FOXBORO, Mass. — Eight months into coaching both McCourty twins, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick still has trouble discerning between the two defensive backs.
“They make it really hard,” Belichick said Friday. “I don’t usually look at numbers. I can usually tell just from looking at the guy who it is. I don’t really look at a number and register the player. I can just recognize them. It’s hard with those guys.”
It’s particularly difficult to tell Devin and Jason McCourty apart because neither stays in one role. Devin McCourty is mostly a free safety, but he also plays near the line of scrimmage as a strong safety and in the slot as a cornerback. Jason McCourty is typically a boundary cornerback, but he also plays safety and in the slot.
On the season, Jason has played 73 slot snaps, while Devin has played 65. Moving around the field is new for Jason, who mostly played outside during his previous stops with the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, so Belichick acknowledged he didn’t initially know how it would go for the veteran defensive back.
“He really has moved around probably more than any other player in the secondary over the 10 games we’ve played,” Belichick said Friday. “But even at corner, he’s played inside. He’s played outside, unlike really any other player we have. He played safety. He’s a smart guy. He’s a versatile player. He’s shown a lot of versatility considering he missed the spring, but from training camp on he’s done a lot of good things for us.
“He’s been very dependable, and tough, and durable and played multiple positions for kind of the newest member of the secondary, if you will. I mean, not counting J.C. (Jackson), but he’s had a lot of responsibilities that guys like (Patrick) Chung or Devin have had. As a corner, he’s actually taken the brunt of those.”
Devin McCourty started his career at cornerback then started to move to safety in 2012 around the time the Patriots acquired Aqib Talib. He became a full-time safety in 2013.
“It was more we needed to move him than he needed to move,” Belichick said. “But I think it’s worked out well for everybody. …
“Devin’s a team-first player. Whatever you need him to do. If we need him to play three technique (defensive tackle), he’d go in there and play three technique. He’d do the best he could. I don’t have any doubt about that. Devin’s as all-in on the team as you could be. Whatever we’ve ever asked him to do — return kicks, cover kicks, corner, safety, play up, play deep, never batted an eye. Has just gone in there and done the best he could. You’d love to coach 53 guys like that. We have a lot of guys like that, but certainly never an issue with him.”
The Patriots might not have 53 McCourtys, but at least they have two.
