McCourty rates highly as future star

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In response to APpats21's comment:

McCourty rates highly as future star June, 28, 2013 Jun 28 11:10 AM ET By Field Yates | ESPNBoston.com

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Devin McCourty hasn't been a safety for very long (he began the 2012 season as the Patriots starting left cornerback), but he settled in to the new spot and played at a high level last season.

And the future for McCourty looks bright, as ESPN Insider's Matt Williamson ranks him as the second best safety for 2016, trailing only Earl Thomas of the Seahawks.

Writes Williamson:

"McCourty entered the league as a first-round pick at cornerback, but has found a home at safety. He also has cornerback versatility, and the Patriots employ him in many different ways, which is a tremendously valuable asset in today's NFL. McCourty will be 29 when the 2016 season starts and still should be a great player who by then will be much more comfortable as a safety. Also by then, he might just lead a Patriots defense that is made up entirely of guys who played at Rutgers."

McCourty bounced back from a difficult 2011 campaign to snag five interceptions and record 82 tackles in 2012. He also further established himself as one of the defensive leaders for the Patriots, often earning the praise of head coach Bill Belichick in that regard.

With Aqib Talib, Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington expected to serve as the Patriots top cornerback trio, the door is open for McCourty to remain at safety and provide stability for the back half of the defense.

He is currently under contract through the 2014 season, but if he remains on his current trajectory as a player, he strikes as the type of individual the Patriots would want to invest in long-term when the time comes to talk about a new deal.

I couldn't agree with this assessment more. DMACs real issue at CB was his inability to turn his hips and run "with his head on a swivel", as they say in the game. He had "tight hips". Also, when he would turn to run with a receiver, whether deep third and even to the inside, he takes his eyes off of the backfield, locks in directly on the receiver to identify the route, then looks back into the backfield and would have to reprocess the play action to complete his read. TERRIBLE technique. He should be keeping eyes in the backfield while maintaining periferral vision on his receiver/zone. As a Safety, he never has to turn to look away form the backfield completely to run except on a busted coverage, or to help over the top on a go route to the outside third. He is a great tackler and has excellent closing speed. Just don't make him have to re-evaluate the action. As a Safety, it is always in from of him. If he stay healthy, no reason to believe won't be ALL-PRO caliber for years to come.......

Many of us agreed here it was probably going to work out much better for him when it was announced he was moving to safety, because most saw he seemed unable to turn and look back for the ball as a CB. The safety position allows for much better angles to lessen the impact of that defect in his game.

This post has been removed.

In response to NedBraden's comment:

McCouty was All Pro in 2010 as a rookie for 16 games, so I wouldn't go as far to say his "technique was terrible".  If it was as bad as you say, no way he's All Pro. In 2011, off the lockout and battling injuries all year, he struggled with such an inconsistency on the back end at Safety.

However, I do think with his range and speed, smarts, IQ, his skill set has a chance to be consistently elite back there for years to come. i don't really care who plays where, as long as it works well.

On the heels of this Hernandez drama, if he has a good camp and season, I would race in and extend his deal before next season gets under way.

No, his technique as a CB was as terrible as I say. He was only an all pro because it takes a while before the OCs pick up on what the weaknesses are of any player in order to take advantage of him. Much like a new hitter to MLB, he's usually pretty successful to start as it takes time for the opposition to find the holes in his swing. McCourty is exceptionaly atheltic and talented, and with the extra help over the top that the PATS usually give rookie or new CBs with their Cover-2 sets, his poor technique was masked, for a while. Ultimately, you can't hide that for long in any professional league. Lasltly, you don't go from being All Pro at CB to changing positions at his age for nothing.......bad technique is all it can be with his crazy athletic abilities. His gradual climb to success at safety can be attributed to that fact that he was new at it. It took time for him to become instinctive, as he was likely thinking too much instead of naturally reacting while trying to learn the job and all of the new reads on the fly. As for the long term, I believe that the BB should do exactly as you say andget him locked up for the long term. Maybe after the poor shoiwng we've has since Rondey's departrue, he will bend a little more this time.

In response to NedBraden's comment:

McCouty was All Pro in 2010 as a rookie for 16 games, so I wouldn't go as far to say his "technique was terrible".  If it was as bad as you say, no way he's All Pro. In 2011, off the lockout and battling injuries all year, he struggled with such an inconsistency on the back end at Safety.

However, I do think with his range and speed, smarts, IQ, his skill set has a chance to be consistently elite back there for years to come. i don't really care who plays where, as long as it works well.

On the heels of this Hernandez drama, if he has a good camp and season, I would race in and extend his deal before next season gets under way.

Ya know what, man......after thinking about it, you are correct..... "terrrible" is not the right word to use. Bottom line, How can anyone who even plays CB in the NFL get there with "terrible" technique? Let me rephrase......He had poor technique for a CB who wanted to remain successful in the NFL for the long term.  AND by the way, you sure are wasting a lot of time and energy writing back and forth to yourself!!! HA! Whata crack pot he is!!!!!!

In response to RallyC's comment:

In response to mthurl's comment:

In response to RallyC's comment:

In response to NedBraden's comment:

McCouty was All Pro in 2010 as a rookie for 16 games, so I wouldn't go as far to say his "technique was terrible".  If it was as bad as you say, no way he's All Pro. In 2011, off the lockout and battling injuries all year, he struggled with such an inconsistency on the back end at Safety.

However, I do think with his range and speed, smarts, IQ, his skill set has a chance to be consistently elite back there for years to come. i don't really care who plays where, as long as it works well.

On the heels of this Hernandez drama, if he has a good camp and season, I would race in and extend his deal before next season gets under way.

No, his technique as a CB was as terrible as I say. He was only an all pro because it takes a while before the OCs pick up on what the weaknesses are of any player in order to take advantage of him. Much like a new hitter to MLB, he's usually pretty successful to start as it takes time for the opposition to find the holes in his swing. McCourty is exceptionaly atheltic and talented, and with the extra help over the top that the PATS usually give rookie or new CBs with their Cover-2 sets, his poor technique was masked, for a while. Ultimately, you can't hide that for long in any professional league. Lasltly, you don't go from being All Pro at CB to changing positions at his age for nothing.......bad technique is all it can be with his crazy athletic abilities. His gradual climb to success at safety can be attributed to that fact that he was new at it. It took time for him to become instinctive, as he was likely thinking too much instead of naturally reacting while trying to learn the job and all of the new reads on the fly. As for the long term, I believe that the BB should do exactly as you say andget him locked up for the long term. Maybe after the poor shoiwng we've has since Rondey's departrue, he will bend a little more this time.

I'd argue this, if the reasons for his failure at cornerback are what you say, what is to say the same things won't happen at safety? The guy has only been starting there for half a season. I certainly think he was pretty solid back there, but I think he is one of those guys to keep an eye on going forward because coordinators will have film on him at that spot now - any weaknesses in his game will be brought to light this season.  

Mthurl, fact is, the most athletically challenging position on the field, bar none, is the CB position. DMC is an incredible athlete with an abundance of the skills that the position requires, but was unable to correct the critical issues that I mentioned in the previous dialogue which ultimately lead to his demise at the position. As I, and even Babe addressed above, the Safety position does not expose those same weaknesses and tendancies that ended DMC's CB days. The Safety position is far less physically complicated, doesn't force him to turn away and lose perspectvie, and because he is a sure tackler with great closing speed who is rarely required to turn look away from the play and run, he is an ideal safety for the NFL. I truly believe that the staff identified his weaknesses early, but because of how supremely gifted he is, he may be able compensate for them. Didn't work. But I am also certain that this was their fall back plan all along if CB bombed. Looked realy good until it looked really bad. Now he's found a home that his athletic skillset may contatin a little more than what is required for most safeties to succeed, but that is exactly what makes him better for the long term. A good perspective on the differences between these two positions would be to compare the differences between two of the best Patriots at the position Asante to Rodney. Pure CB vs. pure Safety. Finness agile athlete vs.  hard closing sure handed thumper. I see DMC as a thumper who has the agility of a CB. 

Keeping my fingers crossed he finally starts to shine

In response to APpats21's comment:

Talib, (best of dennard dowling rookie)  DM, A Wilson.....  Oh DBs could be an area of strength this season,

In response to BabeParilli's comment:

This post has been removed.

McCourty is a star right now, he has carried us through some rough times, he did the dirty job of cleaning up other's mess or being the stand alone man corner while the rest of the D was playing zone.     I'm glad he is playing free safety, that has always been a position to shine in Belichick's D and make plays, he deserves it.  

It makes me miss the days of Willie "big play" Clay and Milloy and we've had bad safety play since Rodney and Eugene Wilson departed.  DMC is a lot like Wilson in they were both corners who transitioned for the betterment of the team.   There's something to be said for a guy who agrees to move from a premium paid position at corner to a lower paid free safety position without a stink.  Now that we have a monster Strong Safety in Adrian Wilson, we will be able to cover the entire field, so hopefully that pass rush reappears...

Oh yeah, All Pro and Pro Bowl as a rookie cornerback on a horrible backfield unit, that wasn't too shabby either...

In response to quinzpatsfan's comment:

Jones ranked rather high in that "futures" list as well. AS high as sixth looking forward as I recall. With a rookie, it's a bit more of a guessing game, but it is positive to see these kinds of endorsements. 

In response to RallyC's comment:

I remember when Rusty used to run around calling Merriweather the second best safety in the AFC...that didn't work out too well.  

In response to mthurl's comment:

In response to RallyC's comment:

In response to mthurl's comment:

In response to RallyC's comment:

In response to NedBraden's comment:

McCouty was All Pro in 2010 as a rookie for 16 games, so I wouldn't go as far to say his "technique was terrible".  If it was as bad as you say, no way he's All Pro. In 2011, off the lockout and battling injuries all year, he struggled with such an inconsistency on the back end at Safety.

However, I do think with his range and speed, smarts, IQ, his skill set has a chance to be consistently elite back there for years to come. i don't really care who plays where, as long as it works well.

On the heels of this Hernandez drama, if he has a good camp and season, I would race in and extend his deal before next season gets under way.

No, his technique as a CB was as terrible as I say. He was only an all pro because it takes a while before the OCs pick up on what the weaknesses are of any player in order to take advantage of him. Much like a new hitter to MLB, he's usually pretty successful to start as it takes time for the opposition to find the holes in his swing. McCourty is exceptionaly atheltic and talented, and with the extra help over the top that the PATS usually give rookie or new CBs with their Cover-2 sets, his poor technique was masked, for a while. Ultimately, you can't hide that for long in any professional league. Lasltly, you don't go from being All Pro at CB to changing positions at his age for nothing.......bad technique is all it can be with his crazy athletic abilities. His gradual climb to success at safety can be attributed to that fact that he was new at it. It took time for him to become instinctive, as he was likely thinking too much instead of naturally reacting while trying to learn the job and all of the new reads on the fly. As for the long term, I believe that the BB should do exactly as you say andget him locked up for the long term. Maybe after the poor shoiwng we've has since Rondey's departrue, he will bend a little more this time.

I'd argue this, if the reasons for his failure at cornerback are what you say, what is to say the same things won't happen at safety? The guy has only been starting there for half a season. I certainly think he was pretty solid back there, but I think he is one of those guys to keep an eye on going forward because coordinators will have film on him at that spot now - any weaknesses in his game will be brought to light this season.  

Mthurl, fact is, the most athletically challenging position on the field, bar none, is the CB position. DMC is an incredible athlete with an abundance of the skills that the position requires, but was unable to correct the critical issues that I mentioned in the previous dialogue which ultimately lead to his demise at the position. As I, and even Babe addressed above, the Safety position does not expose those same weaknesses and tendancies that ended DMC's CB days. The Safety position is far less physically complicated, doesn't force him to turn away and lose perspectvie, and because he is a sure tackler with great closing speed who is rarely required to turn look away from the play and run, he is an ideal safety for the NFL. I truly believe that the staff identified his weaknesses early, but because of how supremely gifted he is, he may be able compensate for them. Didn't work. But I am also certain that this was their fall back plan all along if CB bombed. Looked realy good until it looked really bad. Now he's found a home that his athletic skillset may contatin a little more than what is required for most safeties to succeed, but that is exactly what makes him better for the long term. A good perspective on the differences between these two positions would be to compare the differences between two of the best Patriots at the position Asante to Rodney. Pure CB vs. pure Safety. Finness agile athlete vs.  hard closing sure handed thumper. I see DMC as a thumper who has the agility of a CB. 

Ok, I agree with most of this. The only thing I would say is I wouldn't consider him a "thumper" until I start to see him come down into the box and take on some bigger players. Watching Chung try to do that over the last 4 years was a disgrace - I haven't seen McCourty do much of that yet....he can lay someone out over the middle, but I think a lot of guys can do that. A thumper can do both and when they nail that receiver over the middle the ball is always in danger of coming out...I want to see McCourty do these things...I want to see him play the safety spot for more than half a season before I call him the second best safety in the NFL.

I remember when Rusty used to run around calling Merriweather the second best safety in the AFC...that didn't work out too well.  

MTHURL, You are right.... But consider this; McCourty hasn't been asked to attack the box much and therefore he won't be making many of the hits you are looking for. That is due to the fact that the days of the "SS" (Strong Safety) is pretty much gone now with the NFL having evolved into a pass happy league. Rodney was a guy who would come up to play that role on certain run plays and had chances to really smack some guys at the LOS.  PATS played so much Cover-2 last season to provide help over the top of both outside thirds to give our corners deep support. Now, with the advent of the "Slot CB" (Arrington), the Strong Safety position evolved into more of a quick CB guy who needs to be athletic, agile, with good inside cover skills and SURE tackling ability to cover the likes of a Welker, or Amendola just like Arrington does. This is instead of what use to be the primary responsibililty of helping the CB keep outside containment with the emphasis of filling the running lane on run support at the LOS. As recently as when Rodney played, the SS position was like an outside LB who could run with TEs and RBs. If he played today, you would see far, far fewer hits by him in the box due to the offensive styles and resulting defensive formations and DB assignments. Especially if questionable CB performances persist, Cover-2 will keep DMC deep half instead of shallow middle. Regardless, Ronnie Lott and Rodney Harrison type plays in the box will be very very rare for sure. So, DMC is in the perfect place for his skill set as he will thump a guy over the middle and will come up to make sure handed tackles as the last line of defense. He is fearless for sure. Make sense? 

 Rally, you would know better than me since you played the position, but it seems to me that McCourty is a technically proficient tackler.  Not a hard hitter necessarily, but a guy who wraps up pretty well and tends to make the stop.  He reminds me a little of Mayo because of that.  Mayo doesn't whack people, but he tends to get to the play and wrap up the runner.  McCourty when he defends the edge seems to do the same. 

I've seen Mannequins and German Shepherd's with better hips.

In response to prolate0spheroid's comment:

 Rally, you would know better than me since you played the position, but it seems to me that McCourty is a technically proficient tackler.  Not a hard hitter necessarily, but a guy who wraps up pretty well and tends to make the stop.  He reminds me a little of Mayo because of that.  Mayo doesn't whack people, but he tends to get to the play and wrap up the runner.  McCourty when he defends the edge seems to do the same. 

Agreed. DMCs demise at CB is his lack of hip flexiblity and that when he turns to run, he locks his eyes on the receiver to read the route and has a hard time anticipating the progression of the play in his head in the meantime. It almost like her forgets what he saw before he looked away and has to regain the enitre picture of where the play was before he can again react. That is why playing Safety is much better for him....Always has the play in front of him, and he usually will see throws over the top to the outside when they happen and has excellent closing speed. He has excellent tackling technique just as a Safety needs as the last line of defense. Fortunately, he doesn't have to come up to make big tackles on run plays often due to the offensive and resuting defensive coverage sets unless of course someone misses an assignment or tackle. When I say "thumper" I am referring to the wreckless abandon by which he throws himself at receivers and would be blockers in the open field. He is fearless, when it comes to contact for sure. He will be in lots of big hits accross the middle, not so much in running downhill on the running backs and TEs. And as you say, an edge contain guy he isn't. But a good last line of D, he is.

DMC, Tavon Wilson and Duron Harmon have one of the best Safeties in NFL history to learn the position from. 

With Adrian Wilson back there as the "enforcer", McCourty will be competing for an All-Pro honor this year.

I really don't know what happened to DMC at corner. Some of the points made might be right on. It's evident that people studying tape found something and Wr's were taking advantage of those weaknesses that were not obvious his rookie year.. Despite that, I think he can still play corner when needed. He's still better than all of those failed experiments that were drafted before him at that position and still could have been developed into a solid corner I think, just not a great one. 

It's nice though that he's found a spot where he can be star caliber. 

Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding the truth.

http://musketfire.com/2013/01/02/new-england-patriots-opinion-devin-mccourty-is-an-elite-safety/

Hopefully, McCourty will have some help this year from the OLBs/DEs and other defensive backs.  We really need to get back into top 3-5 in points against - and mebbe 10-14 in passing yards against, and top 3-5 in red zone defense.

The Patriots really need to be able to get off the field more often between the 202

In addition, he still has his work cut out for him this year. I don't care what he's projected/predicted to do in the future - because, who knows - he may not be around much longer.

I'm not convinced that he's truly an "all-pro" Safety or CB. I wouldn't consider him a game changer or playmaker.

In response to anonymis' comment:

In addition, he still has his work cut out for him this year. I don't care what he's projected/predicted to do in the future - because, who knows - he may not be around much longer.

I'm not convinced that he's truly an "all-pro" Safety or CB. I wouldn't consider him a game changer or playmaker.

With what DMC did in not only learning the position on the fly last season, he executed his assignments in game situations exceptionaly well. I believe that what the OP implies here is spot on minus the timing of his rise. DMC won't peak until he isn't thinking about what he is supposed to do and gets to where he reacts naturally. That comes with more reps. The light bulb usually goes on for a guy at that level moving to a new position following the second preseason camp. Like the phase implies, "The game slows down for him".  No more helter skelter trying to make his reads, then react. Now its read and react almost seamlessly. A good analogy would be like playing the guitar or most other instruments. Once you aren't thinking about what your hands are doing, only then do you become a true musician. I think the light started flickering to come on for DMC during the last quarter of 2012. He's well ahead of the game. I think if he stays healthy he shines this season and for many more to come.