Talib, Pats secondary seek consistency, stability
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. (AP)
The Patriots' pass defense has been very consistent.
It's one of the worst in the NFL for the third straight year.
But now the secondary is striving to develop a different kind of
consistency - a better kind. And, with the shuffling of starters
apparently at its conclusion, it appears that the Patriots are headed
that way.
''The more you play, the more you mesh,'' cornerback Aqib Talib said
Tuesday. ''The more time you get together, it definitely helps.''
Talib is the newest, and possibly final, piece of a puzzle that finally
seems to be fitting well after 10 games in which New England has
allowed the third most yards passing in the NFL. That's an improvement
over last season, when the Patriots gave up the second most. And in
2010, they permitted the third most.
Not that big a deal, safety Steve Gregory said.
It didn't keep the Patriots from reaching the Super Bowl last season,
losing 21-17 to the New York Giants on a last-minute touchdown. And it
hasn't stopped them this season from leading the AFC East by three
games with a 7-3 record heading into Thursday night's visit to the New York Jets.
''Figures lie,'' Gregory said after the Patriots allowed 329 yards
passing but routed the Indianapolis Colts 59-24 on Sunday.
''We don't pay attention to too many stats. We just focus in on playing
good, hard-nosed football and winning football games. At the end of the
day, when that clock strikes zero, if we're on the winning edge, we're
happy.''
Against the Colts, they capitalized on two overthrown passes by Andrew Luck and returned both for touchdowns - 87 yards by rookie Alonzo
Dennard and 59 yards by Talib.
''You talk about going out and trying to stop an offense and getting
turnovers and all those good things,'' Devin McCourty said, ''but when
you score points, that really lifts your team up.''
For the first four games, McCourty and Kyle Arrington started at
cornerback with Gregory and Patrick Chung at safety. Rookie
second-round pick Tavon Wilson started for the injured Gregory the next
two games. Then, with Chung sidelined for the seventh game, McCourty
moved to safety and Dennard started at cornerback.
Gregory returned for the ninth game when the Patriots had their fourth
different starting secondary of the season. Then coach Bill Belichick
acquired Talib from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he made his Patriots
debut last Sunday after completing a four-game suspension for violating
the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
''As if they need another great player,'' Jets coach Rex Ryan said.
''With Belichick, he does a lot of different things on defense to take
advantage of players' talents. It's going to be really interesting to
see what he does with Talib because, if his first game is any
indication, that's not bad. You know, get an interception for a
touchdown. I really thought (Belichick) should have waited until after
we played to play this young man, though.''
Talib knows he made mistakes. He gave up two touchdown receptions by
T.Y. Hilton, in fact.
On the second, ''I had my eyes in the wrong spot, eyes exactly where
they shouldn't be,'' he said, ''on the quarterback. So I watched him
throw a touchdown on me.''
But after sitting out more than a month with the suspension and trying
to adjust to a new team, he expects to improve as he gets used to
Belichick's system.
''Aqib did some good things in the game. There are other things that
he'll work on,'' Belichick said. ''I think as our group plays together
this week and the next game and so forth, hopefully our overall
execution as a (defensive) unit can improve. Obviously, we haven't had
a chance to do that with him other than a couple days last week.''
Gregory expects the secondary to get better as Talib gets more
experience in it.
''It was good to get out there with him, get the communication things
going on with him, understand how he plays in a game atmosphere,''
Gregory said. ''Practice is one thing, but when you get out there in
live action you kind of get a feel for each other. So that was a great
experience for us.''
The Patriots have allowed 47 completions of more than 20 yards this
season, nearly five a game. Seventeen came in their three losses And
they lost to Baltimore 31-30 on Justin Tucker's 27-yard field goal on
the last play after a 27-yard pass interference call against McCourty
gave the Ravens new life.
But two weeks ago, McCourty made the big play in the final minute. He
intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass in the end zone with 23 seconds
left when receiver T.J. Graham ran to the wrong spot, allowing the
Patriots to hang on for a 37-31 win over Buffalo.
''If the offense doesn't score,'' McCourty said, ''and the (opponent)
comes back out and they're trying to punch another one in, that's the
time when someone really has to step up.''
A week later, Talib did that with his interception for a touchdown.
That gave the Patriots the lead for good, 21-14, and they outscored the
Colts 38-10 the rest of the way.
It was the start of something big on defense.
In that game and, perhaps, for the rest of the season.
''There's a lot of, hopefully, room for growth and more consistency and
better execution on all levels,'' Belichick said. ''When you add a new
player in there, hopefully that will get better.''
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