Patriots Player Departure Patriots trade Dugger too lol

[One-If-By-Sea]

A defender can be a very good zone coverage guy without possessing great speed. Broken zone coverages is a brain fart, an execution issue.

That is simply Internet BS.

Without great speed the zone has to have 3 or 4 wide which creates layering gaps or less pass rushers. The slower the defenders the great the holes in the zone one way or another. It is the same area on the field with the same number of players, so faster, more athletic players cover the same area better.

Gonzo is great in man or zone, his speed and quickness does not make him a lousy zone defender. Slower guys are easier to identify and exploit in man, but the same slow guys are weak in zone by mandating more men across the field, or more layering, or less pass rushers. If there were 6 DBs as athletic as Gonzo, that would be an incredible zone.

 

[rkarp1]

That is simply Internet BS.

Without great speed the zone has to have 3 or 4 wide which creates layering gaps or less pass rushers. The slower the defenders the great the holes in the zone one way or another. It is the same area on the field with the same number of players, so faster, more athletic players cover the same area better.

Gonzo is great in man or zone, his speed and quickness does not make him a lousy zone defender. Slower guys are easier to identify and exploit in man, but the same slow guys are weak in zone by mandating more men across the field, or more layering, or less pass rushers. If there were 6 DBs as athletic as Gonzo, that would be an incredible zone.

for me, the question isn't "is Gonzo great in zone?" he is.
for me, the question is "why pay a CB best in the league man cover money and put him in a zone?"
do you need Gonzo, and his soon to be salary, if the team is going to play zone? I believe the Jets answered that question for us.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

for me, the question isn't "is Gonzo great in zone?" he is.
for me, the question is "why pay a CB best in the league man cover money and put him in a zone?"
do you need Gonzo, and his soon to be salary, if the team is going to play zone? I believe the Jets answered that question for us.

I agree. We could play a lot more strict man. We could also play a hybrid matchup zone. Either way, a cover LB and FS would really help.

 

[Wozzy]

That is simply Internet BS.

Without great speed the zone has to have 3 or 4 wide which creates layering gaps or less pass rushers. The slower the defenders the great the holes in the zone one way or another. It is the same area on the field with the same number of players, so faster, more athletic players cover the same area better.

Gonzo is great in man or zone, his speed and quickness does not make him a lousy zone defender. Slower guys are easier to identify and exploit in man, but the same slow guys are weak in zone by mandating more men across the field, or more layering, or less pass rushers. If there were 6 DBs as athletic as Gonzo, that would be an incredible zone.

We're not screwing up zone coverage because of a lack of speed. Woodson is plenty fast enough, he's just a rookie. Rodney Harrison wasn't fast... he was smart and anticipated where the ball was going.

Moreover the mistakes are very often happening before the snap of the ball. Not aligning to optimal matchups, or putting themselves is the best spots to take advantage of the zone. If Marcus Jones finds himself on a TE, or as in the Atlanta game against 6'4" Drake London a multitude of times... somebody made a mistake. Broken coverages more often than not aren't caused by a lack of speed, more a lack of brain power or poor communication in the backfield or simply a poor play called by the coordinator.

Football forums are the only place in football talk where execution doesn't exist, every play is designed perfectly... when positive plays happen it's only because the offensive player is faster and the defender just sucks. That's not the case. Individual plays can be won before the snap of the ball. The Patriots don't have a brain like Devin McCourty back there lining people up... they just don't. Their best CB is a third year player who missed most of his rookie season, their best safety is a rookie... this isn't surprising.

 

[Wozzy]

for me, the question isn't "is Gonzo great in zone?" he is.
for me, the question is "why pay a CB best in the league man cover money and put him in a zone?"
do you need Gonzo, and his soon to be salary, if the team is going to play zone? I believe the Jets answered that question for us.

Man coverage is tiring, you can’t run man coverage exclusively. You run zone to give your defenders a blow. Also to disguise coverages and lure a QB into a trap. There’s nothing wrong with zone, these guys have to communicate better.

 

[rkarp1]

Man coverage is tiring, you can’t run man coverage exclusively. You run zone to give your defenders a blow. Also to disguise coverages and lure a QB into a trap. There’s nothing wrong with zone, these guys have to communicate better.

no one said exclusively.

 

[Huckleberry1]

if they think he sucks, when Hawkins was injured, the week before the trade deadline?? did "they" play Dugger 100% of the teams defensive snaps and not Pettus?

I was fine with trading anyone. but have a plan B in place. it appeared like they didn't have a plan B, so they went to plan C which appears to be Pettus.

The operative word here is " appears," you're assuming they didn't know what they were doing, when in fact this Patriots organization has demonstrated completely that they know exactly what they are doing.

 

[Huckleberry1]

for me, the question isn't "is Gonzo great in zone?" he is.
for me, the question is "why pay a CB best in the league man cover money and put him in a zone?"
do you need Gonzo, and his soon to be salary, if the team is going to play zone? I believe the Jets answered that question for us.

Like everyone else Gonzalez is part of a team defense, and that requires playing zone sometimes and man sometimes. And you pay him like a great player because he is as great player.