Eric Rowe

[RobertWeathers]

I suspect you are right, but I hope not, because it would probably be JJ, who I like as a developmental CB. Just as Rowe matches up with tall receivers, maybe JJ (who posted the fastest 40 yd dash at the combine) could help out on super fast receivers. Whether he can stick probably depends on just how much he can contribute to special teams.

They say Rowe is a decent special teams player.

That means any number of players on the current roster could be let go.

 

[BobDigital]

My curiosity really got to me when considering why the Eagles traded Rowe after just one season.

So I went out and started sifting through his stats and reading about his rookie season in depth. The results of my research have left me sitting here extremely confused to as why they made the trade. He had a fairly decent rookie season. He was thrown into the deep in week 6 (single man coverage against Calvin Johnson...lol), but did fairly well after that. I found it interesting that he had a pretty good game against Michel Floyd and also John Brown, before leaving with a concussion (might we see him in action this week??)

This article I found here, really goes into depth and breaks down his season. Im really expecting him to eventually do big things here. A lot of Eagles Fans on their websites have been saying he's had a horrible preseason, and thats why they traded him. Well this article states that he had a horrible preseason last year also. I feel like he's done nothing to warrant being traded. This might have been a huge heist by BB. Lets hope they ease him into things over the next few games. With the level of talent on this D, he doesnt have to be great to do great things.

I highly recommend reading this article, it will get you even more excited about the trade and the upcoming season/future.

Rookie Eric Rowe was a bright spot on a dismal Eagles defense

If people recall Browner looked like garbage in the preseason. Mostly cause he was told to cover and not push off at the line. I wonder if Rowe was told a similar thing. Rowe may need to get very physical pretty early to be effective and in the preseason that tends to be a nono.

 

[zydecochris]

If people recall Browner looked like garbage in the preseason. Mostly cause he was told to cover and not push off at the line. I wonder if Rowe was told a similar thing. Rowe may need to get very physical pretty early to be effective and in the preseason that tends to be a nono.

Really an interesting post and point. I had forgotten that Browner didn't look good in pre-season when he couldn't beat up on the receivers. Maybe that bodes well for Rowe.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

My curiosity really got to me when considering why the Eagles traded Rowe after just one season.
...
I highly recommend reading this article, it will get you even more excited about the trade and the upcoming season/future.

Rookie Eric Rowe was a bright spot on a dismal Eagles defense

Money quote:

The week after the Lions game, Brady made a point of going after Rowe. Tried to beat him with a deep ball to Brandon LaFell on the Patriots' very first possession, but Rowe stayed with him step for step and forced an incompletion.

In all, Brady targeted Rowe 12 times that game. He completed only four of them, for 42 yards.​

We seem to be overstocked at DBs right now, especially if you include Ebner and King.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Money quote:

The week after the Lions game, Brady made a point of going after Rowe. Tried to beat him with a deep ball to Brandon LaFell on the Patriots' very first possession, but Rowe stayed with him step for step and forced an incompletion.

In all, Brady targeted Rowe 12 times that game. He completed only four of them, for 42 yards.​

We seem to be overstocked at DBs right now, especially if you include Ebner and King.

The NFL does, but the Patriots, I think, treat them as "ST/S" rather than "S."

 

[BobDigital]

Money quote:

The week after the Lions game, Brady made a point of going after Rowe. Tried to beat him with a deep ball to Brandon LaFell on the Patriots' very first possession, but Rowe stayed with him step for step and forced an incompletion.

In all, Brady targeted Rowe 12 times that game. He completed only four of them, for 42 yards.​

We seem to be overstocked at DBs right now, especially if you include Ebner and King.

They may be looking to trade Richards. Rowe can do many of the same things and is likely the guy they wanted at that spot anyway. Richards for all the negatives he gets here is a nifty player. A very good in the box safety and can cover TEs okay. Give him another year and he may very well round out the rest of his game. Highly coachable.

I don't think we can get a conditional 4th for him like Rowe who is a superior talent to him though but perhaps a conditional 6th that can turn into a 5th or 4th if he does really well.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Money quote:

The week after the Lions game, Brady made a point of going after Rowe. Tried to beat him with a deep ball to Brandon LaFell on the Patriots' very first possession, but Rowe stayed with him step for step and forced an incompletion.

In all, Brady targeted Rowe 12 times that game. He completed only four of them, for 42 yards.​

We seem to be overstocked at DBs right now, especially if you include Ebner and King.

The Good News:
I missed seeing that awful game as I was driving to Charleston SC that Sunday.

The Really Bad News:
Arrived at the B&B and a group of Eagles fans were the other guests.

 

[long distance]

I came across this post from another forum (from last year) that seems interesting also in the context of Rowe trade (looked by some as S here). Going for safeties over corners at DB to take advantage of the undervalued position - at the moment when CB contracts are going sky high - does seem like another master stroke by BB.

(this was posted under a nice article @Patspulpit about Harmon and Pats 3 safety coverage - also a good read in context of where Rowe can fit now and in the future. The link is here:
Film Room: The Impact of Duron Harmon)

--

?Is Belichick rethinking how you man the secondary?
I’m hoping someone more knowledgeable than myself can help me with this….Belichick is known for rethinking how you play positions (think, undersized WRs, 2,3, 4 TE sets, etc). Belichick has 12 DBs on the roster (not counting 2 on IR, and another 2 on PS), which seems like overkill. Most of these players are listed as safeties, not cornerbacks. And I just don’t get why BB is focusing on safeties instead of cornerbacks, especially considering how thin we are at cornerback. For whatever his reasoning, BB opted not to draft a corner until the 7th round, but drafted a safety in the 2nd (and I’m not arguing that he should’ve done something different).

Given BB’s draft picks and his subsequent additions during this season (including keeping McCourty and letting Revis/Browner/Arrington walk), BB , imo, is making a calculated effort here to focus on safeties, not CBs in the defensive gameplan. And to me that’s important — this isn’t Belichick looking at his secondary and saying "well, we will work with what’s available; we’ll improvise with the talent we have". No, BB KNEW he wanted to try and change the focus of the secondary from one that is CB-driven, to one that is Safety-driven. I think this post illustrates perfectly how well it is working so far. Malcolm Butler will forever be a hero to me, but let’s be honest, BB is manning the CB position with scrubs. But their deficiencies are being greatly limited due to strong safety play.

My question is, how "revolutionary" (for lack of a better term) is this move, especially in the pass-happy era that we are in today? If you ask me, I think BB once again saw an undervalued position (safeties), especially vis-a-vis CBs (which is quickly becoming one of the most expensive positions in football), and is trying to leverage that discrepancy by grabbing undervalued talent at the safety position and changing what that position is typically asked to do. What do y’all think? Curious to get some other people’s thoughts on this. Thanks guys!!!

by Stress: ES.T on Nov 4, 2015 | 10:52 AM

 

[ctpatsfan77]

They may be looking to trade Richards. Rowe can do many of the same things and is likely the guy they wanted at that spot anyway. Richards for all the negatives he gets here is a nifty player. A very good in the box safety and can cover TEs okay. Give him another year and he may very well round out the rest of his game. Highly coachable.

I don't think we can get a conditional 4th for him like Rowe who is a superior talent to him though but perhaps a conditional 6th that can turn into a 5th or 4th if he does really well.

If that was what they were trying to do, they wouldn't have released Kline.

 

[Deus Irae]

Malcolm Butler will forever be a hero to me, but let’s be honest, BB is manning the CB position with scrubs. But their deficiencies are being greatly limited due to strong safety play.

The last three CB1s:

Talib
Revis
Butler

The key to the safeties:

Converted failed CB1 McCourty

The author of that article didn't think things through.

 

[BobDigital]

If that was what they were trying to do, they wouldn't have released Kline.

Well they need to look for a partner and will not just release him. 12 DBs on the roster is a lot to keep.

 

[long distance]

The last three CB1s:

Talib
Revis
Butler

The key to the safeties:

Converted failed CB1 McCourty

The author of that article didn't think things through.

I think you missed the point. Talib and Revis were let go when they were supposed to overpay them.
Butler is probably the cheapest #1 CB you can find.

 

[patchick]

I think you missed the point. Talib and Revis were let go when they were supposed to overpay them.
Butler is probably the cheapest #1 CB you can find.

But isn't renting or "rehabilitating" veteran players then letting them go rather than overpaying them BB's modus operandi at EVERY position? Mark Anderson, Akiem Hicks, etc. etc.

 

[zydecochris]

The last three CB1s:

Talib
Revis
Butler

The key to the safeties:

Converted failed CB1 McCourty

The author of that article didn't think things through.

Certainly it is hard to make the argument that BB hasn't prioritized the CB position with what he paid Revis and Talib. However, BB has seemed obsessed with drafting smart "field general" safeties, drafting Chung, Richards, Wilson all in the 2nd round and Harmon in the 3rd, that is a bunch of draft capital on safeties (as you point out, McCourty was drafted as a CB). I think that BB decided that the best way to take the defense to another level without having high first round draft picks (such as is needed with top pass rushers or top CB's) is to roll the draft dice multiple times on (perhaps undervalued) smart safeties. One could argue that it has largely worked, what position on the Patriots (apart from QB) has more strong depth than safety?

 

[long distance]

But isn't renting or "rehabilitating" veteran players then letting them go rather than overpaying them BB's modus operandi at EVERY position? Mark Anderson, Akiem Hicks, etc. etc.

Of course it is. But to me the point of the post is BB looking at DB as one unit and exploiting as much as he can the increasingly uneven market of CBs vs S, S/CBs. And of corse the old mantra of versatility at the position. If you read the article about Harmon as well you can see the other part of the equation - finding other options instead of overpaying for so-called shut down corners.

Anyway, it is really not for me to argue or defend the post - I just found it interesting addition to the debate here - and big portion of this debate is also the use (and misuse @PHI) of our new DB addition.

 

[patchick]

Of course it is. But to me the point of the post is BB looking at DB as one unit and exploiting as much as he can the increasingly uneven market of CBs vs S, S/CBs. And of corse the old mantra of versatility at the position. If you read the article about Harmon as well you can see the other part of the equation - finding other options instead of overpaying for so-called shut down corners.

Anyway, it is really not for me to argue or defend the post - I just found it interesting addition to the debate here - and big portion of this debate is also the use (and misuse @PHI) of our new DB addition.

Fair enough -- we'll have a great test of the theory within the next couple of years in the Malcolm Butler decision. That represents the Patriots' first opportunity in a long, long time to break open the pocketbook for a top young CB.

 

[Froob]

Do you guys think there's anyway Harmon is here next season? He plays a lot here but, he's worthy of being a starter safety somewhere. Anyone know what ? of snaps he plays here?

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Do you guys think there's anyway Harmon is here next season? He plays a lot here but, he's worthy of being a starter safety somewhere. Anyone know what ? of snaps he plays here?

55% of the snaps last year per Pro-Football reference. That includes one game where McCourty was inactive due to injury.
New England Patriots 2015 Snap Counts | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Harmon's snaps are similar to a starter. My instinct is that teams are going to overpay for Logan Ryan (assuming he keeps up his play from last year and the pre-season games). But I think that teams will think of Harmon as a part-timer, and try to offer him part-timer money with the opportunity to be a starter. In other words, I don't think other teams will break the bank for him, they way they may for Logan Ryan.

Belichick thinks of these 50% guys as starters and has paid big money in the past - i.e. while the Patriots are considered cheap for not signing top-end talent to top-end contracts, they still spend to the cap because they sign many mid-level guys to relatively big contracts. I can see a Kyle Arrington / Marcus Cannon situation here - Belichick paying Harmon a lot more than people expected in order to stay.

 

[DarrylS]

After listening to Mark Bertram try to convince me that Rowe was not the real deal or something is wrong with him this post is a refreshing breath of fresh air..

This is where I go to find out good opinions that allow be to figure out some Pats stuff, without some loudmouth trying to convince me how bad things are for this team.. this is right after he tried to tell us how meaningless the #12 stuff is on the lighthouse..

I thought with the beginning of the NFL Season that talk radio would get better, it hasn't.. they keep wanting me to distrust BB, decisions made or this team. Not everything is a conspiracy..

 

[Froob]

After listening to Mark Bertram try to convince me that Rowe was not the real deal or something is wrong with him this post is a refreshing breath of fresh air..

This is where I go to find out good opinions that allow be to figure out some Pats stuff, without some loudmouth trying to convince me how bad things are for this team.. this is right after he tried to tell us how meaningless the #12 stuff is on the lighthouse..

I thought with the beginning of the NFL Season that talk radio would get better, it hasn't.. they keep wanting me to distrust BB, decisions made or this team. Not everything is a conspiracy..

Didn't click on the article but, apparently Mazz likes the trade. Must be a setup to blame BB the coach.