Is Patrick Chung Overrated?

When people hear the name Patrick Chung they probably think great New England Patriots safety.  I think overrated.  To me, Chung is no different than Patriot cast-off Brandon Meriweather.  In fact, I think Meriweather was a better player than Chung is.  When people think of Meriweather, they think of bad routes and big hits.  What is different about Chung?  He doesn’t have the reputation of bad routes, but he always seems to be a step slow on everything.  Primarily, tight ends get covered by safeties, and like usual Scott Chandler lit the Pats D up yesterday for two easy scores.

Let’s put up the stats of the two recent safeties for the Pats.

Player A:

Player B:

Just looking at those stats alone, don’t you want Player A every time.  Well, player A is Meriweather.  When you think of great safeties, you think of playmakers that can cause turnovers.  That’s what Ed Reed does, that’s what Rodney Harrison used to do.  Let’s face it - that is also what Meriweather did better than Chung.  Chung also has a knack for getting hurt (has played in one full season so far) while Meriweather never missed a game for the Pats.  The tackle numbers are pretty equal, and any advantage Chung has in that department over Meriweather is strictly due to being on a worse defense and being on the field longer.

I know it’s not a popular opinion in New England, but Patrick Chung isn’t very good.  Maybe the young safety will figure it out this year, but if yesterday was any indication with Scott Chandler, it may be time to go a different route next year.

Posted in: Matt,NFL