FOXBORO, Mass. — As the leader of the New England Patriots’ secondary, safety Devin McCourty faced the assembled media Tuesday and fielded question after question, most of which centered around the same theme: Why has your unit been so dysfunctional this season, and what are you guys doing to fix it?
His response, basically, was: We know there’s a problem, and we’re working as hard as we can to fix it.
“One thing I know about here is when things aren’t going right, we’re not going to sit around and hope it gets better,” McCourty said two days after his team was torched for 33 points in a loss to the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. “We’re going to attack it and do everything that we can to make it better. So, we’ve met, we’ve walked through, we’ve walked through again, so we’ve got to keep doing that and we’ve got to go play well (Thursday). …
“We have a hard-working group of guys, but it’s time to show up and make plays and play better.”
Indeed it is. Through four weeks of the NFL season, the Patriots rank last or close to last in almost every important defensive category, including points allowed per game (31st) and yards allowed per game (32nd). Because of this, they sit at 2-2 and are tied for second in the AFC East — the division they’ve dominated for more than 15 years — despite boasting an offense that leads the NFL in yards and ranks second in points.
McCourty, who has been with the Patriots since 2010, said he’s never been part of a defense that was this ineffective.
“We’ve had different struggles at times, like any team, but I think this is even new to me as far as the type of things and how we’re playing and how the game is going,” he said. “But you just have to keep playing through everything. … If you’re trying one thing and that’s not working, try something else. We’re going to continue to do that and keep trying to get it better. I think that we all know in the secondary that we have to get it better.
“It’s the NFL. It’s simple. You either get it better, or you have to look for a new job, so I think we all understand that.”
The Patriots replaced cornerback Logan Ryan with Stephon Gilmore this past offseason, and the results have been less than stellar thus far. Gilmore often has appeared confused by formations and pre-snap motions, resulting in receivers running unchecked down the field.
Gilmore’s teammates and coaches have been quick to point out that the newcomer isn’t solely to blame, as none of the Patriots’ DBs have played at a Pro Bowl level through four games. McCourty did say, however, that New England’s system of communication can’t get much simpler.
“I think (Patriots coach Bill Belichick) says it best all the time: ‘Communication is a two-way street,’ ” McCourty said. “One guy talks. One guy listens. I don’t know many ways that you can do that any better. We have hand signals. We talk. When we talk, we have ways that guys know you got it by you confirming.
“So, I mean, I don’t know if there’s many ways that we can change how we do that. Like I said earlier, it’s about getting it and then just doing it.”
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
