Pats looking to replace Samuel?

[DaBruinz]

They are nice, agressive players and they need to remain...but, as I have stated many times...THEY ARE TOO FRIGGIN SHORT.

NEM -
Do you realize how TALL Ty Law is? Take a guess? 6'2? 6'1? Try 5'11. Most of the GOOD Corners are 5'10-6'0 tall. Clements is only 6'0.

The Problem with the "smaller" corners is that they need to be a bit more physical to be able to out-hustle the larger receivers.

Would I like a corner that was 6'0 or 6'1 who could handle all the type of receivers (small/Fast, Tall/Strong) yeah, I would. But its a rarity that you find them.

 

[DaBruinz]

One of these two would look good if they want to try the draft route:

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Jimmy%20Williams

http://www.nflfans.com/x/2006/showplayer.php?key=Antonio%20Cromartie*

Why do people keep mentioning Cromartie? The guy may or may not even be able to participate in the Combine. He is getting over a bad ACL tear that knocked him out for the past season. Personally, unless Cromartie is able to participate in the Combine and pass the physicals (something McGahee WASN'T able to do), he's not worth it.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Would I like a corner that was 6'0 or 6'1 who could handle all the type of receivers (small/Fast, Tall/Strong) yeah, I would. But its a rarity that you find them.

Right. Look back at Belichick's comments on Randy Moss before the first game. Granted, Moss is a reciever, but from BB's comments it's clear that he feels usually a guy has size OR speed/explosiveness, but a body that has both is a very rare commodity. I would assume he views corners the same way, either it's a big guy or a guy that's fast and has quick reactions... but both big and able to react quickly to the WR's route is a rare find.

If he can't get his hands on one of the rare ones with both characteristics, he seems to prefer quick/fast over size, IMHO.

 

[BelichickFan]

Here's a few numbers to go with the opinions. This is from ESPN's pay area so I won't copy and paste the whole thing, just enough to show what a lousy season Samuel had.

Patriots as a team, Regular season, not including game against Miami
Depth Att Comp Yds TD INT Pen Yds/Att
Short 291 198 1745 8 2 24 6.1
Medium 94 47 871 6 1 43 9.7
Deep 83 30 1064 10 5 125 14.3
Total 468 275 3680 24 8 192 8.3

Ellis Hobbs on the Season
Depth Att Comp Yds TD INT Pen Yds/Att
Short 29 18 181 0 0 0 6.2
Medium 15 4 55 0 0 25 5.3
Deep 14 3 101 1 3 0 7.2
Total 58 25 337 1 3 25 6.2

Asante Samuel on the Season
Depth Att Comp Yds TD INT Pen Yds/Att
Short 41 21 158 3 1 6 4.0
Medium 27 13 305 2 1 -10 10.9
Deep 17 6 260 1 0 0 15.3
Total 85 40 723 6 2 -4 8.5

He acknowleges that Hobbs played against mostly the weaker part of our scheudule so he adds :

"From Weeks 13 to 16, the Pats faced three teams ranked near the bottom of the league in passing (Buffalo, New York Jets twice and Tampa Bay). In those four games, Hobbs had 22 passes thrown his way and allowed only 3.4 yards per attempt. He also intercepted three passes. Samuel allowed 5.9 yards per attempt on the 18 passes thrown at him, intercepting one pass."

I realize the arguement can be made that Samuel got the #1 WR more, although with those week 13-16 stats those teams barely have #1 WR. Anyway, those are the stats.

Edit : I bolded the "Yards per Attempt" stat as the table is formatted badly and is hard to read.

 

[dhamz]

If there were a bunch of 6-1 or 6-2 guys who were quick enough to run with WRs under the rules of today's NFL, everyone would have them. They are few and far between.

 

[mtbykr]

well

i don't buy that they are looking to get rid of asante. they will keep him!! i am sure they will look to bolster the corners (although we are getting blue and starks back--and i wasnt to see starks healthy before i pass judgement) the way asante plays, i could see him shifting to safety at some point if it is needed.

and enough of this nonsense about our guys being too short---i would rather have a quick shorter guy than a slow taller guy. unless it's a fade, it don't matter that much; becuase it doesn't matter how tall you are if you are 3 steps behind the reciever!

 

[shakadave]

Read this, everybody!

too short and too small.
these are 170, 180-lb guys. pro teams ask a lotta hitting from CBs, on sweeps and screens. with patriots this year those have been FIRST hits becaause RBs were getting through to them untouched.
yeah, they'd come up and make the hit, but what you get is your top 4 CBs on the disabled list by Game 8.

We are so often trying to develop theories as to why the Pats have so many injuries. This post advances the cause! Good stuff, Duke!

 

[pepper03]

Just beacuse they have played well against JAX is not a reason to consistently prefering midgets, who are prone to injury.

Amen to that.

I would hope one of the things the Pats look at this offseason is why for the last couple of years the secondary has been decimated.

 

[mgteich]

I've thought that safety was a great spot for Samuel since the day he came.

i don't buy that they are looking to get rid of asante. they will keep him!! i am sure they will look to bolster the corners (although we are getting blue and starks back--and i wasnt to see starks healthy before i pass judgement) the way asante plays, i could see him shifting to safety at some point if it is needed.

and enough of this nonsense about our guys being too short---i would rather have a quick shorter guy than a slow taller guy. unless it's a fade, it don't matter that much; becuase it doesn't matter how tall you are if you are 3 steps behind the reciever!

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I don't believe that crap from the article. They are just stating what they perceive to be the obvious.
First let's talk about Samuel. Was the problem with him getting beat deep due to lack of speed? The answer NO! He has perfectly functional speed, not elite top end speed, but more than functional. Samuels problems were with his eyes and the non existent pass rush. He peeked into the backfield a lot early in the season and got burned. Add to that the fact that opposing QBs had all day to wait for the double move and that spells disaster. However I do think he is much better suited as a nickel back.

Second. The only way BB drafts a tall CB is if they have freakish quickness. He prefers quick twitchers as opposed to long striders. Look at his drafting record. Brock Williams, Hobbs, Samuel, Wilson. He wants guys that can find the ball in the air and make a play on it and guys that are quick.
Sizr for the sake of size won't cut it with him.