This thread has gone on for 10 pages now and will likely add several more before it dies its well deserved death. But here's the thing. To quote that great philosopher, Allan Iverson, "It's practice". And the thing some people seem to forget that PRACTICE is when you TRY things you wouldn't try in a game. This goes especially for the defense where the OTA's are spent just learning the language and where to line up.
All the angst about JG's interceptions are a joke. Who's to say that some weren't the product of a coach coming to him and saying, "Jimmy, today we are trying to see which receivers are good at catching 50-50 balls, so whenever you get the chance try and fit it in there, even though you wouldn't in a game". Or it's Jimmy himself allowing himself the luxury of testing the limits of his arm and judgment. Of course some were just bad passes and judgment, but maybe not all. Don't forget Jimmy is still learning about the game and his own limitations, where Brady has had 18 years to figure that out.
Same goes for Ealy. There is no other position on the team outside of QB, that requires as much learning and ramp up time than the DE/OLB position in the Pats defense. You have to rush with your hand in the dirt and standing up. You have to cover passes, you have set the edge from different positions, you have be ready to move inside. And if all you did was rush the passer in your former defense, or one gap against the run; the transition can be quite a shock. That is what Kony Ealy is facing just SEVEN (the 2 non-pad practices are nothing more than league mandated OTA's) practices into his Patriots career.
So he has not only a new language, new techniques, at the team's most unique position on the defense, he also has a media that is grading his results from 200 yds away, and a fan base who expects immediate impact from day one.
From a coaching stand point, Ealy is smack dab in the middle of the "one step forward, 2 steps back" phase of his learning curve. The REAL question (at least to me) is whether Ealy has the patience and "want to" enough to accept the coaching and wait for the results to start to improve over the next month.
The fact is that most players instict is to rebel against that. They have things they do well, and they want to keep doing those things. It is HARD to go back to learn different techniques. It's hard, to go back and fail while you learn things you already thought you knew. It's hard to play in a defense that is so reliant on what everyone else is doing, especially when you played in a system where you did what you did and let the result tell you how well it turned out. That's why BB has always said, "this place is not for everyone". It's HARD, especially for new vets.
So, I'm in the camp that isn't all that worried about the results of what Ealy is doing in TC. I only worry about his attitude. If he "buys in" then I believe he will eventually end up being a productive member of the DE rotation, regardless any blips in TC. If he doesn't and simply wants to do what he does, THEN he will find his stay with the Pats to be a short one, and he will wind up being the "Steve Martin" of the 2017 team.
