The Patriots are hosting free-agent CB Leigh Bodden today, and after speaking with a scout familiar with Bodden, here are a few nuggets to consider about him:
1) Cover-2 style corner. His style of play would fit the Patriots' scheme. It probably helps the Patriots' projection that he played in a similar system while with the Browns, under head coach Romeo Crennel.
2) Size is a positive for a player at the position. At 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, Bodden is considered a bigger corner, and thus, he can play on the outside. When looking at the available cornerbacks in the draft, there aren't many that fit this profile, and thus Bodden would fill a need that the Patriots might feel they couldn't fill in the draft.
3) Has displayed solid ball skills. One of the things the Lions liked about Bodden when they acquired him in a trade last year was his ballhawking. He had a career-high six interceptions in the 2007 season. Bodden had just one last season.
4) Why will he be on his third team in three years? That is the question that interested teams figure to ask, because good corners are hard to come by. Bodden struggled in Detroit last season, and the Lions didn't pick up a sizeable bonus to retain him this offseason. The Browns traded him to the Lions at this time last season in a deal for NT Shaun Rogers.
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I was at Logan Airport on Sunday (2/22/09) and was standing behind Philip Buchanon (Tampa Bay Free Agent CB) while in line for security screening. Any chance he was in town to meet with the Patriots?
Bodden would be a good pick up for the right price.
The Lions are idiotic, trying to get a ball-hawking corner by trading away the D-line. What do you think helps a ball-hawker hawk balls?
I know that he could be a "diamond in the rough" but I really wonder about taking players off of 0-16 teams. How good can they be? Fernando Bryant didn't work out and neither did Starks from the Cardinals a few years ago when they were terrible.
Hey Mike, Any chance the Pats go after Shawn Springs?
Another trade that worked out for the Lions...
Mike - how can the Redskins make 2 blockbuster deals in one day and not violate the salary cap? Is there a date where they need to be at or under the cap?
Jim L,
Don't forget Deltha O'Neil. I know he played for the Bengals but it was a name we all knew and thought "maybe"........
How's that workin out? Bodden has size and good balls skills so for the right price I say it's a move worth making.
Mike - any updates on the cap situation for the Pats? Schefter's report was pretty grim for FA purposes but a couple of moves have been completed and a third one could be on the way. Was it not accurate or are there cuts to come?
Now that they're married, does Giselle's $35 million a year count against the cap?
Mike what about Chris Mcallister I havn't heard his name mentioned at all?
From what I understand, Bodden struggled in DET in large part because he's NOT suited to be a Cover-2 CB. From 2005 - 2007 while he was with CLE, he developed his reputation as a ballhawk and was, according to Football Outsiders' Success Rate, one of the top corners in the NFL. It's also where he almost exclusively played man-to-man.
He gets traded to DET, a Cover-2 team, and he's cut after just one sub-par season. This would lead me to believe he's better off being on an island breaking up passes rather than covering an area of the field and having greater tackling responsibilities.
I know he had some run-ins with the coaching staff in DET and had the worst season of his career there but the recent Lions organization strikes me as one that brings the worst out of players (much like OAK) while the Patriots are certainly an organization that has the opposite affect. Bodden's done it before and if there's one team that can maximize his talent its the Patriots. I hope this deal gets done. It wouldn't shock me at all if a year from now we're talking about how shrewd a signing Bodden was...
Picked up a Bodden a couple of years back on my fantasy team and expected big things out of him in Detroit. Obviously things didn't work out but with a team that messed up, can't entirely blame Bodden. My guess is that he still has the skills and would flourish with the Patriots. And they still serious backfield/DB help so I'd do it! Buchanon is a flashy CB but doesn't do the dirty work (tackling) as well as Bodden imho.
I smell a bit of a shake-up at DL. BB may want to see more pressure on the QB which makes any corner better. I'm wondering if there's a chance that Seymour will be heading out and a Julius Peppers may be on the way in. W/O Vrable and Seymour's respective salaries there may be room for something along this line.
Like Bodden in press /man to man. I truly believe that the Pats have been looking for a replacement for Ty Law for some time now. Asante was a ballhawk, but he was not nearly as physical as Law was in his prime. If there's a bump zone (and there is) Law was going to bump you every single time. The Pats need a CB that is more than just a 5'9 speed merchant with some ball skills.
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