CB Tarell Brown placed on Injured Reserve 10/17

SeoulSoxFan

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Corsi said:
Ben Volin ‏@BenVolin  53s53 seconds ago
Source confirms #Patriots signed CB Tarell Brown, an 8-year veteran with #49ers (7 years) & #Raiders (last year). First reported by ESPN
 
One of PFF's better stats has Brown at 26th in coverage among corners with 25% playing time:
 

 
His allowed receptions per coverage snaps is an even better #18 in the league. His 1000 overall snaps also stand out, although he missed the last two with a foot injury.
 
BB continues to throw bodies into the mix, just in time for the training camp. 
 

jsinger121

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j44thor said:
Seems solid signing, just wonder why he was still available.
 
I don't think he passed a physical until recently. Had the foot issue.
 
jsinger121 said:
 
I don't think he passed a physical until recently. Had the foot issue.
 
 
He injured the foot Week 4 and played with the broken bone until going on IR after Week 14.  So he's a tough guy who plays hurt.  Putting off IR until Week 14 caused the delay in him passing a physical this offseason. 
 
Listening to NFL Radio on Sirius, Takeo Spikes spoke highly of him.  Spikes was his teammate in SF for a few years and said:
 
1. He's one of the fastest guys Spikes ever played with.  "Never saw a receiver run by him" in the three seasons they played together.
 
2. Good locker room guy.  Brown apparently had some legal issues in college (marijuana and weapons charges) but was a stand up guy in the NFL and matured quickly.  Does a lot of community work and has his own charity for children.
 
3.  In 7 seasons he only has 11 interceptions but Spikes says Brown is extremely good while the ball is in the air.  He said it's not so much great ball hawk skills but he doesn't get lost while looking back or going up to fight for the ball.  Spikes said so many guys he played with just couldn't compete with the receiver when the ball is coming down - they would turn the wrong way or get tangled up when they looked back - but not Brown.
 
Sounds like a upgrade considering their current group of defensive backs.  
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Its a one year 1.5M deal with a 400K signing bonus.  Miguel on twitter notes that he can't remember a guy during the BB era getting a signing bonus over 300K and then getting cut the same year.  So this is likely more than a camp competition signing.
 

H78

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Highlights below. Seems like he played a lot of man, not afraid of being physical, doesn't get lost in coverage...also seems like he was often lined up against top receivers (Wallace, Fitzgerald, to name a couple) and sits right in their back pocket. I'm a bit excited about this - nice to replace two aggressive corners with at least one other one.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ax4YiTMlXzk

(Sorry for the link, posting from phone)
 

lambeau

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Tarell has flown under the radar a bit, but has been an awfully solid corner for several years. He played through bruised ribs in 2013 and what sounds like a stress fracture in his foot last year--hence his availability (along with first the 49ers and then the Raiders wanting to go young and cheap). Since he still played pretty darn well, I'm not sure his skills have declined as opposed to his performance suffered from injuries. Starting camp so well is, I think, very exciting since he and Butler may give us the outside corners we really need--leaving Logan Ryan in the slot. If so, the secondary sould be better than anticipated.He's not Revis, but he's not a big step down (and he plays the other side).

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1746545-meet-tarell-brown-the-nfls-best-cornerback-you-dont-know-about


























Averages--3 year period 2012-14









Age

Snaps

Targets

Receptions

Comp %

Yards
 

mwonow

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Good look for Tarell, but yikes, those Fletcher numbers are kind of scary
 

soxfan121

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mwonow said:
Thanks, that adds great context if not a whole lot of comfort...
 
Cover 0 will make 95% of cornerbacks look terrible if it's used often, and Billy Davis called for it WAY too much last season. 
 

Super Nomario

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soxfan121 said:
 
Cover 0 will make 95% of cornerbacks look terrible if it's used often, and Billy Davis called for it WAY too much last season. 
Football Outsiders highlighted the quality of WR he had to cover last year, noting:
 
It's not quite as bad as it seems. No cornerback in football gets a bigger boost in his numbers when we account for the opposing receivers he had to face. If we adjust for Fletcher's schedule -- including five games lining up across from Dez Bryant (fifth in receiving DVOA), DeSean Jackson (sixth), and Jordy Nelson (eighth) -- Fletcher actually ranked 36th in adjusted success rate, making Fletcher an above-average corner. He is also an excellent value at the price the Patriots paid for him.
The fact that Fletcher is underrated and came at a bargain rate would make him an excellent No. 2 corner.
 
But Fletcher and Brown are both on one-year deals. I doubt both of them make the team, to be honest. At this point, it seems like Butler gets one of the starting outside jobs, one of Brown / Fletcher gets the other, and McClain / Ryan duke it out for the slot spot with the other being the fourth corner / special teams. The Pats usually carry five CBs, but having that fifth spot be a developmental guy like Darryl Roberts would seem to make a lot more sense than a vet who will be gone after the year. They may also carry more S than usual, as McCourty / Harmon / Richards / Chung figure to be locks and Ebner and Wilson carry a lot of special teams value.
 

j44thor

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Is McClain a slot guy?  Trying to figure out how he makes the opposing QB look like in his prime Drew Brees with that 70% comp rate.  
 

soxfan121

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j44thor said:
Is McClain a slot guy?  Trying to figure out how he makes the opposing QB look like in his prime Drew Brees with that 70% comp rate.  
 
Mostly, and he came from Atlanta where defense was not played last season.
 

amarshal2

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Super Nomario said:
Football Outsiders highlighted the quality of WR he had to cover last year, noting:
 
But Fletcher and Brown are both on one-year deals. I doubt both of them make the team, to be honest. At this point, it seems like Butler gets one of the starting outside jobs, one of Brown / Fletcher gets the other, and McClain / Ryan duke it out for the slot spot with the other being the fourth corner / special teams. The Pats usually carry five CBs, but having that fifth spot be a developmental guy like Darryl Roberts would seem to make a lot more sense than a vet who will be gone after the year. They may also carry more S than usual, as McCourty / Harmon / Richards / Chung figure to be locks and Ebner and Wilson carry a lot of special teams value.
None of Butler, Fletcher, and Brown can play the slot effectively? If it's the case that the four best corners on the team are those three and Ryan, it would be frustrating to lose one for a slot corner few people think is even average.
 

Super Nomario

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amarshal2 said:
None of Butler, Fletcher, and Brown can play the slot effectively? If it's the case that the four best corners on the team are those three and Ryan, it would be frustrating to lose one for a slot corner few people think is even average.
From what I can tell (I don't have my PFF subscription anymore but I have some data from old analyses), they haven't. That doesn't necessarily mean they can't, but Ryan and McClain would seem to be better bets in the role. I'm not sure McClain is as bad as you characterize, either - he's been up-and-down, but Atlanta has had a putrid pass rush for most of his career (bottom 10 in sack rate each of the last three years, including second-worst in 2014).
 
I don't think you should be frustrated with the idea losing one of the four best outside corners so the team can keep two slot corners. In a lot of ways, they're two different positions - they have different responsibilities in the run game and in the passing game, often play at different depths, have to be aware of different things, and cover different types of players. Sometimes you have more depth at one position and have to cut there to keep a lesser player at a position of need; that happens everywhere on the roster.
 
And for guys who aren't starters, versatility matters. As Belichick says (about OL, but similar applies here), 
 I think you either have to be really good at one spot or you have to be able to do multiple things. That’s really the catch. We’ve had guys like Steve Neal, Dan Koppen, in the past that were very good football players for us that only played one spot and they never played anything else. Steve never played anything but right guard and Dan never played anything but center but they were very good at that spot and they were able to hold down that spot and we didn’t need them to play anything else. Then there were guys that were versatile and played a number of different spots – Dan Connolly would fall into that category. He’s played, he’s started for us at center, he’s started for us at left guard, he’s started for us at right guard. He’s played all his positions and played them well. Each player has a different niche, has a different set of skills. Some guys are the Dan Connolly, Mike Vrabel types, other guys are the Steve Neal, Dan Koppen types. I’d say the players that can only play one spot but they’re not at that Dan Koppen, Steve Neal kind of level, then somebody else can come along and play at that level but also be able to do a couple other things for you, then that’s where the competition gets thick.
If Fletcher and Brown are good enough to start, they should make the team, but if they're not in the two or three best outside CBs or the two best slot CBs, it's hard to justify keeping them on.
 

soxhop411

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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet  1m1 minute ago
#Patriots CB Tarell Brown misses another practice, likely out for Sunday. It’s a potentially serious foot injury & he’s seeking 2nd opinion
 

tims4wins

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This is weird since they were seemingly managing his snaps against Buffalo, then he sat vs. Jax, then the bye week, then 45 of 72 snaps in Dallas. Wish they wouldn't have played him in Dallas in retrospect.
 

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chief1 said:
this one really hurts
 
Maybe.  I'm not convinced that he had much left at this point.  He played reasonably well but it's a small sample size and he is 30 coming off of an allegedly crappy season.
 

DaveRoberts'Shoes

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They've gotta be looking to trade for a CB or two at the deadline, right? They could trade, I don't know, their fourth-rounder in 2017 for at least a depth defensive back.

Wait... dammit.
 

RedOctober3829

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I think it's a given now that Belichick will be in the market for a top 2 corner.  Whether the price is right for him to do so is another story.  But, the CB position is the one position IMO that could hold the team back from accomplishing it's goal this year so BB needs to pull the trigger(too soon?) on a deal.  I'm not that naive to think that there is another Talib coming through the door, but somebody that is halfway decent would be an upgrade on everybody below Butler.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

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That or we need logan Ryan to show the same growth that Harmon has shown.
With Harmon it's been a slow process but by all appearances he has blossomed into a dependable player this year next to McCourty. I think Ryan arguably had "further to go" to respectability at the beginning of this season then Harmon. But it seems like it's now or never for the kid. Indy and their fleet of WRs will be a good measuring stick.
 

dcmissle

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Trading deadline Nov. 3.

Perspective -- Redskins go to NYJ tomorrow with their center, left tackle, best (only legit) TE and best receiver out. And a starting corner too.

This is a bitch game of attrition.