It doesn’t require a search party to find obstacles seriously threatening the Patriots’ chances of extending their NFL record of consecutive division titles to 12.
Start with a much tougher schedule of opponents from outside the AFC East and go from there. Inside the division, the steadily improving Bills became tougher to defend by trading for Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs. Projecting a fourth consecutive season sweep of the Bills became that much tougher.
Tom Brady’s departure to the Buccaneers means the Patriots go from having the most experienced quarterback to a promising second-year player who has thrown just four passes in NFL games.
Salary-cap pressure also led to losing three players to the Lions, one from each level of the defense: tackle Danny Shelton and linebacker Jamie Collins via free agency, and Duron Harmon in a trade. Linebacker Kyle Van Noy signed with the Dolphins.
All of those departures and a stiffer schedule will make it a great deal more difficult for the Patriots to match their league-best +21 in turnovers from a year ago.
It’s a lot to overcome, but the Patriots have no concerns in the leadership area in the locker room, on the field, and in the community. Keeping Devin McCourty, referred to by special teams captain Matthew Slater as “our unquestioned leader,” from bolting via free agency was huge for the Patriots and for Boston.
COVID-19 concerns prevented the charitable organization “Boston Uncornered” from having a dinner to honor McCourty as this year’s “Uncornered Champion,” so they had a virtual fundraiser that at last count had raised more than $650,000 for the charity that targets active and former gang members to take them from the street corners to college educations.
They’re real people with real stories, really rough real stories, such as the one Matthew Jackson told during the virtual fundraiser expertly steered by ESPN’s Andrea Kremer.
“When I was young, I was running around selling drugs, carrying guns and doing whatever I felt necessary to survive that lifestyle that eventually led me to prison, where I ended up spending five years,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he was tempted to return to the life he knew best until it all changed for him in 2014, “when the mother of my child was shot and killed. … I learned from that day on I couldn’t do anything that would send me back to prison. I had to do everything I could to be there for my daughter Madison.”
He’s now a student at Bunker Hill Community College.
“I loved the fact that my daughter Madison gets to see me do homework, that we do homework together, and more importantly that she knows that college is the expectation for her,” Jackson said.
McCourty and twin/teammate Jason have a long history of involvement in charitable causes. Devin opened a window into why he so enjoys using his fame to make an impact: “I think oftentimes if people don’t go outside of sometimes where you live or what you know you don’t hear stories like that. … For Matthew to realize the best way for him to show his daughter is by doing it and leading by example, to me, is just awesome and I think when other people hear those stories and they see that, they can relate.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft made “Boston Uncornered” the first of 10 local charitable organizations to receive one of his $100,000 pledges.
Slater and Jason McCourty made appearances. Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick taped messages that touched on congratulations and gratitude. Devin’s wife, Michelle, and the couple’s two children, daughter Londyn, 3, and son Brayden, 2, made an uplifting appearance.
Devin even talked about a recent family tragedy, the stillbirth of the couple’s third child, Mia.
“You talk about being in a corner and feeling trapped and locked in,” McCourty said. “I felt like that for two whole days, Saturday and Sunday, Memorial Day weekend, of just kind of being in a box, and honestly, not wanting to come out of that, wanting to be cornered, wanting to just be to myself.”
That’s when three men — Jason McCourty, Slater and Harmon, a former Rutgers and Pats teammate — who have spent so much of their careers looking up to Devin, were there for him.
“On that day when I got the news, being able to talk to all three of those guys, those guys praying with me, praying for me, and I’m by no means out of that corner, I would say, but they picked me up and they put me on my feet,” McCourty said.
Back on his feet, McCourty did more than walk. He did what he always does. He led. And because he put his good name on the cause, so many others followed.
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Where Patriots safety Devin McCourty leads, good deeds follow - Boston Herald
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