EDIT: Pats working out CB Breeland - expected to reach back out this weekend

[RobertWeathers]

Maybe. OTOH, they have an open roster spot right now.

Yes but my guess is they want to make sure there aren't any serious injuries that come out of the game which would influence their current plans to sign him.

Not sure it would matter but whatever...

 

[jimnance]

Rowe gets a bad rap here.
He has a major problem staying healthy but when healthy he has played well. He wasn’t one of the top 10 reasons we lost that SB.

No, he's not terrible. But he is inconsistent.
He's definitely a step or 2 below Malcolm Butler. If our lb play was better, he'd be serviceable. Hightower will improve that a lot and I believe our overall passrush will be much better this year.
One things for sure: whoever is the cb#2 is gonna get tested by other teams- often.

 

[Ring 6]

No, he's not terrible. But he is inconsistent.
He's definitely a step or 2 below Malcolm Butler. If our lb play was better, he'd be serviceable. Hightower will improve that a lot and I believe our overall passrush will be much better this year.
One things for sure: whoever is the cb#2 is gonna get tested by other teams- often.

He’s a different player than butler. Different strengths different weaknesses.
But we have barely seen a fully healthy Rowe.
If he can’t stay healthy he is useless. But at 100%, while different, I’d put him better than 2017 butler but not as good as 2015 butler.

 

[luuked]

Let's get you on record: the DB group had a good game in the Super Bowl? Yes or no?

I have been on the record about this garbage for months. Hell I started a rewatch the day after the game.

The main reason we lost the game is because our run defense was catastrophic. The secondary looking bad in that game was mostly symptom of that and not the cause.

People here thinking JMac or Rowe constituting a glaring need at CB have just no perspective what a glaring need actually is. If we can find a way to upgrade for cheap at CB then awesome but I will not have a single sleepless night over JMac or Rowe as CB2. We have made it work with substantially lesser talents in the past.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I have been on the record about this garbage for months. Hell I started a rewatch the day after the game.

The main reason we lost the game is because our run defense was catastrophic. The secondary looking bad in that game was mostly symptom of that and not the cause.

People here thinking JMac or Rowe constituting a glaring need at CB have just no perspective what a glaring need actually is. If we can find a way to upgrade for cheap at CB then awesome but I will not have a single sleepless night over JMac or Rowe as CB2. We have made it work with substantially lesser talents in the past.

Gilmore and Rowe were fine.

10-16 on 3rd down.
2-2 on 4th down
Bad tackling at critical moments
Pass rush
2 bad ref calls
Talent level of 3rd team in the secondary, LB and DL

 

[Uptown]

To be fair, I don’t personally think CB is an immediate glaring need, but we could use an addition such as Breeland for the right price. Also, we cannot really gauge whether or not CB is a glaring need since no games have been played yet. Which is why NE has expressed interest in a potential follow up “conversation” with Breeland after the initial PS game vs Washington. Once those guys get out there, we’ll see what we have.

An improved pass rush will alleviate the “problem.”

 

[Kontradiction]

I have been on the record about this garbage for months. Hell I started a rewatch the day after the game.

The main reason we lost the game is because our run defense was catastrophic. The secondary looking bad in that game was mostly symptom of that and not the cause.

People here thinking JMac or Rowe constituting a glaring need at CB have just no perspective what a glaring need actually is. If we can find a way to upgrade for cheap at CB then awesome but I will not have a single sleepless night over JMac or Rowe as CB2. We have made it work with substantially lesser talents in the past.

The front had issues all year with stopping the run. That does not absolve the secondary from being unable or from not being in the position to defense passes. Foles rarely had to come off of his first or second reads unless that initial read was covered by Gilmore.

And there is a glaring need still at CB2. Rowe has never proven he can stay healthy and JMac is a zone corner with deficiencies in man. Since the Patriots like to deploy a decent amount of man coverage, one would think that he could be upgraded as well. Whether Breeland is that guy or they go into the season with the need is anyone's guess.

 

[Kontradiction]

Gilmore and Rowe were fine.

10-16 on 3rd down.
2-2 on 4th down
Bad tackling at critical moments
Pass rush
2 bad ref calls
Talent level of 3rd team in the secondary, LB and DL

Rowe was anything but fine early on and was clearly out of his league which is why the team shifted Gilmore to Jeffry. The first two offensive drives for the Eagles were disastrous for Rowe and they clearly (both through their play calls and what they said afterward) went out of their way to target him.

 

[luuked]

The front had issues all year with stopping the run. That does not absolve the secondary from being unable or from not being in the position to defense passes. Foles rarely had to come off of his first or second reads unless that initial read was covered by Gilmore.

Guess what happens when you send in more players towards the box because you cant stop the run at all ?

Even if everything else stays the same put 75% of 2016-2017 Branch onto the DL in that game and we win easily by at least 2 scores because suddenly you have more flexibility to handle their RPOs and short passing game with more resources.

The real attempt to fix the issues in this one bad game to end the season was Shelton and wont be anything they will or will not do at CB.

 

[supafly]

Who'd they sign in the last 10 hours to eliminate the previously glaring need at CB?

At least the running backs were all set back in March, so there’s that.

 

[Kontradiction]

Guess what happens when you send in more players towards the box because you cant stop the run at all ?

Even if everything else stays the same put 75% of 2016-2017 Branch onto the DL in that game and we win easily by at least 2 scores because suddenly you have more flexibility to handle their RPOs and short passing game with more resources.

The real attempt to fix the issues in this one bad game to end the season was Shelton and wont be anything they will or will not do at CB.

That's all well and good, but you still have to answer for why Rowe, Bademosi, and Chung were unable to hold up in coverage as those three were tasked with covering WRs. I'm guessing we all knew Richards was going to suck, so I won't even bother going there. Rowe, in particular, was so bad early on that he had to be yanked off of his initial assignment which was a good move but should have been one they made to start the game.

That's the problem. They were both issues. You know that which is why you can't even bring yourself to say the secondary played well in that game. The front was an issue all year long and was going to be an issue in that game. They (the coaching staff) then made the secondary an issue going into the game when it had previously been the only strength on the defense. Result? 41 points allowed and an L.

 

[Deus Irae]

At least the running backs were all set back in March, so there’s that.

 

[Deus Irae]

You really think the Pats CB2 position is a glaring need? Clearly CB1 & the slot are covered. We’ve fielded some pretty good defenses with mediocrity out at CB2. It’s a system position.

First, the slot being covered is far from a certainty. The slot is currently set to be manned by either a rookie or the return of an injured player.

Second, of course the CB2 position is a glaring need, as of now. We know Rowe has been a dismal failure at it to this point in his career, and we know that McCourty hasn't shown much of anything on the field since he's been a member of the Patriots. Now, we can play the game of HOPEANDPRAY! like we did with the DL and LB groups last year, and the Patriots will almost certainly still make the playoffs because Brady/BB, but we should at least acknowledge that we're playing that game, and that having to play that game will probably bite the team in the ass at some point.

 

[patsinthesnow]

First, the slot being covered is far from a certainty. The slot is currently set to be manned by either a rookie or the return of an injured player.

Second, of course the CB2 position is a glaring need, as of now. We know Rowe has been a dismal failure at it to this point in his career, and we know that McCourty hasn't shown much of anything on the field since he's been a member of the Patriots. Now, we can play the game of HOPEANDPRAY! like we did with the DL and LB groups last year, and the Patriots will almost certainly still make the playoffs because Brady/BB, but we should at least acknowledge that we're playing that game, and that having to play that game will probably bite the team in the ass at some point.

Based on Eric Rowe’s play alone in SB51, we can agree to disagree here.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

People here thinking JMac or Rowe constituting a glaring need at CB have just no perspective what a glaring need actually is. If we can find a way to upgrade for cheap at CB then awesome but I will not have a single sleepless night over JMac or Rowe as CB2. We have made it work with substantially lesser talents in the past.

Do you realize Rowe was targetted 5 times and gave up 75 yards in Super Bowl 51? and that was as a number 3 CB in that game. There is a reason teams pick on him.

 

[Deus Irae]

Based on Eric Rowe’s play alone in SB51, we can agree to disagree here.

Ok, I'll keep taking the sane position, and you'll keep taking the batshit crazy position while Alshon Jeffery and the rest of the Eagles laugh their asses off.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Ok, I'll keep taking the sane position, and you'll keep taking the batshit crazy position while Alshon Jeffery and the rest of the Eagles laugh their asses off.

Ah yes, dismal failure for a starting CB that ended drives in a Superbowl in his first year with the team.

 

[Deus Irae]

Ah yes, dismal failure for a starting CB that ended drives in a Superbowl in his first year with the team.

And there you go proving the batshit crazy part

 

[Nunchucks]

Breeland is a clear upgrade at the CB position. However, the guy has battled injury his entire time in the NFL. He plays, but the guy is just a walking injury. Otherwise, he is awesome.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Rowe was anything but fine early on and was clearly out of his league which is why the team shifted Gilmore to Jeffry. The first two offensive drives for the Eagles were disastrous for Rowe and they clearly (both through their play calls and what they said afterward) went out of their way to target him.

Then he settled down.

I agree, hes just not a good matchup vs fast, shifty receivers.