This is some of the most effusive, seemingly sincere praise I've ever heard from Belichick.
Q: Can you talk about Devin McCourty and how he has stepped in as a rookie?
BB: Devin’s really been a consistent player for us all year, from the first rookie mini-camp after the draft to all through the season. In the spring, spring workouts, training camp, preseason, he’s really the same guy every day: very alert, attentive, very professional. You wouldn’t know he’s a rookie; he acts and prepares like he’s been doing it for five or six years. He’s very attentive. He understands a lot of little things. When you give him a coaching point, he understands that it doesn’t apply to everything [and] it may only apply to one, particular situation or one little thing. But when that comes up again, he’s usually on it. He’s made a lot of improvement. Josh [Boyer] has done a good job with him, of making him aware of things that could make him a better player. And [Devin’s] done a good job of working on those things and improving on them. We see him doing things now that he wasn’t doing in October. We [saw] him doing things in September that he wasn’t doing in August, and that’s really a great feeling to have as a coach, but I think it’s also great for him as a player. He can see how much he’s improved and his techniques have improved in man-to-man coverage, zone coverage, ball skills, reading the quarterback, tackling, leverage, all those things. He’s done a good job for us and he continues to work hard and get better. He’s a great kid to coach. I’m glad he’s on our team. [He] works hard at special teams. Whatever you ask him to do, he gives you his best every play and that’s worth a lot.
