During safety Patrick Chung's first tenure with the New England Patriots, he did little to earn the status of a second round pick in the NFL Draft. But, according to head coach Bill Belichick, that was actually his fault.
The Oregon product underwhelmed early in his career with the Patriots. He started nearly every game he played from 2010 to 2012, and while he filled the role adequately, New England was comfortable letting him walk in free agency.
After just one season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Chung was cut. He ultimately decided to go back to New England on a discount, determined to live up to the expectations the Patriots had when they initially selected him.
Four years later, Belichick refers to him as “one of the best players in the league.” And, according to the mythical head coach in Foxborough, it's his fault that Chung didn't ascend to that plateau sooner.
From ESPN's Rich Cimini:
“For a combination of reasons — I'd say a big part of it [being] mistakes that I personally made — it just didn't work out the way that we had hoped it would,” Belichick said. “But we got it right the second time.”
While Chung is undoubtedly more dedicated to his craft than before, a large reason for his success during his second stint with the Patriots is that they figured out how to properly utilize his skill set. Belichick decided that Chung's abilities are better suited for strong safety than free safety, the position he'd mostly been deployed at previously.
Since that switch, Chung has emerged as one of the most important pieces of New England's defense.
While he didn't get it right the first time, Belichick is happy to be here now.
“We've been able to utilize him,” Belichick said. “I wish we had been able to do that when we initially got him, but it didn't work out that way. Like I said, I think we finally got it right.”
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