New England Patriots: Time to Get Stoked About Logan Ryan
Some Patriots fans would say the 2015 team is already doomed if there’s a report that the Pats cafeteria burned the steak, and this year’s cornerback situation has plenty of people ready to quit on the team the first time a deep ball sails over a corner’s head. But there’s a talent lurking on the depth chart, a potential Dark Knight that, if you’ve been paying attention, might be the hero Gotham deserves.
No, it’s not Malcolm Butler. The little guy that goes by “Scrap” and “Strap” (according to running back Brandon Bolden, for “putting the straps” on receivers and always “scrapping” for the ball) made some phenomenal plays in the Patriots’ Super Bowl win, and, by all accounts, has been tormenting Julian Edelman in coverage during OTAs, but the Butler isn’t the Dark Knight we’re referring to here.
That guy is Logan Ryan.
Go ahead and roll your eyes, and then keep reading, if this article isn’t already too long for you.
Comparing Logan Ryan’s sophomore season last year to his 2013 season really isn’t a fair comparison; the acquisitions of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner would have benched just about any cornerback not named Richard Sherman or Patrick Peterson. Looking at Ryan’s career stats in context, though, if you’re optimistic, paints a picture of a bomb waiting to explode that spent most of last season riding the bench. Here’s what Logan Ryan was able to accomplish in his rookie season, as a third-round draft pick out of Rutgers:
-Scored his first touchdown on October 20th, 2013 (on a pick thrown by Jets QB Geno Smith…*giggles*)
-5 interceptions (tied for the most interceptions in the AFC in 2013)
-Pro Football Focus All-Rookie Team
Oh, and Ryan only started 7 games that year.
As Sterling Xie at Bleacher Report noted in April, those numbers “essentially mirrored what All-Pro Patrick Peterson put up”.
Sterling Xie’s whole article is well worth a read, and he goes on to address the mistakes Ryan made in his 2014 season. The TL;DR version is this: Logan’s coverage is generally pretty solid, but the plays he got lit up on (see: Green Bay Packers vs. New England Patriots) are mostly directly traceable to his tendency to either gamble and try to play the ball instead of playing a more bend-but-don’t-break style of coverage, or not realizing that a certain situation (i.e. third-and-short) probably means that they ain’t slinging the rock on a 40-yard skinny post route.
Fortunately, these all fall into the “mental mistakes” category, which can be corrected with studying and hard work, compared to, say, 5’10” Kyle Arrington getting barbecued by Russell Wilson 6’5’’ Seattle receiver Chris Matthews for 100+ yards in the first half of the Super Bowl.
The pièce de résistance? A tasty treat from NESN’s Doug Kyed, in today’s Patriots mailbag:
“I will say that Ryan appeared to be playing with a swagger during the offseason workout period. I think he understands the opportunity in front of him with Browner, Dennard, Darrelle Revis and Kyle Arrington gone, and I think he can grab that figurative brass ring.”
It’s safe to assume that by “playing with a swagger”, Kyed doesn’t mean Ryan is walking around the place with Beats headphones on.
Malcolm Butler may have the keys to a Chevy from the Super Bowl MVP award that Brady threw his way, but Logan Ryan’s finally gotten his chair at the table back. Now it’s time for him to feast.
And with Geno Smith, Matt Cassell, and Ryan Tannehill quarterbacking the rest of the AFC east, there might be a whole lot of feasting.