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Patriots vs. Saints: GIFing the Secondary

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We all know regular season games, seasons and even dynasties are won and lost in the trenches of the first preseason game of the year. In the NFL it is all about getting off to a good start, so THANKFULLY we don’t have to start writing strongly worded letters to Robert and Jonathan Kraft just yet. I was expecting to see Drew Brees play well into the 4th quarter, but thankfully those Cowards from NOLA benched his ass after 1 series. Looks like 2016 is off to a ROUGH start for New Orleans, would not want to be those guys. On to our boys…

Justin Coleman: Mike broke this down in his Pats Posits piece and I couldn’t agree more. There will be Taeks that Coleman played his way off the roster this week, but don’t buy into them. After putting Coleman under the microscope I think he did a decent job in coverage this game, and was decidedly physical.


Again, a lot of people will criticize him for this, but in looking at the first play from scrimmage again, Coleman was in pretty good position but just got beat by a better throw from Drew Brees. Coleman gave up another big reception to Michael Thomas, but was right there again in coverage and showed decent technique with an arm-bar trying to force the receiver to the boundary. I still am not sure how this was ruled a catch, but hey, those are the breaks (read: if this was a playoff game I’d be climbing the NFL offices with suction cups to get an audience with Goodell & Blandino).

I loved seeing Coleman absolutely POP 222-lb Tim Hightower in the flats last night. I jumped off my couch and starting jumping around my apartment when I saw this play in real time, so if nothing else, Coleman deserves credit for forcing me to exercise for the first time in about a half decade. Side Note: No freakin clue how Adam Magnacca was able to complete that conditioning test, if you haven’t seen it check it out here. That’s straight up masochism if I’ve ever seen it.

He also had a solid PBU in the second quarter. Don’t give this kid the splash play PFF treatment. He did a lot of good in this game.

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On the Bubble: E.J. Biggers

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EJ Biggers PatriotsI have a confession: when the Patriots first signed E.J. Biggers I had absolutely no idea who he was. Not a clue.  Biggers is a career backup and special-teams player, so unless you’re an NFL personnel junkie, Central Michigan, Tampa, Washington or Philadelphia fan (aka a masochist) you wouldn’t have had many opportunities to see Biggers. What’s worse is PFF ranked him as the third WORST player in the entire NFL in 2015, which drew the ire of many Patriots fans.

So what’s the deal with Biggers? Are Caserio, BB & Ernie Adams “lighting up the lighthouse” in the Gillette Stadium press box, or have the Patriots (as usual) seen talent that other teams might’ve missed?

While I’m certainly not guaranteeing Biggers will make the team, I think he has a solid chance to make the roster as a CB5/ST player in 2016. I also think he’s a player many Patriots fans have written off already, and I hope I can at least put him back on the bubble because he deserves to be there. As I noted previously, if nothing else, he brings a veteran presence to a young cornerback corps.

Biggers’ NFL History

Biggers comes from a football hotbed in Dade County, FL. where he was Dade County Player of the Year in 2005. Surprisingly, Biggers was not highly recruited and attended small school, Western Michigan. He saw considerable action in all four years at WMU, something the Patriots love in prospects. The Pats also love versatility, and I’m guessing BB must’ve donned a rare grin when he saw this play from Biggers’ sophomore season (Biggers #1).

Biggers was selected in the seventh round, 217th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009. In a draft where the Pats whiffed on Myron Pryor at 207, and then picked again at 232 and 234 (Edelman, Darryl Richard), Biggers could have easily been on the Patriots radar coming out of college.

Biggers was placed on IR after week 1 of his rookie season in 2009. He would go on to play alongside former Patriot Aqib Talib in Tampa for the better parts of the 2010-2012 campaigns.  In his first start in 2010, Biggers recorded his first career interception on a prayer from of Jake Delhomme.  (Hey, remember Jake Delhomme you guys? SBXXXVIII anyone? Good times. Gooooooood times.) Look at the way Biggers turns to find the ball and makes the play! That’s some pretty solid coverage and ball skills if I do say so myself! 

Biggers’ best statistical season was 2011 when he recorded 61 tackles, double-digit pass defenses and an interception, playing primarily as an outside corner with Talib. Biggers won (kindof) on the free agency market in 2013, inking a $1.5 million deal with the Redskins. In Washington he was used as more of a backup, which resulted in a production drop off from a steady plateau above 50 tackles down to 35. Still, Biggers re-signed a one-year $730K minimum deal with Washington and put up similar numbers in 2014.

In 2015 Biggers signed a 1-year minimum deal with the Eagles, which saw him playing all over the field in Chip Kelly’s defense. Biggers lined up in the box at Safety quite a bit in Philadelphia, and while he has some positional flexibility there, I think he’s best used as a corner playing on the line. Biggers needs to keep his hands on receivers, and does not excel at reading and reacting to defenders taking up space in front of him, a skill that is crucial for safeties. For example, in week 17 last year vs. the Giants, Biggers got completely eaten up on three consecutive plays by former Patriot Shane Vereen. Watch Vereen coming out of the backfield at Biggers who is lined up in the box at Safety. Ugly stuff, but keep in mind this isn’t his natural position. Biggers getting burned the first time (Biggers #38). Biggers getting burned the second time. Biggers getting burned the third time.  Seriously guys, did that really happen? Are these the exact same play calls? What the hell is going on in Chip Kelly’s brain? Where am I?

Make no mistake, on these plays Biggers might as well have just pulled down his pants, defecated on the field and sat in it.  PFF gave Biggers a -3.9 grade for the game, a pretty damn low score (as previously mentioned, PFF also ranked Biggers as their third worst player in the NFL last year with a -12.9 rating, that’s worse than burnt toast Bradley Fletcher). However, I’d disagree with PFF’s grading in this instance as I think they unfairly weighted splash plays against Biggers.

First, I have to say, if Chip Kelly and his staff just sit there with their dicks in the dirt and refuse to make an adjustments is that really Biggers’ fault?  Second, while Biggers definitely got burned several times in this game, when I re-watched I thought he was actually pretty solid in coverage down the field. He had a tough assignment switching from safety to man-marking OBJ on the outside, not many NFL players could do that. Here he is in tight coverage on OBJ in the Red Zone.  Keep in mind this was also a meaningless week 17 game for Philadelphia.  But you want to know my favorite thing about E.J. Biggers? Here he is in the fourth quarter competing to the bitter end and getting his revenge on Vereen. You gotta love that.

Ok, so there is one glaring error in Biggers’ game that I’ve been pretty brazenly ignoring. He’s not the best tackler, and that might be the understatement of the century. This might be the worst corner play in the history of organized football.  You could say that he’s out on an island on a 1,000-yd receiver in John Brown… There’s also there’s this travesty. But you could argue that the entire Eagles defense is at fault there. There are more but I will spare you.

Am I an E.J. Biggers apologist? Perhaps. But I think he has clear cover skills and has been used out of position/sparingly the past couple seasons which has diminished his value to many other league executives. The Patriots certainly won’t ask Biggers to man mark WR1s in the Red Zone, and I hope we don’t see him at Safety,  but I wouldn’t mind seeing him on the field in New England. His saving grace when it comes to making the final 53-man roster might ultimately be his potential special-teams contributions, but he can do a lot. Biggers played 60% of Philadelphia’s special teams snaps last year, and was a pretty solid gunner/jammer from what I watched.

Final Verdict

If I had to call it now I’d say he’s one of the last four guys cut unfortunately, but he should stick around until final cuts. I think the Patriots have nailed some of their UDFA players (Jonathan Jones <3) that in the long term might be more attractive to the club, but there’s LOTS to like about Biggers. Yet, if there’s one thing that’s for certain with the Patriots it’s that you never know what the hoodie is thinking, but I hope I’ve solidified Biggers’ place on the roster bubble.

Patriots Cornerbacks by the Numbers: 10 Observations

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Patriots CornerbacksQuestion to Patriots fans everywhere – 2014 aside, when was the last time you went into a season feeling overwhelmingly confident about your team’s depth at corner? In my recollection there was a dark time between 2009 and 2014 where the back half of the roster could’ve been described as a land of misfit toys.

I apologize for my lack of faith. If this team has taught me anything it is that Nick Caserio, BB & Staff have the best personnel department in the league, but guys like Derrick Martin, Malcolm Williams, and Justin Green never really had me nodding my head in confidence. Especially given the Patriots heavy usage of DB-heavy sub packages, and the fact that we’ve used 3CB schemes with increasing regularity for the past half-decade, depth at corner is crucial to almost any team in the NFL’s success.

I’m happy to say that this year our corners have me as excited as Edelman at a Tom Brady autograph signing. As a disclaimer, I tend to fall in love with the back half of the roster pretty much every year (e.g. was convinced Dax Swanson was the second coming, and may or may not have compared James Morris to Bruschi) but this is a new year. I pledge to at least try to be a little more careful…

That said, let’s bust out the brown paper bags from under the bed and take a look at some naughty, naughty numbers:

Pats CBs

There truly is something compelling athletically about all of these athletes. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that the Patriots will carry five CBs this year, and that Butler, Ryan & C. Jones are all locks. That leaves a 6 man competition for two spots between–E.J. Biggers, Justin Coleman, Darryl Richards, Jonathan Jones, Cre’Von LeBlanc, and V’Angelo Bentley. All of whom are compelling players in their own rights and I will be breaking down individually in order to predict who will make the roster.
A couple quick observations in looking at this group strictly on paper:

  1. Obviously a young group experience-wise. Biggers is the old veteran & Logan Ryan is one of the old men at this position. That’s certainly a positive looking at the group moving forward.
  2. Seems like ~7.2 is the cutoff for 3-cone time, and ~4.2 is the cutoff for the 20-yard short shuttle. BB likes to play to his position group’s strength’s, and while there’s no one trend among all the players, all of them are excellent in one column or another.
  3. With regards to 3-cone & 20-yd times, these skills are more important for the slot corners who need elite short-area quickness to stay with receivers on quick, short routes. This is why guys like Justin Coleman, Cyrus Jones & you would assume E.J. Biggers (though I couldn’t find his stats) have good numbers there.
  4. Straight line speed is more important for boundary corners like Butler, Ryan & Roberts who need to flip their hips in man coverage and run with receivers down the field. Straight line speed is also crucial for special teams players like jammers and returners, something Jonathan Jones and Cyrus Jones might project to in their first years respectively.
  5. Newcomer Jonathan Jones on paper is the fastest player at the position. Interestingly, Jones was a 110m hurdler in Ga. in high school, 110, and apparently he was pretty damn good. He won the national title, as in fastest in the country at the event, with a time of (13.72), the world record is 12.80. Keep in mind Jones is only 5’8! Here’s a look at him hurdling:
  6. Justin Coleman, also from Ga., was a 110m hurdler among other track events, his best time (that I could find on the interwebs) of 14.61 is nearly a second slower than Jones. Hurdling is not football, but it’s an interesting competition that I’m sure the personnel department is aware of.
  7. I’ve read that ~4.4. time is what scouts would prefer in an NFL corner. This is why Malcolm Butler was overlooked by many because of his 4.6 time. As Belichick detailed to weirdly enough, Coach K, the Patriots timed Butler at 4.4 in pre-draft private workouts. All hail Caserio.
  8. On paper, Justin Coleman really stands out with the best Bench, 3-Cone, & 20-yd dash times in the group. All good skill for a guy who needs to play a slot corner  who needs to jam and then run with receivers underneath,
  9. Darryl Roberts broad jump and vert are nice compliments to his height and make him unique to this group as one the longest players. Leaping ability is nice, but the Patriots have been lacking CBs with size desperately. Roberts by all accounts was having a great spring last year before landing on IR at the end of camp, so it will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy this year and maybe steal a roster spot for himself.
  10. At least on paper Logan Ryan had a better year than Malcolm Butler last year. That to me was somewhat noteworthy, but this also reflects that Ryan was thrown at much more than Butler.

Pats fans should be excited about this group of players. They are a unique group of talents at a crucial position in a pass-heavy league.I will be taking a look at the bubble players, aka not Butler, Ryan or C. Jones, in upcoming pieces. All of them have great stories of their own that I’ll try to explore more in depth before the season starts. Here’s to training camp!