McCourty: Secondary has to bond now

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The New England Patriots secondary has seen some big changes this offseason to date. Steven Gregory and Aqib are out; Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are in. As with any secondary, communication is key and safety Devin McCourty has said that has to begin ASAP.

Per Boston.com:

"Us, as a secondary, the bonding begins now," McCourty said at a press conference on Thursday. "I think you guys always saw us in the locker room, we’re always in there laughing and joking — that starts now. A group of us is always working out together, we're running together, we're in the locker room together, so the bonding, as a secondary, as a unit, starts now. The good thing is that everybody's all in, and we're down to have fun and get better together as a unit."

Some of the starting unit are in place with McCourty and Revis appearing to be locks as starters and Durmon Harmon appears to have the strong safety position locked up, but the Patriots just re-signed Patrick Chung from the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Boston.com. As to how long it will take to come together, it is unclear with new additions Revis and Browner.

"You never know," McCourty said. "I think the biggest thing is getting out there. Once you get out there, you start getting a feel for each other. They'll get out there, they'll probably have some things they're used to doing that will feel real familiar, and there are always some new things."

It will take time for the new faces to learn the system, but I have every confidence that it will gel before the season starts. And once that happens, the rest of the league is on notice. The Patriots will be a tougher defensive team than in recent seasons.