I’m posting this with hopes that it might help Devin McCourty get his mojo back…

Here’s an excellent article from Steve Palazzolo at Pro Football Focus breaking down Devin McCourty’s sophomore slump.  It’s an in-depth look at what McCourty did well last year and what he hasn’t done well this year.

The most interesting part is that after being asked to play more press coverage early in 2011 the Patriots tried to return to the coverages McCourty excelled at in 2010, yet his struggles continued. His problems with tackling, likely related somewhat to the lack of padded practices, have only compounded his problems.

McCourty has been universally praised by the media for being upfront and willing to talk throughout his tough start to his 2011 season. With his work ethic we expect him to return to form at some point, we just hope it’s this season. Mike Wallace should provide an excellent challenge for him this weekend.

After McCourty showed himself to be one of the bright young CBs in the league last season, he has clearly taken a step back. At first it seemed the change in scheme was to blame, but his tackling struggles are also alarming. Belichick is always re-shaping his defensive scheme and if he once again calls for press coverage, McCourty must show he is able to play physically and win the battle at the line. If the game plan calls for more conservative coverage, McCourty must get back to his 2010 form with sure tackling, while also taking away deep plays as he’s shown he can. With 10 games remaining, McCourty needs to show improvement quickly or the “sophomore slump” theory will turn to questions of which season actually showed us the real Devin McCourty.

Yes we’re going a little crazy with the X and O articles today, but I missed this one and felt it was still appropriate since so much conversation about the Pats revolves around their pass defense.

Here’s Bowen’s breakdown of McCourty’s technique and where he went wrong:

Check out Patriots’ CB Devin McCourty in the slot. He initially misses on the jam in a press-position, however he recovers to get back “in-phase” with Jackson when the WR makes his cut to the boundary. The main problem here? McCourty looks back to the QB. That allows Jackson to create some separation at the top of the route stem. Remember, the QB isn’t throwing the ball to the CB—so there is no need to look back. Because that is when you lose position and can’t make a play on the ball.

Here in Football Outsider’s breakdown of how teams match up with each type of receiver we find the Pats broken down this way:

• vs. WR #1: 31st overall
• vs WR #2: 18th overall
• vs. Other WR: 9th overall
• vs. TE: 8th overall
• vs. RB: 20th overall

So what can we deduce from this? That Devin McCourty’s struggles are clearly evident. Perhaps he’s not getting as much help over the top as he had last year, but even my untrained eyes can see that he’s getting beat off the line far too much.

Last year the Pats struggle most against running backs receiving out of the backfield. Clearly they’ve improved in that area but it’s still not good enough.

Bad ass Devin McCourty pic. Thanks @BryantWilson!

Second year captain.

I was kind of pulling for Patchung! here but oh well. Say what you will about the Patriots drafts but every single captain was drafted by BB. Excited for McCourty and Slater, who has slowly won me over after a couple years of being miscast as a kick returner who subscribed to the “just put my head down and run straight into oncoming defenders” style of returns.

• Tom Brady
• Logan Mankins
• Vince Wilfork
• Jerod Mayo
• Devin McCourty
• Matthew Slater

Ugh… 45-3…