WATERTOWN, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is known to have some outbursts during practice. When a pass gets picked off, or a receiver runs a wrong route, Brady will voice his displeasure, even during unpadded, non-contact minicamp sessions.

The defense is glowing during those moments, though, because they know they got to one of the best.

“Yeah, if we turn on the film and see him throw a ball into the ground or slam a helmet, that means we had a good day,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said Wednesday at NESN.

During the season, the Patriots are unified and working toward one goal, but during the offseason, before the real competition starts, it’s offense versus defense on the field and in the locker room.

“If (the Patriots offense) has a bad day, Tom’s mad in the locker room,” McCourty said. “That’s one good thing that I love about being on this team since I’ve gotten here. It’s always been that competitive edge where both sides of the ball through the spring and through training camp and until we start playing other teams, it’s offense verses defense and neither side wants to give. It’s really competitive, and that’s how you get better as a team.”

Some of the tension between the offense and defense ran over Wednesday when rookie wide receiver Reese Wiggins and rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler got into a scuffle during minicamp practice. The beef quickly was squashed, but the competition has been fierce over the past four weeks of OTAs and minicamp.