“There’s always gonna be talk about what we need to do and how we’ve got Tom Brady but, ‘The defense needs to do this and the defense needs to do that,’ but we got a good defense,” said Hightower. “We’re not worried about what nobody else thinks. Whenever we can put things together and play the way we did today and execute and be able to get after the quarterback, we can put pressure on him, we’re a good defense. We’re not worried about trying to impress fans or whatever. We’re going out there and doing our job. It might not be pretty but whatever Bill (Belichick) and defensive coordinator Matty (Patricia) put together in that game plan we’re going to go out and do our best to execute it.”
The perception that the defense isn’t where it needs to be isn’t some media or fan creation. The drastic personnel moves wouldn’t have been made otherwise. But the worry that there’s a splintering coming is not well-founded, according to Ryan.
“(Criticism) comes with the job,” he said. “It comes with the salary, a lot of scrutiny. But a lot of these guys I’ve played with for eight years. On and off the field and they’re my best friends and we have each other’s backs. It comes with the job. That’s what we signed up for. I love it. We love to get our matchups and assignments and come out and execute it. It’s not always gonna be perfect but if you’re playing hard and stick with each other it will work itself out.”
