Patriots must get creative replicating Devin McCourty’s range at free safety
FOXBORO — The Patriots have never wavered in their confidence that they can continue to succeed on defense without retired safety Devin McCourty, but they fully acknowledge there’s no replacing the “grumpy bald guy.”
That’s what safety Adrian Phillips jokingly called McCourty on Tuesday after training camp practice. Phillips said the process of filling in for McCourty is “going well.”
Phillips and fellow safeties Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and Jalen Mills and cornerback Jonathan Jones have taken on bigger roles communicating in the defensive backfield. Phillips has seen the most snaps at free safety this summer, but other players like Peppers and Mills have seen time there, as well. But Phillips detailed why McCourty is such a unique player to replace beyond just experience and leadership.
“With Dev, his whole career he ran low 4.3 (second 40-yard dash), so he could play things a certain way,” Phillips said. “He could sit on certain routes and play it a certain way. For other guys that might not be as fast as him, you might have to be more detailed with your reads, more detailed with your pedal and where you line up or post on the field.
“With Dev, he could pretty much line up in the middle of the field every single time and get sideline to sideline. For other players, it might not be like that. You might have to lean one way or you might have to lean the other way. But what comes with that is just being savvy and trying to switch up the looks for Mac, Zappe and those guys, let them know like, ‘OK, if we are leaning this way, we might not always be going back the other way.’ So it’s just a mental game. Every free safety or every guy that’s back there has a game that they’ve played within a game to the quarterback to try to get them off their toes, and you’ve got to find out what works for you.”
Therein lies the problem of replacing McCourty, because he had elite range as a free safety and the smarts and savvy to switch up his looks. McCourty ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash coming out of Rutgers in 2010. The Patriots’ prospective free safeties all ran nearly a tenth of a second slower with Phillips clocking in at 4.58 seconds, Peppers at 4.46 seconds and Mills at 4.47 seconds. Cornerback Jonathan Jones has played safety before and could most easily replicated McCourty’s speed, but he’s one of the team’s best at his own position. And the Patriots might need him depending on how Jack Jones’ legal situation unfolds.
Phillips is enjoying his time at free safety and said he’s studied McCourty, Seattle Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“It feels good. You kind of get used to what you’re doing a lot when you’ve got a guy like Dev back there because he is the middle-field roamer,” Phillips said. “He’s going to be the guy back there no matter what. But since he isn’t back there, it’s allowed me and it’s allowed other players to be able to get comfortable in the middle of the field, see how plays develop, seeing what your new keys will look like. I love being back there. Honestly, I just love being on the field period. But it does feel good to be back there and show some range and just have some fun.”
The Patriots believe there will be some trial and error this summer in figuring out how to best replace McCourty at free safety. Things will certainly look different in the secondary this season since McCourty was such a durable and dependable presence.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/MY9PnUh
Post a Comment