Meriweather getting cut has zero to do with the hotly debated "scheme change." He wasn't cut because BB is going to play more one-gap this year. He wasn't cut because the Pats are going to play more man coverage this year.
He was cut because he wasn't performing and he had run his course here. He was benched at times during both 2009 and 2010. He showed no significant improvement despite his Pro Bowl Selections. He was a guy that was expected to turn into a big time playmaker on this defense and it just never came to pass. It almost seemed like he began to regress as time grew on -- maybe due to a loss of confidence or unhappiness with how he was used/treated or a dislike for the scheme or whatever it may be.
I don't understand how the corners playing more man coverage affects Meriweather so much. Even if they do play more man with the corners, the Pats will likely still be a two deep team most of the time -- can't see BB turning into Rex Ryan or the late Jim Johnson and playing a ton of Cover 1 or Cover 0 on the back end for extended periods. They may be more penetrating with the DL and more active in the blitz game with the LB's, but I can't see BB continually sticking McCourty, Bodden, and Arrington out there and asking them to play press man on their WR's with only Chung as the deep safety. It's just not his style. And just because they are allegedly going to play more of a one-gap/pressure heavy defense, doesn't mean they are exclusively going to man coverage schemes. The Steelers are a zone blitz team -- an aggressive defense with zone heavy coverages. Dom Capers played a lot of zone behind his blitzes before Tramon Williams emerged as a big time corner. Even Gregg Williams does not exclusively play man behind his blitzes -- he uses plenty of combination coverages.
Even if they were, wouldn't playing more Cover 1, what's not to say Meriweather would be more productive in that type of system? He would now have the chance to be a centerfielder and "freelance" like he talked about wanting to do in 2009. I actually think Meriweather would probably be a better Cover 1 safety than Chung. Chung has struggled more in coverage than Meriweather over the past two years.
It's like sayin Ty Warren was cut because the Pats are getting away from the 2-gap 3-4 and changing to a one-gap 4-3. Yet a few days later, Warren signs with the Broncos, a 4-3 defense under John Fox. So much for that alleged theory.
Although I brought up the Cover 1, I doubt the Pats would use it much at all. No team uses the Cover 1 except sparingly because it is not a play that has a high success rate unless you blitz multiple defenders and you might do it two or three times a game. It is just a man scheme coverage. There has never been a team that use the Cover 1 as a base or more than a half dozen times in a game.
But you cannot freelance in the Cover 1. The FS in the Cover 1 is the last line of defense just like he is in a cover 2. If he freelances and gambles wrong, he can turn a 15 yard reception into a 60 yard TD. The FS responsibility in the Cover 1 is the same as the Cover 2 except that he has to cover twice as much field and he must decide which CB needs the most help. The big difference is that the team is more agressive at the point of attack in the Cover 1 sending extra rushers. Typically, in the Cover 1, the safety is the last guy who can do freelancing and he is used more as insurance that gambling on a bllitz doesn't cost the team a huge play.
Even if they stay with a Cover 2, his responsibilities increase in a man coverage system. He will need to cover a much larger area since he is now responsible for what would have been the CB's zone. That means he needs to be more disciplined and diagnose the play and pick his coverage (or provide run support). He needs to decide whether he needs to provide over the top help or pick up another open receiver. He freelances or guesses wrong, he could give a receiver a 20 yard cushion to get YAC.
In zone coverage, he still has to make some of the same decisions but since he is covering much less field and since the CBs are also in a zone and typically no more a few yards away. The risk, reward in a zone coverage is far less than in man. Because if he freelances or guesses wrong, there is usually another defender who can get to the receiver within 5 yards.
To say that it is the same as cutting Ty Warren because they are moving to a 4-3 is wrong. In man coverage, the safety's responsibility chances because the CBs are not playing a zone meaning the CB zone is open in a lot of cases and the FS has to cover that zone. If the Pats stay with a 2 gap 3-4, Warren's responsibilities stay pretty much the same. I think safeties need to be more disciplined in a man coverage system than less.
What Meriweather needs is a system like the Tampa 2 or the Steelers' defense where freelancing is allowed.
