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Patriots vs. Saints: GIFing the Secondary

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We all know regular season games, seasons and even dynasties are won and lost in the trenches of the first preseason game of the year. In the NFL it is all about getting off to a good start, so THANKFULLY we don’t have to start writing strongly worded letters to Robert and Jonathan Kraft just yet. I was expecting to see Drew Brees play well into the 4th quarter, but thankfully those Cowards from NOLA benched his ass after 1 series. Looks like 2016 is off to a ROUGH start for New Orleans, would not want to be those guys. On to our boys…

Justin Coleman: Mike broke this down in his Pats Posits piece and I couldn’t agree more. There will be Taeks that Coleman played his way off the roster this week, but don’t buy into them. After putting Coleman under the microscope I think he did a decent job in coverage this game, and was decidedly physical.


Again, a lot of people will criticize him for this, but in looking at the first play from scrimmage again, Coleman was in pretty good position but just got beat by a better throw from Drew Brees. Coleman gave up another big reception to Michael Thomas, but was right there again in coverage and showed decent technique with an arm-bar trying to force the receiver to the boundary. I still am not sure how this was ruled a catch, but hey, those are the breaks (read: if this was a playoff game I’d be climbing the NFL offices with suction cups to get an audience with Goodell & Blandino).

I loved seeing Coleman absolutely POP 222-lb Tim Hightower in the flats last night. I jumped off my couch and starting jumping around my apartment when I saw this play in real time, so if nothing else, Coleman deserves credit for forcing me to exercise for the first time in about a half decade. Side Note: No freakin clue how Adam Magnacca was able to complete that conditioning test, if you haven’t seen it check it out here. That’s straight up masochism if I’ve ever seen it.

He also had a solid PBU in the second quarter. Don’t give this kid the splash play PFF treatment. He did a lot of good in this game.

[Read more…] about Patriots vs. Saints: GIFing the Secondary

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Cornerback Kyle Arrington started the game on the right side, then moved to the slot in nickel/dime packages. Nothing unusual there, but after only a few plays (and a very poor start), he was supplanted in the base defense at right corner by rookie Alfonzo Dennard. Later, Arrington was replaced by Marquice Cole as the slot corner. We saw this happen once before this season, at Seattle, where Arrington was gradually phased out of the lineup.

After Further Review: Colts-Patriots

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-kyle-arrington/

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Belichick and the Patriots continue to swing and miss with alarming regularity when it comes to drafting defensive backs. In the last decade, they’ve picked up some very good free-agent defensive backs – both high-profile guys like Rodney Harrison and unheralded guys off the street like Randall Gay. But of the 17 corners or safeties they’ve selected on draft weekend over the last 10 years, they’ve found one player of impact (Asante Samuel) and a few respectable additions (Devin McCourty, Ellis Hobbs and James Sanders).

patriots – Why drafting and developing defensive backs continues to be a struggle for Patriots – WEEI | Christopher Price

I just don’t get it. And the thing with Asante is that’s he pretty much a one trick pony… off-man, excels at zone reads. But he wasn’t playing man to man, or tackling a running back or anything, so BB let him walk. It’s mind blowing how no one can consistently improve in the Patriots secondary. Guys will have a good year, but no one can stack success.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-secondary-4/

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In 7-on-7′s, there were several different combinations utilized in the secondary, but it is worth noting that for the second consecutive week, McCourty appeared to take the bulk of the reps at cornerback. (It looked like McCourty and Ras-I Dowling were paired as the starting corners.) There were several different pairings at safety, including Nate Ebner and Pat Chung, Ebner and Ross Ventrone and Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown. Steve Gregory rotated into the mix as well. Ebner made a nice pass breakup on a pass from Brian Hoyer that was intended for Brandon Lloyd.

It Is What It Is » Notes from the Patriots’ Thursday morning OTA session

https://www.patspropaganda.com/in-7-on-7s-there-were-several-different/

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Patriots Defensive Back Snap % Graph

Interesting trends to note…

Butler and Page get increased playtime against Jets, eats into Sanders and Chung’s snaps. Chung had been the nickelback replacement for Jonthan Wilhite but Butler was inserted against the Jets and did a pretty good job. We’ve noticed all along that straight up coverage is not Chung’s strength and he was picked on against the Colts and Lions.

Meriweather, Arrington and McCourty remain the ironmen of the defensive backs, playing almost every snap.

Chung and Page’s return to health has also taken every snap from Sergio Brown.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-defensive-back-snap-graph-interesting/