Copyright Boston.com
McCourty will call a Patriots game for the third time in the regular season on Sunday after calling two of their preseason games. It’s hard to imagine that there’s a national broadcaster who has a better handle on the Patriots’ stunning improvement this season than Jason McCourty. The former Patriots defensive back not only joined his twin brother, Devin, and Scott Zolak as part of Channel 4’s preseason broadcasts, but this week’s matchup with the Falcons will be the third time he has seen the Patriots this regular season as part of CBS’s No. 4 broadcast crew. McCourty, along with fellow analyst Charles Davis and play-by-play voice Andrew Catalon, also called the Patriots’ Week 2 win over the Dolphins in Miami, and the Week 7 victory at Gillette Stadium over the Titans. McCourty has seen the Patriots a bunch, at different stages of the team’s and quarterback Drake Maye’s ascent. He said he could tell during preseason that the talent had been upgraded in the draft and free agency, and that coach Mike Vrabel was having success developing a culture. But this? A 6-2 record, with Maye firmly in the discussion as a Most Valuable Player candidate? “I wouldn’t have thought that eight games into this that they’d be where they are as a football team,” said McCourty, who beyond his CBS gig also is an NFL analyst for an assortment of ESPN programs. “I’m definitely surprised at how fast they’ve improved from not only last year, but from the last two seasons from where they were as a team. “But I think a lot of that has to do with something I learned during my playing career. When you have a guy at the quarterback position, you have a chance. And the leap that Drake Maye has made this season has made them into a completely different football team.” Maye’s first of a still-continuing string of outstanding performances occurred in that Week 2 game in Miami, when he completed 19 of 23 passes for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Patriots’ 33-27 win. McCourty said he took note of Maye’s progress that day, but said that the quarterback’s performance against the Titans (when he went 21 of 23 for 222 yards and two touchdowns) really caught his attention. “I remember looking at Andrew and Charles after a couple of his throws and being like, ‘What the hell? Did he really just do that?’ He threw one on the sideline to Mack Hollins, another one to [Kayshon] Boutte, and they were just breathtaking throws,“ McCourty said. ”He did some similar stuff the week before, and watching it on film, you’re just like, ‘He’s throwing checkdowns 40 yards downfield, and they look like layups.’ “Josh [McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator] is drawing things up and doing things where it just seems effortless for Drake Maye. He usually has a quick, easy read to be able to get the ball out, and then he’s accurate as hell down the field.” McCourty, who is in his third year with CBS and second with ESPN, said he’s having a great time working with Catalon and Davis. A three-person booth can be tricky, but Catalon is generous in allowing analysts room to explain what they see. And McCourty has known Davis for years — he reached out to him for advice when his playing career was winding down and he was beginning to consider his media options. “Charles and Andrew both have so much experience of being in the booth that it’s allowed me to kind of follow their lead,” said McCourty, “and I think my main objective in calling games — and I know those guys feel the same way — is that you want to have fun and you want the viewer at home to feel like they’re enjoying the game while watching with some friends on the couch who may be able to tell them an informative tidbit or two about the game.” McCourty’s familiarity with the Patriots should lend itself to plenty of informative tidbits Sunday. But he acknowledges that he didn’t see this level of success coming so soon. “I couldn’t say being around them in the preseason made me think this team will be atop the AFC East eight games into it,“ he said. “But I did pick them on ESPN as a wild-card team. I’m not sure many people did that, even those that thought they were moving in the right direction.” Another option
