Patriots Flag Football: Greg's Fourth Pick

Through the first half of this draft, a clear trend has become apparent: Alec is collecting talent, while I am building a team. While the players I've assembled might not be the biggest, or have the most Pro Bowl appearances, each has been selected with a role in mind. I've established a clear game plan on offense, one that Alec has no chance at stopping. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

I'm not going to lie, Alec's selection of Rob Gronkowski was a good one. I was down to him and Slater last round. He's big, and he will be damned near impossible to stop in the red zone. But Gronkowski is hobbled by a bad ankle (Okay, I'm kidding, doubt that's really a factor in this game? But for my defense's sake, I say it should matter.), won't make any impact after the catch, and doesn't add any team speed to an already slow team (aside from McCourty).

With my next pick, I'm going to select someone who has a reasonable shot at slowing down Gronkowski, Lloyd, or Hernandez, but someone who also is part of my team's philosophy. I'm selecting safety and special teams ace Sergio Brown.

I'm just kidding. Had ya there, though, right? I'm picking Patrick Chung.

Chung is a big, versatile safety who can play just about anywhere on my defense. I can line him up at middle linebacker and have him blitz. I can have him jam Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez at the line. I can line him up at cornerback, and guard one of Alec's receivers. I can line him up at deep safety in cover 2 and half him patrol a deep corner of the field. Defensively, Chung will be my torpedo and my MVP on that side of the ball. Chung is a hard hitter, and because of that, is often overlooked as an athlete. In fact, Chung is a borderline-elite athlete. At the 2009 NFL Draft combine, Chung ran a 4.49 40 yard dash, had a blazing 1.49 10 yard split, had a broad jump of 9'11" and a vertical of 34 inches.

On offense, I'd expect Chung to be able to hold his own. He was an all-league player at wide receiver in high school, returned kicks during his time at Oregon, and was working with the kick return unit for the Patriots this year in mini-camp. He's not going to be an elite offensive option, but I already believe I have enough of those. He's someone that you'll have to respect however, somewhat similar to Devin McCourty.

So Alec, keep on collecting that talent, and watch the "semi-professional" build a true winning team. You might have the flashy names and bigger players, but I've got players with more versatility, more heart, and who each have a defined role for my squad. So I implore you to forfeit your final selections as you've suggested, it means I'll beat you to the yet-to-be-determined mercy rule that much faster.