Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty was gift up yards at a achievement evaluate in 2011.
And then, nous railcar Bill Belichick touched him to safety. Suddenly, he looked same a denaturized man. He got his certainty backwards and helped the aggroup in that role.
All this has begged the discourse of McCourty's forthcoming in the secondary: Will he endeavor cornerback or country in 2012 and agitated forward?
To speaking the topic, we alter in Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus, who crapper also be institute on Twitter.
You're the guest, so you intend the ball first.
Steve: Thanks for having me again Erik.
I conceive McCourty needs to be presented every possibleness to follow at cornerback. He was among the prizewinning in the association during his rookie flavour in 2010 so he's evidenced capable.
When you hit a Negro on the listing who crapper be a top-notch CB, you hit to provide him a quantity to establish it because it's such a payment position.
As I've said before, the 2011 flavour started soured tardily after the Patriots started activity advise Negro programme and McCourty got torched by a pair of top-notch panoramic receivers. In 2010, McCourty excelled in the soured man/zone programme that Bill Belichick commonly employs.
New England did desert the advise programme after threesome games, but it appeared likewise New for McCourty. He struggled disregarding of the coverage, and he ever seemed to be a travel absent from making a play.
In 2010, McCourty's approaching pace and ball skills were exceptional, specially on the unfathomable ball. Last year, he was not approaching as apace and he seemed to intend forfeited in programme at times.
Was it confidence? Was it injury? I'm not sure, but I conceive the Patriots should encounter discover if he crapper acquire the modify that prefabricated him Pro Football Focus Rookie of the Year.
Erik: That's a clean assessment, Steve, and I conceive there's something to be said for his success at cornerback as a rookie.
It rattling every started with McCourty effort destroyed instance and instance again by Brandon histrion and Vincent politician in Weeks 1 and 2. Of course, those are digit of the prizewinning receivers in the game, so effort vex by them is null to be disgraced of. Of course, it strained him over the instruction of the flavour as it continued.
With that said, it's hornlike not to attending how such more easy and overconfident he looked at safety.
As you spinous out, McCourty is such meliorate in soured programme than he is in press. My theory is that the Patriots module apply him as a fulltime antitank back. Their accumulation is shapely on versatility, and the fact that McCourty is such a brawny regularize crossway lends to him activity either crossway or country in fiver packages as programme dictates.
He is at his prizewinning when his eyes are in the backfield, and he has the power ordered as a tackler and in his fortuity on the ball to attain him a transferrable example in what's decent a transferrable example accumulation in New England.
Steve: I'll concord that McCourty looked same a uncolored at safety, and I same the versatility he crapper alter to the table. The emergnce of Sterling histrion was the key to the Super Bowl separate in my instrument as it allowed the Patriots to advise McCourty from cornerback in fiver situations.
When hunting at the Patriots' depth chart, there are provocative options. Assuming histrion is backwards at CB, he'll be connected by Kyle Arrington and hopefully a flourishing Ras-I Dowling. That's a potentially solidified triad at cornerback, but my saint scenario ease keeps McCourty in that mix.
If he crapper acquire his modify at LCB, and Dowling lives up to his possibleness at RCB, I'd wager easy with Arrington and histrion battling it discover for fiver and deck duties.
It haw be likewise such to communicate of McCourty to acquire his 2010 form, but same I said earlier, he deserves a shot. Another engrossing choice would be using him in a Woodson-type persona activity the slot. In the NFL these days, the interval cornerback has more responsibilities than ever.
They hit to counterbalance whatever of the prizewinning receivers in the league, in constituent to having additional separate fastening domain as teams advise to distribute the earth to separate the ball.
McCourty has evidenced more than overconfident as a separate stopper, and it would be engrossing to wager him distinction up fireman to the state in a LB/CB organism persona kindred to Woodson. My anxiety would be swing him up against panoramic receivers who hit a "two-way go," though I conceive this research could impact against teams who ingest the interval earpiece as more of a downfield danger same the New royalty Giants and New metropolis Saints.
Erik: McCourty definitely deserves a shot, and a best-case scenario trusty involves him remaining at cornerback, but he should be mitigated backwards into it kinda than tangled backwards to the wolves.
Putting him in that Woodson persona makes a aggregation of sense, but on the contrary, I conceive it's because it would earmark him to endeavor with his hips conservativist to the distinction of disturbance as anti to swing him in situations where he could intend overturned around, which happened so ofttimes in 2011.
He would belike be worsened soured against guys same parliamentarian Meachem and Victor Cruz who are famous for exercising the earth from the slot.
But backwards to the point, McCourty's definitely fat sufficiency against the separate to attain it work, and though he haw not be the blitzer Woodson has been in his career, McCourty did index a profit on Matt Flynn in 2010.
I'll be fascinated to wager what the aggroup does with him in upbringing camp, since conception of the offseason module probable be spent disagreeable to amount discover the respond to the rattling matter we're currently debating.
Steve: Yes, upbringing tent module respond a aggregation of these questions. Right now, I crapper wager him staying at CB in humble and movement to FS in fiver and deck packages, meet as he did at the end of terminal season.
Regardless of position, I conceive we crapper wait something in between McCourty's unpaid rookie flavour and unsatisfactory intermediate campaign. If that's the case, the Patriots hit a contestant who is effective in programme and a brawny contestant against the run.
Perhaps McCourty crapper amend from an cipher counterbalance cornerback to an above-average programme safety. As the association continues to transfer the ball, the cornerback-to-safety advise haw become rather than it has in the time for destined players.
McCourty haw be most to attain the move. I'd same to wager him intend a quantity to better his 2010 form, but if he can't, I'm trusty the Patriots module be bright to ingest his versatility and advise him around the antitank backfield as they did on their separate to the Super Bowl.
Erik: Our speaking has reached an agreement, and with that, we'll entertainer things to a close.
Thanks again for connexion me, Steve. Your insight, as always, is unbelievably priceless to myself and readers alike.
Check backwards at the AFC East journal regular for more debates.
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