Picked-up pieces from 1st half review – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

Defensive back Devin McCourty isn’t just a good safety, he’s very good. He’s reliable, smart, instinctive, athletic, and much more. McCourty has been the target of some criticism in 2012, some of which was merited, but he’s been very good all over the field. One play particularly resonated from the first half on Sunday, and it came with roughly six minutes to play in the first half. McCourty was aligned as the safety to the left side of the field, and had deep half responsibilities in the Patriots’ cover 2 scheme. Luck worked to fit a throw to receiver LaVonn Brazill down the right sideline, but McCourty glided to the sideline to break the play up. That throw is the most difficult for a cover 2 safety to defend, and it’s a play that we’ve seen Patrick Chung struggle to make this season. McCourty’s reliability cannot be overlooked.