If the pats free agency situation came down to deciding between the following two scenarios, which would you choose? 1) Retaining McCourty AND Revis and consequently losing a significant number of mid-tier guys or 2) losing either Revis or McCourty to leave more cap space for negotiations with several key depth/special teams players

For me, retaining Revis is what matters most. I love McCourty, but having a free safety with range matters a whole lot less if you have a cornerback as good as Revis because they’re only going to have to cover half the field.

There’s certainly a bigger element as far as McCourty’s leadership and losing that would hurt. McCourty also can cover tight ends and do just about anything you can ask of a defensive back…

BUT…

And this is not to minimize McCourty’s talent or impact, but here are some stats to chew on as well:

Since McCourty moved full time to safety in 2012, the Patriots have given up the most 20+ yard passes in the NFL. They gave up the 4th-most 20+ passes in 2014 alone.

And they certainly have struggled vs. tight ends with the exception of 2013.

Again, this isn’t to say that either of these stats are all McCourty, but I think the impact of Revis is pretty clear in the above chart. Or to put it more simply, I think the Patriots defense is better off with Revis and Harmon at FS, than McCourty and Butler/Dennard/Ryan at CB.