Devin McCourty, Dont'a Hightower on charge Patriots aren't any fun: 'To each his own'

FOXBOROUGH — How did the Patriots’ defensive leaders react to the news that some believe they don’t have any fun? With a collective shrug of their shoulders.

Following Thursday’s workout, I asked New England defensive back Devin McCourty if the Patriots planned on having any fun this season.



“Not if we go 0-16. It probably won’t be any fun,” he said with a smile. “I plan on (having fun). This is fun. There are funner things I can do instead of talking to you, but this is fun.

“We got a couple guys here from Cleveland who went 0-16 last year,” added McCourty. “They tell me that wasn’t fun. I’m going to try and stay on this side of it.”

McCourty said he understands why Lane Johnson and Cassius Marsh said what they said about New England.

“I think now, you look at it, a team that beat us in the Super Bowl, and you have guys who are talking about it. So it’s front-page news,” he explained. “Cassius leaves, he played here, so that’s another one. Cassius, he had a frustrating year here, so you don’t expect him to leave and say he had a great time.

“But I think if you ask any guy on this team, the fun we have comes from hanging with each other. You guys are in the locker room. The relationships between the guys. A lot of our fun happens right in the locker room even before we come out here and have fun winning football games. Obviously, we work for a living, so in this business, you have to win. When you lose, that’s not fun. People get fired. That’s not fun.”

Linebacker Dont’a Hightower acknowledged that while life in New England isn’t for everyone, but there’s fun there.

“To each us own. I really don’t have anything to say to them,” Hightower said of the comments from players like Johnson and Marsh. “Guys here, they know it’s not for everybody. It’s definitely harder than most places. But that’s part of it. A lot of guys know that when they come here. In the locker room, it’s not Bill’s job to make this atmosphere fun. It’s the guys around you.

“Every guy in that locker room I love like a brother. We have fun, whether we’re out here struggling together, working through blood, sweat, and tears, or back in the locker room, or hanging out outside of football. There’s a time and place for everything, but we know when we walk through the building, it’s time to work.”

While there are relative definitions of the word “fun,” McCourty said winning is the ultimate goal.

“I wouldn’t believe anyone who told me that if they only won half their games, they were having the best time of their lives. I’m just not here for that,” McCourty said. “I think the value of how we interact and the relationships we have, no one else sees that. No one on Philly can say, ‘Those guys don’t like each other. Those guys hate it there.’ You don’t know that. I think you’ve seen guys leave, and we still have great relationships with them. Guys still talk. To me, that’s the fun part. And obviously, we come out here on Sunday and we win games. That’s the best fun at the end of the week. I plan on continuing to do that, no matter what’s said.”