Devin McCourty: massively underrated (stat comp to Earl Thomas)

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

He’s coming off a good year and he’s following it up this season. 2016 was his best year. He has had an underrated career as safety despite people getting on him at times. He’s worth the coin.

I have no idea why people get on him. He so rarely gets beat, and when he does it’s almost always a six yard slant (real game changer.)

 

[luuked]

I have no idea why people get on him. He so rarely gets beat, and when he does it’s almost always a six yard slant (real game changer.)

It is because last year he had to line up at the LOS against TEs -- which is generally not a favourable matchup for many -- and got beat a couple times for all to see. Which then started the "he lost a step" posts around here for whatever reason.

DMac has had a much harder role to play than Earl Thomas imo. Thomas is brilliant at what he does as a free safety but has not shown the versatility that DMac has.

Both are absolutely tremendous safeties in different ways.

 

[patfanken]

It is because last year he had to line up at the LOS against TEs -- which is generally not a favourable matchup for many -- and got beat a couple times for all to see. Which then started the "he lost a step" posts around here for whatever reason.

DMac has had a much harder role to play than Earl Thomas imo. Thomas is brilliant at what he does as a free safety but doesn't have the versatility that DMac has.

Both are absolutely tremendous safeties in different ways.

Add the ability that hasn't been mentioned much is his "availability". Not only had DMAC showed up for 14 more games than Thomas, when he does play, he;s out there for over 90% of the snaps. The Pats have gotten good value for every dime they've paid Devin.

You know I had previously thought that part of the Pats path back to cap sanity was going to be fueled by Devin's retirement after this season. I thought that he'd be 33. His contract had run out. There wouldn't be a big market for a 33 year old S, and besides he clearly has a LOT of other things he loves doing that are a lot more important than playing football. I figured he'd retire for sure.

He still might retire, especially if they get another ring, but it won't be because of his ability to do the job. Clearly he can still do it and do it WELL.

 

[SBLIII]

he is playing the best football of his career at age 32.

 

[Flash]

It's also too bad that it is extremely difficult for safeties to get into the HOF. Never mind DMac, I don't even think it's a guarantee that Earl Thomas is a first-ballot, and Thomas is (at least by non-Patriots fans' consensus) the best safety of the 2010s.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

he is playing the best football of his career at age 32.

I think he’s always played this well. He’s just able to freelance more and capitalize on an extremely good overall defense and pass rush. This is why I think he is underrated....a lot of the time his assignments aren’t really to ballhawk like some other safeties, but when he has the opportunity, look at the results.

 

[SBLIII]

It's also too bad that it is extremely difficult for safeties to get into the HOF. Never mind DMac, I don't even think it's a guarantee that Earl Thomas is a first-ballot, and Thomas is (at least by non-Patriots fans' consensus) the best safety of the 2010s.

DMac is a Patriots hall of famer
Thomas is a pro football hall of famer

 

[Kontradiction]

He’s gotten a lot of **** throughout his career because he was mostly covering up for other deficiencies throughout the defense. It’s amazing how many balls he gets free to make a play on when he actually has the same, if not better, talent around him as Thomas did in Seattle from 2012-2015, isn’t it?

 

[TommyD4207]

DMac is a Patriots hall of famer
Thomas is a pro football hall of famer

Meh. Thomas had a nice 3-4 year run. Then injuries caught up to him. It happens.

Lock Hall of Fame safeties are rare. You really have to be Ed Reed or Brian Dawkins or Ronnie Lott (Or Rodney Harrison, but he's been blackballed).

Look at the run John Lynch had, and he'll never sniff the Hall of Fame.

 

[Doctor DDS]

Safety is a tough position to evaluate as scheme often dictates their number of "wow" plays. As a Pats fan I was always highly skeptical of Troy Polamalu as his free lance style was regularly exploited by the Pats. Seemed like the Pats targeted him regularly. To hear him be mentioned in defensive player of the year conversations always perplexed me but I concede I did not watch all that many Steelers games so maybe he was that good. As mentioned above, the Pats shifting to a more aggressive defensive style will increase DM's numbers and may result in more accolades when his true play may be similar to prior years.

 

[fightingirish595]

Those stats are mostly meaningless.
McCourty got a lot of his ints at corner.

You can’t have a pass defensed if the qb doesn’t think you aren’t covering your man and he’s open.
Tackles for a safety are as useless a stay as there is, even more so for a free safety.

I’d like a safety who doesn’t make too many tackles because he isn’t tackling receivers he allowed to catch a pass.

And if your safety makes a ton of tackles there is a chance your run defense is lacking

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Safety is a tough position to evaluate as scheme often dictates their number of "wow" plays. As a Pats fan I was always highly skeptical of Troy Polamalu as his free lance style was regularly exploited by the Pats. Seemed like the Pats targeted him regularly. To hear him be mentioned in defensive player of the year conversations always perplexed me but I concede I did not watch all that many Steelers games so maybe he was that good. As mentioned above, the Pats shifting to a more aggressive defensive style will increase DM's numbers and may result in more accolades when his true play may be similar to prior years.

He was a great safety more responsible for their 2 SBs than Big Ben. Deserving of DPOY.

Brady exploited him and made him look like a CFL player, much due to the predictable scheme by the Steelers and also Polamalu’s over aggressiveness.

Both of these are true.

 

[Ring 6]

And if your safety makes a ton of tackles there is a chance your run defense is lacking

There are dozens of what if’s in looking at stats for defensive players. So many that the stats really don’t tell you what people want to think they do, or portray them to.
Adding to what you said if a safety is making a ton of tackles on pass plays that’s not what you want either and is largely negative because he had to allow the completion in order to get the tackle.

 

[luuked]

DMac is a Patriots hall of famer
Thomas is a pro football hall of famer

The only difference between those two is the media and public hype.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

if you add in his brother its even better!