Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty believes it’s time for a change in philosophy for coach Bill Belichick.
New England currently sits at 1-3 and near the bottom of the AFC East. New England’s defense has held their own against tough opponents, while the offense has struggled throughout the first four games, ranking 31st in points per game.
Buy Patriots TicketsBelichick has always hung his hat on strong defensive play. However, the league is starting to gravitate to the offensive side of the football more and more. McCourty indicated that having Tom Brady always allowed the team to find success with defense as the primary focal point, but things have obviously changed for the team.
“I think he’s going to have to change his philosophy a little bit,” McCourty said, when appearing on “The Greg Hill Show,” via NESN’s Adam London. “Back in the day, games were won on a regular basis — 13-10 or, you know, 17-14. Those games are really hard.
“…Having a game like Brady, from an offensive standpoint, you jump up and you’re top three in the league every year in scoring and then your defense usually finishes in the top 10 in scoring defense. It balances out perfectly. Now, your defense is top 10 in scoring — sometimes top five — but your offense is 30th or 28th. Now, it’s not balancing out. So, I think they would be better off defensively and switching some of these weapons up and diving more into an offensive standpoint.”
It is certainly a strong argument made by McCourty.
No longer is defense the sole key to winning football games. Now, a potent offense is needed more than ever. Will the Patriots adjust to the times? That remains to be seen.
