What the McCourty brothers will be watching for during their "Twincast" of Patriots-Texans
FOXBORO -- The Patriots kick off their preseason slate Thursday night, and you can watch their exhibition tilt against the Texans on WBZ-TV. For a unique look at the game from a pair of former players, you can catch Devin and Jason McCourty's commentary on the game in their "Twincast" streaming on WBZ.com.
The McCourty twins know plenty about the Patriots from their time in New England, with Devin winning three Super Bowls during his 13-year career with the Pats and Jason winning a ring alongside his brother in 2018. Both are pretty familiar with how things operate under Bill Belichick, and now that they're happily retired, they can really peel back the curtain throughout Thursday night's game.
The "Twincast" will come from Jason's home in New Jersey, and rather than calling plays, the brothers will do a lot more analysis on what takes place on the field. Jason called games on the radio last season, so he told WBZ-TV's Steve Burton that he expects to do a lot more talking than Devin on Thursday night.
"This should be a lot of fun," said Jason. "For both of us, a preseason game is an opportunity for us to tell stories, to enjoy and invite some guests on. I'm fired up for the opportunity."
Devin was in the Pats locker room a year ago, and kind of sidestepped a queston on whether or not he'd be able to get critical about his former teammates. But he promises to bring a unique look at how things work inside the locker room and on the playing field.
"What he is basically saying is he's working for the good guys," joked Jason. "He is going to be super upbeat, all positive."
Jason will have no problem being critical during their three preseason broadcasts, but only when it's warranted.
"You just call it how you see it," said Jason. "Whatever shows up -- it's nothing personal. I'm just watching what is on the field. I'm just going to talk about football."
Devin joked that one of their first guests will be former New England linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who he has seen as Mr. Negativity since Nink first joined the Patriots in 2009. Now a pundit himself, Ninkovich hasn't been shy at pointing out New England's shortcomings over the last few years.
"We'll try to make sure he doesn't say the team isn't going to win a single game because of one bad play in the preseason," joked Devin.
While preseason games can become somewhat of a slog, the Patriots have several young players that will be getting their first opportunity on Thursday night. Getting to see what they can do in game action has the McCourty twins very excited for their debut broadcast.
"Now is the time for all these young guys to show what you can do in a game. I think that is so important," said Devin. "I remember Bill [Belichick] always saying that practice is so important and we're going to evaluate it, but we're going to evaluate the games even more. It's more important for guys to show up on game day and do the right thing over and over again.
"That's what you want to see; how do these guys develop from playing in their first-ever preseason game – some of these guys in their first-ever preseason game in New England – and how do they look in two weeks when they play in their last preseason game? That's when you start to get the real feeling that, hey man, the season is here," added Devin.
"I'm looking forward to seeing guys fired up and playing with a ton of passion," said Jason. "There are going to be so many guys that this is their first time they've gotten a chance to live out their childhood dream on an NFL field wearing an NFL jersey, which is a tremendous feeling. I'm just here to see guys make plays and see these dreams come true."
After a fairly tumultuous 2022 season, Jason will also be looking to see how New England functions with many of the basics in the team's first game action.
"When you get into the weeds of it from a coaching standpoint, you want to see a good operation. You don't want to see any substitution issues. You want to see guys flying around all over the field. Some guys, from a coaching standpoint, you want them to show up boring on the film because they're just doing their job each and every play. They may not shine, but they've handled their responsibility on every play," said Jason.
The McCourty Twincast will stream on WBZ.com for all three preseason games. It starts with Thursday's game against Houston at 7 p.m.
Tune in to Thursday night's Patriots-Texans preseason game on WBZ-TV -- your official station of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and stay tuned for Patriots 5th Quarter after the game. You can also catch Devin and Jason McCourty's special "Twincast" of the game streaming on WBZ.com!
