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Zac Robinson was considered at safety.

 

I don't think its that bad of an idea when you put him at strong safety. He's a pretty bright guy, has enough straight line speed, size and a nice vertical leap. I don't see him being a starter but if they are patient enough, they can develop him into a backup SS or at least a STer. On special teams, you need weave ability, vertical leap and a late burst. It might not be so bad.

 

Zac Robinson at safety is such a desperation move. The Pats' drafting has been terrible for the longest time now that they've basically hollowed out their defense in general and secondary in specific. Besides, Robinson deserves a legitimate shot as a QB.

 

He was considered at safety, he was not moved there permanently. He's back at quarterback.

 

I know he wasn't actually moved, but the idea is just so blindingly silly that I had to write that post anyway.

But hey, "Belichick is a genius" and all that complete nonsense.

 

It's an idea that comes to coaches more than people think.

 

That would partially explain the fact that there are coaching vacancies every year.

 

It's doubtful that a decision or even a thought similar to that has impact on a coach getting fired.

 

It's certainly symptomatic of a generally boneheaded thought process that certainly leads to a coach getting fired. Being fired is never about one big screw-up, it's about lots of little screw-ups.

 

I don't think an experiment in mini camp with a third string positional player is going to have any type of impact on decision making down the road. With all due respect, I think you're blowing it out of proportion. It's not that significant and I don't think when a coach is fired, the GM is going to bring up an experiment as one of the reasons the coach was fired. I also don't think it'll lead to other mishaps.

 

The GM or owner wouldn't bring up a positional change of a third-string player, but if the coach were being fired to begin with, they would certainly cite the failure to effective utilize and improve personnel as a major factor.

But more to the point, the Pats have not been as effective a drafting team as the media hype would lead one to believe, and so the consideration of Robinson being moved to safety tells me something about the internal thought process of the Patriots coaching staff.

 

Wouldn't moving a player to another position to get him on the field be utilizing him effectively? Zac Robinson wasn't going to touch the field as a quarterback and if he has the physical talent for safety, then why would they not consider him there?

Tells you what? That they are trying to find a position for him that will get him on the field?

Again, it's common amongst coaches to consider their players at other positions. It happens all the time in high school. It happens all the time in college. It happens in the NFL too. You just don't always hear or read about it.

 

In my mind, if you want a defensive back, you draft a defensive back. I'm not a big fan of conversion projects, especially one as dramatic as QB to S. Converting QB to WR, probably the most common college-to-pro conversion for the position, doesn't exactly have a shining success rate. QB to S? I can't think of one that's ever worked. I just don't see the point.

Tells me that they may not have ultimate faith in their DB depth. (Not that they should have much faith in their starters, either, the way they've been playing over the last couple of years.) Trying to get your third string QB on the field in some way isn't normally a priority, and for good reason.

When the Packers drafted Brian Brohm to back up Aaron Rodgers and then Matt Flynn to back up Brian Brohm, Mike McCarthy didn't spend a whole lot of time wondering if he should move Flynn to another position. Seems to have worked out for everyone except Brohm.

There's an article?

I think you're right to be skeptical of anything the Patriots do with their roster, but at the same time, Zac Robinson could be a decent QB with some seasoning. I look at him as a newer version of Matt Flynn, someone who could potentially become trade bait in a few years to a team with big needs at QB. (Maybe Charlie Whitehurst is a better analogy here?)

 

I agree that they may have should have taken a DB. However, what if the DB's available were not on their board? That plays a major role. There are specifics that each player has to meet and with the Patriots board being only about 90 players big, I can see why they went a different route. As I said, Zac Robinson may have the size, speed, and smarts that meet the Patriots criteria for the strong safety position, which is why they may have considered him. I wouldn't select a SS high.

I don't think the expirement of Zac Robinson shows that they may not have faith in their DB depth. Again, it is an experiment. Why not try him at the position if he could succeed?

I don't look at it that way. I don't see it as a priority, I see it as getting your talent out on the field. If a guy has talent and can maybe do something for you at a different position, then why not put him out there and see how he does?

That's a decision that McCarthy made. McCarthy not experimenting with Flynn's talent does not mean Belichick shouldn't do it with Zac Robinson either.

 

If he has cover skills like Polamalu, then I'd take him but I don't see many guys that do.

 

Starting Strong Safeties selected by the round:

1st - 4 (Kenny Phillips has been injured and inconsistent, Meriweather has not lived up to his billing, Roy Williams has been a mess in coverage and Troy Polamalu is the exception, although he's been dinged up as well).

2nd - 8

3rd - 2

4th - 2

5th - 4

6th - 3

7th - 2

UDFA - 7

I would consider wide receivers, depending on their physicality. Anquan Boldin could probably do it, since he's a bad ***. Brandon Marshall was a safety before WR.