Patriots: Devin McCourty has best response possible to Danny Amendola’s Brady-Belichick comments

The media’s obsession with determining whether quarterback Tom Brady or head coach Bill Belichick was more essential to the New England Patriots has predictably pitted former players against one another, as several have come out to reveal their stance on the profitless debate.

Former receiver Danny Amendola, in particular, put the fan base into a frenzy when he tried to make the case that the “Patriot Way” was entirely on Brady, conveniently forgetting that Belichick’s defense was immensely impactful in the early years of the dynasty when Brady was still developing as a quarterback.

Amendola has received quite a bit of backlash for his comments, which included some of his former teammates taking him to task. Well, in light of this growing tension, veteran defensive back Devin McCourty came forward and gave Amendola the benefit of the doubt, while also acknowledging that he should’ve given Belichick more credit for his contributions.

Devin McCourty had a great response to Danny Amendola’s polarizing comments.

If this response doesn’t prove why McCourty is a team captain and one of the most respected players in the league, then nothing does. The two-time Pro Bowler being able to see that Amendola probably got caught up in the moment trying to articulate Brady’s greatness is a testament to his leadership ability.

Unless it was absolutely warranted, McCourty would never throw one of his former teammates under the bus. Again, we don’t fault any former Patriots who were offended by Amendola’s remarks, as they definitely came off a little smug for a player who joined the dynasty more than a decade after it started and was only with the team for five seasons.

That’s a respectable tenure, but when you consider that he left out household names like Vince Wilfork, Ty Law, Richard Seymour, Troy Brown, and Julian Edelman (among others) — each of whom spent at least eight years with the Patriots — you’ll understand why Amendola was met with so much criticism. If there was any member of the dynasty qualified to shed light on who was responsible for the “Patriot Way,” it certainly isn’t the 35-year-old wideout.

That’s essentially the point McCourty was trying to make during his appearance on “Get Up” on Friday. While he understood what Amendola was trying to say in terms of highlighting Brady’s greatness, he identified holes in his former teammate’s one-sided argument and offered up his own insight into the matter.

We would expect nothing less from the longtime Patriots captain, but it was about time a vital member of the dynasty came forward with a down-to-earth response on the increasingly polarizing debate.

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