your pessimistic viewpoint PatsGirl.

We have an 'average' Arrington on the outside (who also had 7 opportunistic INT's, but I do agree that he's average), but when he plays in the slot he is better equipped to utilize his strengths. Remember that he did a very, very good job on Victor Cruz in the SB, holding him to 24 yrds in total.

Dowling is our strongest physical man to man CB, McCourty should be just fine, and Moore is really still an unknown. What we do know about Moore is that he led all of the CB's in passes defended in the last 5 games when he had the opportunity to play. He also had 2 nice INT's and a TD during that span, not to mention that many reporters have seen him as being the CB who is around the ball the most during the TC practices. He should be just fine for a 3rd/4th CB.

The safeties were also upgraded tremendously in my opinion, and at the very least shouldn't be 1/2 of the liability that they were last year.

One of the greatest sources of my optimism for the secondary position is the ability for just about all of them to switch up their assignments and roles, based on strengths, needs and injuries.

We could still have any one of Wilson, Dennard, Allen, or Gregory play CB roles if worst comes to worst. I think we're much better off than last year.

 

[Marqui]

We have an 'average' Arrington on the outside (who also had 7 opportunistic INT's, but I do agree that he's average), but when he plays in the slot he is better equipped to utilize his strengths. Remember that he did a very, very good job on Victor Cruz in the SB, holding him to 24 yrds in total.

While I agree that Arrington's skill set is better suited to the slot, I think you may be giving Arrington a little to much credit for "shutting down Cruz in the SB". The Pats used a lot of bracketing and double coverage on Cruz in that game, which left Moore and Antwan Molden (ugh) on islands against Manningham/Nicks. Matchups that the Giants took advantage of multiple times for big gains in key situations.

 

[supafly]

While I agree that Arrington's skill set is better suited to the slot, I think you may be giving Arrington a little to much credit for "shutting down Cruz in the SB". The Pats used a lot of bracketing and double coverage on Cruz in that game, which left Moore and Antwan Molden (ugh) on islands against Manningham/Nicks. Matchups that the Giants took advantage of multiple times for big gains in key situations.

Sure, no doubt. That is an extremely fair observation, and honestly one that I almost included in several posts when mentioning that. I do not personally know enough about the specifics of the bracketing schemes used, and that is why I did not bring it up.

Regardless to that situation however, we're in agreement that Arrington is better suited for the slot and I really believe that was the team's intention when choosing Dowling last year--although injuries never allowed that plan to fully develop.

I don't believe that Arrington will be here next yr, as the CB free agent market dictates more money than he is likely worth, but he should be a sufficient enough player this year.

Our own poster Sciz brought it up best when he broke down Arrington's tendency to lose a step or two as the coverage moves further down the field, and that may be why we saw such mediocre coverage at times from Arrington last year. My hope is that he can be better suited to his strengths in the slot, where he won't have to cover quite as long. If it doesn't work out we still have other options there. The outside game is what I am personally more worried about to be honest.

 

[bbell31]

I think our pass d would b best with mccourty Chung Gregory as safeties tavon n lb role and Moore dowling ras I as CBS with jones (Pryor or fanene) bequette Francis . 3rd and 7 or more that is a vicious pass d

 

[Nunchucks]

You know, it is really difficult to make heads or tails from all these conflicting camp reports. I certainly believe that McCourty could lose his starting job. However, I shall wait until we actually see him play in preseason before condemning him to suckatude.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Maybe Bedard "knows" that last year QBs targeted McCourty and maybe Bedard "knows" that BB switched his position mid season so McCourty could be facing the ball.
Seems there is more "forgetting" by the "blame the writer" faction than "knowing."

Refer to post #63.

Curran has McCourty listed as "hot" because of press coverage.

Why is Bedard in on this secret and nobody can else knows this?

Bedard and Belichick are taking hot showers and sharing thoughts?

The reality is Bedard has reached recent mythical status on patsfans.com based on the fact that he has been recently telling MoLewisrocks what MoLewisrocks wants to hear.

Why has nobody else figured out what Bedard knows?

Bedard was on DB Evaluation Island all alone about Dowling? Why? Does that really seem accurate?

Where are these "get beats" exactly? Practice? Your team has the best QB in the league and Lloyd will be mega elite......where has it been figured these guys should be stymied?

Bedard isn't really to blame. It's his job to report what he sees and thinks. That has value.

The real problem are the presupposed dummies at patsfans.com who will latch onto what they think they know and extrapolate it once someone tells them what they want to hear because they are hearing what they want.

 

[Ring 6]

My problem is, all those guys have question marks. Dowling has injury concerns, Moore showed potential, but he's no sure thing, Allen's old, Arrington does a great job at forcing turnovers, but struggles with coverage. Dennard's a 7th round pick, regardless of his original draft position, Wilson's a rookie, and Gregory could be solid, but hasn't been very spetacular throughout his career either.

Which is why this is a silly discussion and the corner on the team will be at LCB despite knee jerk reactions over 1 day of practice.

 

[Ring 6]

Refer to post #63.

Curran has McCourty listed as "hot" because of press coverage.

Why is Bedard in on this secret and nobody can else knows this?

Bedard and Belichick are taking hot showers and sharing thoughts?

The reality is Bedard has reached recent mythical status on patsfans.com based on the fact that he has been recently telling MoLewisrocks what MoLewisrocks wants to hear.

Why has nobody else figured out what Bedard knows?

Bedard was on DB Evaluation Island all alone about Dowling? Why? Does that really seem accurate?

Where are these "get beats" exactly? Practice? Your team has the best QB in the league and Lloyd will be mega elite......where has it been figured these guys should be stymied?

Bedard isn't really to blame. It's his job to report what he sees and thinks. That has value.

The real problem are the presupposed dummies at patsfans.com who will latch onto what they think they know and extrapolate it once someone tells them what they want to hear because they are hearing what they want.

Bedard works very hard and gives the mst comprehensive reports. That has made him revered on this board, however it does not mean that his speculation that the #1 corner on the team could lose his job because of a few rough plays in 1 practice has any value at all.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Bedard works very hard and gives the mst comprehensive reports. That has made him revered on this board, however it does not mean that his speculation that the #1 corner on the team could lose his job because of a few rough plays in 1 practice has any value at all.

If there was a consensus of reports that McCourty was really bad, then this speculation is legit.

For instance, there reports on Koppen and his struggles. Makes perfect sense to question his status.

How exactly an isolated reporter commentary morphs to this thread is odd except when people think they know what they know mostly based on people telling them what they think they want to know.

 

[BradyManny]

I hate these speculative reports that come out of nowhere and create hysteria.
There have been zero comments all camp, at least that I have seen,that were negative about McCourty. Now Bedard instead of REPORTING he had a rough day, throws in speculation that he could lose his job to a scrub who was so highly regarded last year that he was released.
Reporters should report, IMO.

I used to think this. And sure, too many reporters around here put their spin on the facts far too often. But if reporters were to just report, then all we'd need is Rotoworld.

Greg Bedard makes whatever he makes because his football analysis is the best in town. He makes his living off of being able to watch football and make conclusions from it, for his reader - not simply report.

I'm not saying Bedard is right 100% of the time - of course not. His tangent on the Welker catch last year shows even the best of them have an ego. But the guy certainly knows what he's talking about, and he's been right more often than not.

I don't know what this means for McCourty, but I think we should be thrilled we have a guy who knows and understands football at Foxboro every day, relaying information for us. There are far too many reporters who just report. Those are dime a dozen.

Bedard is one of the best around, we shouldn't kill him over one report just because we don't like the information he's giving us.

 

[Sicilian]

McCourty definitely has some things to prove this year, but let's not forget that there's a reason why the term Sophomore Slump was first coined. It's not uncommon for a young player to have a dip in his 2nd season (even Mayo did, though to a lesser extent), and a number of factors contribute to it:

- Some players get a little overconfident after having so much success so early. I think it's not always easy to understand that it takes just as much work to MAINTAIN that success that it does to first reach that success. Even a slight slack-off can have the player playing catchup to everyone else all year.

- The league is full of SMART coaches, and once they have a full season of tape on a player, they're going to find EVERY weakness that player has and push it. It is then up to the player (and his coaches) to work those weaknesses up to strengths (or at least to average level).

- A kid goes from playing 11 or 12 games against other college kids to playing 16-20 games against enormous man-beasts that move faster than any loving god would allow a man that size to move. We just sort of take it for granted that an offseason is just going to repair all that sudden shift, but I'll bet a lot of these kids just don't know their own bodies yet, and don't know the best way to recover in the offseason while still building up their physique and improving. It's a balance that's tricky to learn.

Add to this the fact that there was no OTA's and limited camp last year, and it shouldn't be that surprising that McCourty had a dropoff. And that's not even considering the additional responsibility and pressure heaped upon him by being named a captain.

He's got a lot to prove, but he's not the first third year player to have two very different looking years to begin his career.

 

[Ring 6]

I used to think this. And sure, too many reporters around here put their spin on the facts far too often. But if reporters were to just report, then all we'd need is Rotoworld.

Greg Bedard makes whatever he makes because his football analysis is the best in town. He makes his living off of being able to watch football and make conclusions from it, for his reader - not simply report.

I'm not saying Bedard is right 100% of the time - of course not. His tangent on the Welker catch last year shows even the best of them have an ego. But the guy certainly knows what he's talking about, and he's been right more often than not.

I don't know what this means for McCourty, but I think we should be thrilled we have a guy who knows and understands football at Foxboro every day, relaying information for us. There are far too many reporters who just report. Those are dime a dozen.

Bedard is one of the best around, we shouldn't kill him over one report just because we don't like the information he's giving us.

I disagree. Bedard is not paid to analyze, he is a reporter.
He gives the most in depth reports, and painstakingly works to get out more info than any one. His value is the depth of his reports, which is what separates him from places like Rotoworld. While those qualities make him an excellent reporter, his skill in analyzing that information is shaky at best. I totally disagree with your comment that he is often right in his ANALYSIS. You are doing just what I am talking about, confusing him providing info others do not with him being good at predicting what will happen.
As to your final, condescending point, I have no issue with the information he reported and that is what he is supposed to do. I have an issue with the wacky unsupported conclusion he draws from it in order to sensationalize his report.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I used to think this. And sure, too many reporters around here put their spin on the facts far too often. But if reporters were to just report, then all we'd need is Rotoworld.

Greg Bedard makes whatever he makes because his football analysis is the best in town. He makes his living off of being able to watch football and make conclusions from it, for his reader - not simply report.

I'm not saying Bedard is right 100% of the time - of course not. His tangent on the Welker catch last year shows even the best of them have an ego. But the guy certainly knows what he's talking about, and he's been right more often than not.

I don't know what this means for McCourty, but I think we should be thrilled we have a guy who knows and understands football at Foxboro every day, relaying information for us. There are far too many reporters who just report. Those are dime a dozen.

Bedard is one of the best around, we shouldn't kill him over one report just because we don't like the information he's giving us.

Bedard isn't the problem. He's a paid professional.

Even you get to have an opinion.

The problem lies at patsfan.com eagerly running with one report from one guy....that is contrary to others(see Curran).

The pathology is in the extrapolation.

 

[BradyManny]

I disagree. Bedard is not paid to analyze, he is a reporter.
He gives the most in depth reports, and painstakingly works to get out more info than any one. His value is the depth of his reports, which is what separates him from places like Rotoworld. While those qualities make him an excellent reporter, his skill in analyzing that information is shaky at best. I totally disagree with your comment that he is often right in his ANALYSIS. You are doing just what I am talking about, confusing him providing info others do not with him being good at predicting what will happen.
As to your final, condescending point, I have no issue with the information he reported and that is what he is supposed to do. I have an issue with the wacky unsupported conclusion he draws from it in order to sensationalize his report.

I'm sorry - I truly did not intend for that last point to be condescending, nor directed at your or this specific situation.

I bolded the part I disagree with most in this post. When has Bedard shown his ability to analyze is shaky? His football knowledge is extremely high, and he goes to great lengths to keep it there. He works at it.

 

[BradyManny]

Bedard isn't the problem. He's a paid professional.

Even you get to have an opinion.

The problem lies at patsfan.com eagerly running with one report from one guy....that is contrary to others(see Curran).

The pathology is in the extrapolation.

I don't think anyone should be basing their camp reports based solely on Bedard or Curran, or whoever. A huge chunk of the posters on this forum attend practices over the summer - a lot of them form opinions there.

 

[BradyManny]

If there was a consensus of reports that McCourty was really bad, then this speculation is legit.

For instance, there reports on Koppen and his struggles. Makes perfect sense to question his status.

How exactly an isolated reporter commentary morphs to this thread is odd except when people think they know what they know mostly based on people telling them what they think they want to know.

You're telling us that the isolated opinion should be considered just an outlier? Good to know - I'll save that one for the next time you argue some contrarian viewpoint.

 

[Ring 6]

I'm sorry - I truly did not intend for that last point to be condescending, nor directed at your or this specific situation.

I bolded the part I disagree with most in this post. When has Bedard shown his ability to analyze is shaky? His football knowledge is extremely high, and he goes to great lengths to keep it there. He works at it.

His reporting skills are good, his analysis is not. I don't know how many more ways there are to express that opinion to you. What he writes that he expects is not often what transpires.