When the Patriots selected Devin McCourty with the 27^th pick in 2010, many fans were stunned.

A year later, they are rejoicing.

The former Rutgers star proved to be another home run in Bill Belichick’s draft lineup as he recorded a team-high seven interceptions and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

McCourty brings a unique blend of speed and physicality that will remind many fans of Ty Law back in his heyday.

It’s safe to say, McCourty has one side of the field locked down, and he should only get better with more experience and hopefully a better pass rush.

Unlike 2009, and to a degree 2010, the depth at cornerback is very good entering the season.

Veteran Leigh Bodden, the team’s top corner in 2009, should return as a starter opposite McCourty.

Bodden doesn’t have dominant physical traits, but is a savvy nine-year veteran who has recorded 18 interceptions, including 12 in the past three seasons.

The 6-foot-2, 200 pound cover man was pegged as a top-20 talent, but had an injury-plagued senior season.

Dowling may be the most physically-talented corner on the roster, as he combines great size with terrific speed (4.40) and athleticism (38-inch vertical, 10-foot-8 broad jump, 19 reps on the bench).

That rare blend of size/speed presents the possibility of a move to free safety, although Dowling was announced as a cornerback when he was selected.

Regardless, he has plenty of talent and should be a starter within two years. no comments

The rout in the Chicago snow had plenty of great plays, but this one was my favorite.  Cutler throws and makes one of his few completions on the day, only to have Devin McCourty come up with a huge hustle play, ripping the ball away from the receiver. Gary Guyton motors after the ball and trots his way through the snow into the end zone.  Just an all-around great play by the defense, which totally overwhelmed the Bears in this game

Past Top Plays

#10 - Sanders TAINTs Roethlisberger

#11 - Gronk's Hopping TD

#12 - Branch's TD in the Snow

Around the NFL is a weekly feature on Foxboro Blog offering an irreverent (and sometimes humorous) look at some of the top news stories from the NFL. Read at your own risk!

• The Kansas City Chiefs are making the most of the lockout by helping the victims of the destructive Joplin tornado. They managed to get 136 members of the organization to help out with the clean-up efforts, and they’re selling t-shirts to help raise money to help the town rebuild. In a news cycle that cares more about stupid players, greedy owners and Chad Ochocinco, this story did not get nearly enough press.

• If I have to type “the owners and players met this week, and both sides reported some progress” one more time, my fingers are going to climb away from the keyboard and into the back of my throat.

• One positive that has come out of the meetings – a 16-game Thursday night schedule beginning in 2012. Even better news? The broadcast team will no longer feature Matt Millen or Joe Theismann. It’s an overwhelmingly positive development for those of us who were dreading the thought of our wives lobbying to watch garbage like the results show for The Bachelorette on Thursday nights. Not tonight, sister. Football is ON!

• David Tyree said this week that he would trade his lucky Super Bowl catch to prevent gay marriage. I say, done deal. If you get your teammates to forfeit that game and give the Patriots their 19-0 season, I promise I will NOT marry a guy.

• Braylon Edwards wrecked his Audi this week. His steering wheel is made of leather. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it slipped out of his hands.

• Kenny Britt is lobbying to have his own weekly feature in this column soon. This week, someone “hacked” his Twitter, posting that he was retiring before launching a particularly naughty expletive at the Commish. Then the “hacker” had a change of heart and apologized for offending the Commish or worrying his fans. Then a few minutes later, Britt revealed that he’d been “hacked.” I can sympathize since the same thing happened to me a few weeks ago. Somebody stole my Facebook password for the sole purpose of posting kind messages to all of my loved ones. It was probably the same guy.

• Donovan McNabb worked out with his old teammates from Philly this week. He still hit less than 60 percent of his attempts. Even the handoffs.

• Broncos linebacker Jason Hunter was hospitalized after his girlfriend accidentally threw a knife at him, striking him in the chest. 1) How to you accidentally throw a knife at someone? 2) If Tebow is that accurate, Denver might win 7 games next year. 3) The Raiders should give her a 3-year deal since she’s already shown more ability to penetrate the Denver defense than Jason Campbell.

Despite suffering a torn ACL at the end of the 2009 season, the devastating injury didn’t prevent Wes Welker from making an impact in 2010.

The diminutive but big-hearted slot machine worked tirelessly in rehab and didn’t miss a single game in 2010, leading the team with 86 catches and 848 yards.

Even without Randy Moss in the lineup, Welker continued to produce at a high level, including a five-week stretch where he averaged at least five catches and 11 yards per catch toward the end of the season.

Once Moss left, the Pats decided to bring back a familiar face in Super Bowl hero Deion Branch. While Branch’s departure in 2006 left a bitter taste around the organization, he was welcomed back and definitely outperformed expectations.

Although he had been injury prone in Seattle over the past four seasons, Branch tallied 48 catches for 706 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games with New England.

While it certainly was great to see good production from Branch and Welker, both are aging receivers who have had knee troubles and are in the final year of their contracts. Typically, these players would probably not get another contract from the Pats, but with the uncertainty of the receiving corps, Welker could be brought back.

Perhaps the biggest question mark, and potential long-term answer, is 2010 third-rounder Taylor Price.

The former Ohio standout basically redshirted last season, but brings prototypical size (6-foot, 212 pounds) and speed (4.40).

If Price is able to earn some playing time, he certainly projects as a solid No. 2 receiver who can use his speed and size to get down field. no comments

Thanks to some help from our friends from Phins Phocus, we were able to get in touch with a special guest analyst who helped us break down the Patriots’ NFL Draft, their needs in free agency, and their standing in the AFC East. Our guest today is NFL Network and FOX analyst, Charles Davis. Davis was a great defensive back in college for Tennessee, making All-SEC in 1986. Now he's continuing his work in football as an analyst, which he as been doing since 2007. We at Foxboro Blog would like to thank Mr. Davis for taking time out of his busy schedule to spend 15-20 minutes with us to talk Patriots’ football.

You can follow Charles on Twitter: @CFD22

1. How do you think the Patriots fared in the NFL Draft? What letter grade would you give them?

I am not one who gives out grades, but I think they did well in the draft. I like the Nate Solder pick in the 1st Round. He is a guy who has an opportunity to get stronger with the Patriots and can make an impact right away. In the second round, they got a first round talent in Ras-I Dowling from Virginia to add to their depth in the secondary. In terms of their running backs, Shane Vereen from California is a good change-up back, similar to another running back that went to California in Jahvid Best. Steven Ridley, out of LSU, is a guy who can eat carries in the backfield similar to a pitcher in baseball who can give you 5-7 innings.

In the fifth round, they got a steal in TCU’s Marcus Cannon. He is a player who might have to move to tackle in the NFL, but he can contribute right away if his health checks out okay. Tight end Lee Smith out of Marshall can be used as both a tight end, and if he gains an extra 25-30 pounds, he can be used as a left tackle. The major steal that everyone is talking about is Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett in the 3rd round. He is a good fit to either succeed Tom Brady at quarterback or help out the Patriots in terms of his trade value. If he can’t fix his character issues with the Patriots, then he won’t fix it anywhere in all likelihood. Overall, I think the Patriots had another good draft. However, we say that about every team this time of year.

2. What is the main position the Patriots need to address once free agency begins?

The outside linebacker position is still a spot they have to address, but they have young talent there to mature over time. The wide receiver spot is a position where they can use more speed to be able to stretch the field. Possibly, offensive tackle could be a position of need depending on who wants to stay a Patriot, and who they keep in free agency.

If you could sign one free agent, who would it be and why?

Jason:  The Pats don't have many holes that could be plugged in free agency at a price the team will be willing to pay. Players like Nnamdi Asomugha would be nice to have, but not at the expense of re-signing Wes Welker and locking up other potential free agents in 2012 and beyond. With that in mind, I'd like to see the Patriots take a stab at Steelers RT Willie Colon. He is a great team player and would fit in nicely opposite Vollmer. He is coming off a 2010 season lost to injury, so that could deflate his price tag a bit.

Around the NFL is a weekly feature on Foxboro Blog offering an irreverent (and sometimes humorous) look at some of the top news stories from the NFL. Read at your own risk!

·         Last week, I noted that taking the lawyers out of the labor dispute was a good thing. They were included in the meetings this week, and according to one source, talks almost blew up. It's becoming crystal clear where the problem lies. It's not the greedy owners or the greedy players. It's the greedy, high-profile lawyers. Hopefully the other leagues are paying attention.

·         Plaxico Burress announced this week that he would participate in anti-violence programs for young people. He should be a natural fit since the only person he ever shot was himself.

·         Michael Strahan and Giants chairman Steve Tisch recently appeared in an ad campaign in favor of gay marriage, while all-time Super Bowl luckbox (yes, I'm still bitter) David Tyree said the practice could lead to anarchy. The larger question is why anybody cares about the political opinions of athletes. Relying on football players, team executives or celebrities for information on public policy is like getting all your info on nuclear fission from rodeo clowns.

·         In a rare piece of positive football news, Chiefs TE Leonard Pope recently saved a six-year-old child from drowning at a pool party. The boy's mother noted that Pope was the only one at the party who knew how to swim. Call me crazy, but that seems like it should be a prerequisite for having a pool party. But still, kudos are in order for Pope. If you're only going to make one catch a year, you gotta make it count!

·         And finally, we come to my favorite story of the week -- the NFL is investigating an advertisement for an adult film event that featured several NFL players. Players who weren't featured in the ad, but should have been based solely on the comedic value of their names, include: Chris Wienke, Damien Woody, Richard Seymour and anybody with the last name Johnson. There's gotta be a Roethlisberger joke here somewhere too. Feel free to add your own joke in the comments section.

·         A bonus bullet on this story -- one of the players featured in the ad, Chicago's Major Wright, took to Twitter to deny his involvement. "FYI... I have NOTHING to do with the Exotic Expo @ the Rosemont!" Does that make him kinda like the guy in the porn movies who happens across a couple in the act, then shrugs his shoulders and joins in? And a more pertinent question: if you're not promoting the event, why bother to mention the venue to everyone who follows you on Twitter? If you're going that far, just go ahead and push that 140-character restriction to the limit and mention the date, time and appropriate attire. We won't fault you for it.

It's one thing when a quarterback throws an INT. It's completely understandable that a quarterback trying to hit a relatively small target at a relatively high speed will mis-fire now and then.  However, throwing a TAINT (touchdown after interception) is a completely different story.  There's nothing more deflating than when an offensive drive ends with the defense pinning six on you.  TAINTs are almost universally a result of a poor decision by the quarterback.  There's an inherent risk that comes with throwing the ball, but when a TAINT occurs, the QB specifically chose to throw the ball into a situation which had a high chance of disaster. 

With that preface, I bring you the #10 play of the 2010 season: James Sanders TAINTing Ben Roethlisberger.  It may seem weird to have a play that's technically a bad throw by an opposing QB make the list, but there's just something ultimately satisfying about humiliating a scumbag like Roethlisberger while icing a big AFC game!

Past Top Plays

#11 - Gronk's Hopping TD

#12 - Branch's TD in the Snow

In the past week, two of the Patriot's starting offensive lineman have made impressive lists over at ESPN.com. First off, John Clayton came up with his "All Underrated Team" which included one Patriot -- right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. 

Vollmer, who came out of the University of Houston in 2009, was drafted in the second round by New England with the 58th overall pick. He has started 24 of the 30 games that he has appeared in for the good guys. Originally went to Houston as a tight end and was named to the first-team All-Conference USA at left tackle. 

At 6'8, 315 pounds, and only 26 years old, Vollmer has been a monster for the Patriots. It's only a matter of time before Vollmer is off the 'underrated' list and gets the recognition that he rightfully deserves. 

There were no other AFC East players on Clayton's list. The Philadelphia Eagles had the most players on the list with three -- tight end Brent Celek, running back LeSean McCoy, and safety Nate Allen. The only other teams with multiple players were the Oakland Raiders, the San Diego Chargers, and the St. Louis Rams. The one player who I'd say who didn't deserve to be on the list is Charger's OLB Shaun Phillips. 

In other offensive line news, ESPN used eight analysts to rank the top left tackles in the league in a point system. When all was calculated, Matt Light made the top ten with a total of 15 points. Joe Thomas of the Browns was ranked first with 76 points, well above Light's total. Jake Long of the Dolphins was second, just one point behind Thomas. Jets' tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson was fifth overall. 

For Light, he was ranked as good as fourth overall by James Walker. Paul Kuharsky had him at sixth, Kevin Seifert had him at ninth, and Dan Graziano had him 10th. The other four didn't even rank Light in the top 10. 

Over on NFL.com, Pat Kirwin ranked all of the offensive lineman and put Logan Mankins in his 'Group C.' Here is what Kirwin had to say about Mankins.

"Logan Mankins, G, Patriots (>): He held out last year and only played in 9 games but made the Pro Bowl anyway. He never missed a start in the five years prior to the holdout. He has given up just 16 sacks in 89 starts. He is a complete player, and it's obvious why the Patriots have franchise tagged him twice."

Mankins was the only one who made that top 25 list, bur Kirwin did list Vollmer as an up-and-comer.