McCOURTY’S BIG KNIGHT
Patriots defensive back and Rutgers product Dev in McCour ty covers some Super Bowl Q& A with Post columnist Steve S er by.
Defensive back Devin McCourty is aiming to win his second Super Bowl ring in his third career appearance. The former Rutgers star has come a long way since leaving Piscataway.
Q: Do you see any of Bill Belichick in his son, safeties coach Steven Belichick? A: Oh definitely, they talk alike (smile). He always says to me, he’ll ask me about different things in the safety group, and he’ll tell me, “I don’t want to just get up and talk the whole time, ’cause I sound just like my dad. No one wants to hear a double of my dad.” But I think the cool thing with Steve is his knowledge of the game of not just when he got into coaching, but when he was able to be here and talk to all the other great players that were here playing at the time when he was in high school and those different things, and they would tell him things. And then he’s a guy who gets to sit down with his dad and watch football probably his whole life growing up on Sundays where he was off. He has a lot of knowledge about the game in general, not just the safety position, but just how to make winning plays whether it be offense, defense or special teams.
Q: Do you think he will be a head coach some day? A: I think so, if that’s what he really wants to do. I think for him right now, it’s his first year. He’s just getting into it. I think he’s doing a great job with enjoying the process, and he’s been getting better all throughout the year.
Q: What is the best sarcasm you ever heard from Bill? A: Often times he’ll tell you that he’s not a football player, he’s not good. But if you do something bad enough on that film, whether it’s a punt or punting it, a guy trying to block, a guy trying to tackle, a throw, he’ll sit up there: “I mean, if we’re gonna put you out there to do that — I can go out there and do that!” And he’ll be dead serious, he won’t crack a smile. And that’s probably one of the lowest points you feel when he says that to you (smile). Q: What would it mean to Tom Brady to become the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls, and to accept the Lombardi Trophy from Roger Goodell? A: Honestly, I don’t think he cares about that. ... Neither part really. When you talk to Tom, he still plays this game because of the feeling of being in that locker room, the process of being with guys, and him being able to teach guys, show guys things, him seeing guys that have come in not winning games, guys like Chris Hogan — who came in who’s the third or fourth option in Buffalo, comes in here, has a great year. [Brady] enjoys all that. He enjoys being the older guy in the locker room that shows guys what to do and how to win games. And if we can win that Super Bowl, that is the end of the journey, you’ve reached an ultimate goal. ... I mean, he’s 39, I don’t think he still plays the game for just records. ... What you do to your body, that record is nice, but I don’t know if it’s worth the same pain, and I’m like 99 percent sure he doesn’t still play this game at 39 ’cause of Roger Goodell (chuckle). I’m pretty sure on that.
Q: Who are quarterbacks you haven’t intercepted who you want to intercept? A: Oh, Matt Ryan. That’s the one and only at this point (smile).
Q: Favorite interception? A: I’d probably say my first one [Oct. 24, 2010]. It was Philip Rivers, who is a great quarterback in this league, he’s accomplished a ton. That year I went to the Pro Bowl, and we were sitting on the bus, and he came up to me, he talked about the interception, and that moment I realized, “Oh, Philip Rivers knows who I am.” And two, I realized what it took to be a great player. A guy threw an interception ... Week 6 ... it was probably like the second quarter — he remembered who intercepted the ball! We talked about the coverage we were in. The great players, like everything eats ’em up, they want to know everything. He was kind of trying to pick my brain at that time, like, “Why did you do that?” It was interesting to me.
Q: How ticked off does Brady get when you intercept him in practice? A: He always gets mad, but I kept the [ball the] first time I picked Brady, even though you only usually keep game interceptions.
Q: Is former Rutgers teammate Eric LeGrand, who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2010, inspirational to you? A: Oh definitely. I think partly because I’ve seen his work ethic, I saw him come in as a 230-pound linebacker, put on weight to go play noseguard for our defense and still be productive, still run down on kickoffs. ... There was nothing he wouldn’t do.
Q: Favorite Rutgers memory? A: Other than Senior Day, I think Senior Day’s awesome, but for me it was the Papa John’s Bowl game in Birmingham, Alabama [a 29-23 win over N.C. State]. It was my redshirt junior year, so it was the senior year for all the guys I had come in with, with my brother, it was the last game I played with him on the same team. That game was just a great feeling of guys that really became like brothers to me that ended up leaving that year.
Q: Do you still have a chip on your shoulder because Rutgers was the only school that offered you a scholarship? A: Definitely. [Patriots linebackers coach] Brian Flores went to Boston College and they offered [my twin brother] Jason and they didn’t offer me. Sometimes when their coaches come up — they’re not even the same coaches — I always get on him about how they didn’t offer me.
Q: Your recollections of Randy Moss before he was traded during your rookie season. A: Randy was hilarious. The cool thing for me was he was here and you walk in the locker room, you’ll see 20 chairs around one area, and as you get closer, you’ll just hear Randy’s voice telling a story, telling jokes. And I think obviously, the on-the-field part, he taught me a lot, not just from telling me, but from beating me time after time in practice my rookie year in training camp (smile). But the cool thing to me was once he went to Tennessee after, I would talk to my brother [who has played for the Titans since 2009], and he would tell the exact same things. [Moss] was very genuine in who he was, and you knew that wasn’t changing.
Q: What appealed to you about the Giants as a free-agent option before re-signing with the Patriots in 2015? A: For me, it was just being home [Nyack]. It seems like a very well-run organization.
Q: For Jets fans who are pulling their hair out every year, do you expect Belichick to coach until he’s 70 and Tom to play until he’s 45? A: I would not be surprised (smile). Haven’t seen those guys slow down yet.