1. I didn't notice him throughout the whole game yesterday. 

2. I think that's a very good thing.

Solid pick-up so far. Any chances of securing this guy long-term if he continues to perform or will Pats stick to never paying more than $3-4m for corners and giving up gazillions of yards to long hops. Maybe both can meet half-way? I'd love to have this guy for $7m per year. 

They were afraid to throw his way.  That would be a definition of shutdown CB.

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He could end up being the greatest addition NE has made since Dillon. 

If he pans out, he solves the one problem BB hasn't been able to fix in half a decade. 

He did look very good out there. 

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Great move by BB in picking up Talib. He's been a guy who can flat out play since he came into the league. We've seen it over and over again here.

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In response to tcal2-'s comment:

I'm under the impression that Sanchez is just afraid to throw

In response to zbellino's comment:

BB has two blindspots for personnel evaluation; secondary and WR.  WR hasn't hurt us that much because he can draft players who can catch the ball....as long as they don't actually play WR lol.  We should have the best secondary in the NFL with all of the players we have drafted there the past several years.  I'm crossing my fingers that Talib works out well for us.  Ditto for Dennard.

Great pick-up. Talib has to know that he's playing for a good deal in the future. Also like McCourty at FS. Even Gregory has been in good spots. IMO this secondary is better than last years. The Pats have Mayo making plays all over, Spikes laying guys out, the best DT in the game, an improved secondary, and a better pass rush. My guess is that come playoff time this team will be the team the AFC contenders will wanna face the least.

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Talib is still a relatively young guy and could become a fixture in a defense that's good for several years to come. Pats need to find a way to sign this guy for the next few years. Waiting is not a good strategy in this case. I know there are a lot of competing situations, including Welker, Spikes, etc. But this one needs to get done.

In response to neinmd's comment:

\

i agree

ive been saying th e same since his first game.

we have spikes anoter year

In response to zbellino's comment:

exactly

In response to murghkhor's comment:

the key for me would have been signing him while he was grateful to still be in the league to a behavior and pef based contract (3 -4 years). i woulda done it after his first game. once he thinks hes all that and can make a gazillion $ he may be gonte. now he may never feel that way (and want to stay a pat), but the more games i fear, the more likely.

and you aer right having a corner thqat is actually good is worth 10 mil in this league so anything we can sign him to below that is gravy. after last sunday i woulda offered 3-3.5-4 mil per year for 3- 4 years team option 4th and see if he bit.

In response to dapats1281's comment:

Lol

In response to Neal Page's comment:

Really? Wasn't Bodden's contract for 35 million? Seems like a bit of money to shell out for a guy that after he signed the contract didn't play more than five minutes of quality football for us before being released. I do think you are correct - we COULD of gotten a quality coner higher in the draft - instead we traded back for bushels of second round picks that went bust.

And the "rebuilding" of this defense has gone on for a bit more than 3 years, we are into the fifth year of this thing. To me this defense looks no better than last year, or the year before or the year before. Same stuff. Same gaps a mile wide in coverage. Same lack of a pass rush. Same defensive line that consists of Wilfork and little else. What will happen when Brady carries us into the post season and our defense let's "fill in the blank decent QB" stand there comfy, while he picks us apart for scores? I guess we'll just blame Brady, right?

I wish you were right Rusty, I really do, but you're not. Come January this defense will be punched repeatedly in the face (like every year)...it will take a dropped pass or a penalty to stop drives and those things aren't always going to happen. Spikes will try hard, so will Wilfork. Chandler will play well and maybe Hightower too, but there are too many stiffs on this defense to make up for their efforts. Brady will have to play perfect against some of the best teams in the league...hard to do. 

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In response to murghkhor's comment:

Agreed, the less we see of him that means they're staying away from him.

If Talib has a stellar end-of-the season performance - he's gonna want to be paid. I guess they can franchise him or Welker. Do Patriots have enough cap space for signing both in those circumstances?

If it comes to offering an big contract to one or the other - who are Patriots gonna keep?

In response to Neal Page's comment:

You really amaze me when you mention Jet's players that I've never ever mentioned...well you don't really amaze me. Ditto for Houston. Houston is a good team, they're 10 and 1...what they're not good?

Don't go confusing Mark Sanchez and one decent tight end vs. Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Pettigrew.

I'm sorry that I'm not wetting my pants and yelling "the warnings were out people" after we could barely get our hands on Sanchez and let him stay that comfy in the pocket for him to throw the ball as good as he basically can. Nor do I feel real comfortable about watching our defensive line get pushed back on 80% of the running plays. What's going to happen when we face a team that has a QB or a real running back?

Sorry, like I said I wish it were different. I wish it wasn't Vince Wilfork playing his brains out while Kyle Love is getting tossed around like a rag doll. I wish it wasn't Spikes playing like he is totally dialed in to what is going to happen before the ball is snapped, while Mayo isn't moving until we are two seconds into the play. I wish it wasn't Dennard and Talib while our safeties are a mile apart trying to find the ball, but it is. It's Chandler Jones rushing the passer and Ninkovich getting absolutely swallowed by every no name tackle he goes against. And I don't care if he has 6 sacks - for god's sake the QB literally fell into him on 2 of them.

Sorry this is all super negative after a big win. Hey, I guess I'll just appreciate whatever happens, but part of me still thinks we are Tom Brady and little else. I still think we should of spent to the cap and given ourselves a better chance while Brady is still here. This defense still looks like one that will get punched in the mouth come playoff time by a good offense, I hope I am wrong.

 

Doesn't anyone see the D backs have played better since the addition of Talib and the much better pash rush????

I have said it all year if you give any QB 3+ seconds to throw your DBs will get burnt.

The pass rush has been significantly better lately. Thus the DBs are getting burnt far less.

Just look at what TB does wit time to spare then when he doesn't. He won't be as bad as other QBs but he will be less effective.

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If I remember right he was covering a receiver that caught a td pass but the ball touched the ground when he went down.  That being said, he was in good position, it was just a very good pass.  Last week he had a TD scored against him but he had excellent position and again it was just a very good thrown ball.  He couldn't have had better coverage without getting the PI call which is a key thing here.  He has tight coverage and still no PI call.  How many times have we seen Patriots DB's get called for PI penalties? Lots.  Talib is a great addition to this team, has played great in the 2 games being back from suspension, I am very happy about him being on the team and DMC being moved to safety because of him being added to the defense.  Great freaking pick up.

In response to JimfromFlorida's comment:

yes dbs perform better with a pass rush. we dont have one. and still the backfield is playing better. rush was better sunday than it was yesterday. backfield is still better.