2010 Patriots NFL Predictions: Most Improved Player
by Greg Knopping on Jul 28, 2010 3:54 PM EDT
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We are moving on to the fourth installment in our 2010 Patriots prediction series by taking a look at players who could be the "Most Improved" for the Patriots in 2010. Unlike other votes (where writers were granted three choices), our staff was allowed to choose just one player for this prediction. Lets see how it unfolded:
Richard Hill: RON BRACE, DEFENSIVE LINE
Brace ended the 2009 season with NO expectations left of him- which is why anything he does next season will count as an improvement. I think that Brace will actually emerge as a solid rotational defensive lineman, whether it be at the end position, or sliding to the interior in a 4-3 defense. He'll show why he was a 2nd round draft pick.
Stephen Verman: DERRICK BURGESS, DE/OLB
I was tempted to select Sebastian Vollmer here, but he played so well last year that it wouldn't be a huge jump if he had a great season. Bill Belichick has a lot of confidence in Burgess' ability, otherwise he wouldn't have given up such high draft picks to acquire him from Oakland. Burgess will most likely feature in sub packages, as he is more of a pure rusher than an outside linebacker. If put in the right position, he can get to the quarterback. I see him playing a lot of defensive end in nickle and dime packages, as well rushing from the "organized chaos" package. I foresee 7 sacks an a forced fumble from the veteran.
Marima: DARIUS BUTLER, CB
It was a toss-up between Butler and Julian Edelman and I think both will take it to the next level this season. I'm not as convinced yet about Patrick Chung and Ron Brace.
Rest of the predictions after the jump!
Comedic.Sans: DARIUS BUTLER, CB
On Friday, we will continue our prediction series by looking at surprise camp cuts/survivors. Remember, put your own predictions for the most improve Patriots' player in the comments!
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I picked Chung, but
I have yet to see how his coverage abilities are. I know he can tackle VERY well, and seems to have average-above average awareness, but I don’t know much about his coverage abilities.
Butler: we know he has great coverage skills, and I think his transitioning to the starting spot next to bodden, may be a lot smoother than Chung going into the safety spot. It seems as though butler has had more playing time, and experience as well. Chung can be the surprise player, but butler seems to be the safer bet in my book.
However; SS in the nfl don’t play as much coverage as FS am I right? So if BB puts chung in a role similar to Rodney’s, which is what we should all expect, than maybe he’ll be much more of a factor than Butler would be at all. A strong SS presence in our backfield, should make our defense a lot better than the last couple years. But I haven’t seen chung in a starting job, so expecting a strong SS presence from him seems to be much.
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Down with Big Brother!
What I see...
Is Brandon Meriweather being the deep free safety, and Chung playing more near the LOS SS like Rodney did. The Patriots do not have traditional FS/SS positions, both safeties are asked to do both, but I think this is what we’ll see a majority of the time. The key is whether Meriweather can be trusted not to lock on and try to destroy WRs who aren’t getting the ball only to watch the deep route running free and clear. I believe that Chung will be solid in coverage, but it won’t be his bread and butter.
by MikeDussault on Jul 28, 2010 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions
My son has a "Brady Moss '08" T-shirt
That he wore before the presidential election, and before Brady was sidelined for the season. It started up a lot of conversations though.
Keep the faith!
well we know it wont be shawn crable
he got cut!!!! man i wish he could have gotten on the field more then what twice?
Damn! Thanks for telling me
Can’t say that I’m surprised though. At some point you have to cut your losses and make room for a player who at least can get on the field… once even.
Keep the faith!
PATS have athletes
and lots of them. They are stocked with speed in the secondary and at WR. Great areas to have speed and pure athletes. If they generate a rush and force QB’s to throw earlier than desired, I could easily see a number of interceptions from this secondary.
I think Chung is all set to break out. If he gets the chance to make a few bone rattling hits in game one, his confidence and the confidence of the entire secondary will elevate exponentially. They are young, and adrenaline will be a big part of their performance.
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