Return To Practice

For reasons associated with Hurricane Sandy, the coaches films have not yet been posted on NFL.com gamerewind. Therefore, the usual coaches film segments will have to wait. However, there are a few topics on the table that are worth addressing in this space.

Sterling Moore's locker is still intact which indicates
that he expects to return to the team after clearing waivers

First of all, Sterling Moore has been released by the team, and is currently working his way through the waiver wire. This is a move that was unexpected, but not one that is any cause for concern. I think that Belichick expects Moore to clear waivers, and is using his roster spot to work out a few new faces like DB Derrick Martin. I fully expect Moore to land back with The Patriots because he has proven to be a decent depth option in the defensive backfield (43% of D snaps), but there is always the risk that he'll be claimed by another team (deadline at 4pm).

The is really only one reason why Belichick would subject Moore to waivers, and it makes perfect sense. Sterling Moore is an undrafted player in his second year, which means that he's practice squad eligible. However, according to Mike Reiss, (who understands these rules a bit better than I) Moore will lose his PS eligibility after playing in 1 more regular season game. It seems that Belichick is just trying to maximize his roster versatility by using the idiosyncracies of the NFL rules to his advantage.

Spikes says he hasn't felt this good since he was in college

Typical Belichick, doing what is best for the team. Its possible that Moore would have been limited in practice after leaving Sunday's game with an injury, and this roster move allows Belichick to have fresh bodies at practice. Also, his injury, although its likely minor, should deter other teams from signing him. In many ways, this move makes a lot of sense. It's a low risk move that is not an idictment of how Moore has performed, but rather a reflection of Belichick's savvy with roster moves and rules.

Secondly, we can address the injuries to Welker and Spikes. Although there has been no official injury report, media members are feeling good about each players' status moving forward. Welker has not given a definite indication of his pain level, but he's said that he "feels okay." Spikes went considerably further, saying that he feels "like I'm 18" and that he could "play this week or next week. I feel great, man." Its good to know that these guys aren't dealing with any major pain, but I am sure they are glad to have some time to rest.

Finally, I think it is important to express my feelings about Josh Boyer. The Globe's Shalize Manza-Young has given her "Half-Year Scapegoat Award" to CBs coach Josh Boyer. On the other hand, her "Troy Brown Award" goes to CB Devin McCourty. Am I the only one who feels like there is a double standard here? Likewise, if anything the Safety play has been worse than the Corner play, and Josh Boyer is not responsible for the Safeties, that's Brian Flores' department.

Josh Boyer

The general feeling on the messageboards is that Boyer is not a good coach because the DBs have not been good since he's been here. I think most of the hatred comes from the obscurity of his resume. Still, the guy has been here since 2006, if Belichick didn't think he could hack it, he'd have fired him already. Although I am not going to put these names in for coach of the year, I think this vitriol for Boyer is misplaced. Fans cite his demotion from DBs coach to CBs coach as evidence of his inadequacy, but its probably better evidence of Brian Flores' ascension in the ranks.


Brian Flores

Fans fail to acknowledge that players make plays. Coaches only look bad when players fail to execute. I just don't think it is fair to blame the coaches in this case. Many fans claim that the CBs have regressed (cite: McCourty's sophomore slump, and Arrington this year). I think that this view is too based on statistical comparison, and it doesn't correlate well with a lack of coaching talent. In fact, these coaches have had a lot of success with very little talent.

If fans want to blame Belichick for failing to bring in talented players, that's valid. However, fans do not get to see the things that coaches do or don't do. What information do we have to indicate that Boyer/Flores are bad coaches? We only see the games, and the results are not impressive, but why are we not holding the players accountable? Why are we putting this on coaches?

Likewise, fans can't have it both ways: is it a drafting/talent issue or is it a coaching issue? If GM Belichick isn't bringing in talented players to work with, then how can we blame Boyer/Flores? Last year Boyer coached the undrafted Arrington on his way to leading the league in INTs. How do we come to blame Boyer for Arrington's "regression?" I think Boyer and Flores have done the best they can with underdeveloped players. If there is a major issue in the secondary it is the inability to draft players, and I actually think that the coaching and development has been good. Last year, the secondary consisted of cast-offs and Offensive players, and the team still did enough to make the Superbowl.

Overall, we've got to start holding the players accountable for their mistakes. Blaming the coaches is just a cop-out from the real issue. The same principle goes for the Offense as well. Many times this year fans have called out Josh McDaniels for poor play-calling (and some of it is valid). However, Tom Brady should be the one held accountable for not changing the play at the line. The same thing goes with Boyer/Flores: they deserve some criticism, but the lion's share of the blame needs to fall on the players that fail to execute on Sundays. But that's just like, my opinion, man...

Good McCourty stats from Clark12to18:
All years are as of 8 games:
2010 McCourty 30 of 50 (60%) 311 yrds 3TD 2 INT 6 PD
2011 McCourty 42 of 62 (67%) 581yards 4TD 0 INT 3 PD (378 yrds after 1st 3 games)
2012 McCourty 18 of 41 (43.9%) 273 yrds 2 TD 2INT 6 PD

So much for all that "regression"