Jarrett Bell

USA TODAY Sports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As impressive as they were in swarming to the football to shut down a run and finish off a goal-line drill during a training camp practice last week, members of the revived New England Patriots defense also proved to be rather harmonious in another regard.

They celebrated the big play — Stevan Ridley was tagged first by Rob Ninkovich, who was joined by maybe a half-dozen others — with the type of in-your-face chant that is hardly a signature for Bill Belichick's buttoned-down operation.

"Hell, no! We won't go! Hell, no! We won't go!" players bellowed as they pumped fists, high-fived and chest-bumped.

This all seemed rather important on the fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium. The unit had passed a test of pride.

"The offense has been kind of getting us in goal-line, and Coach has been killing us in the film room," defensive tackle Tommy Kelly told USA TODAY Sports. "He told us it would probably be the last day we'd go live goal-line, so we needed a win. You don't want to get on Bill's bad side. So you gotta get that win."

In a situation drill a few minutes before the goal-line sequence, when the units faced the other way with the offense backed up deep in its own territory, Darrelle Revis stepped in front of a Tom Brady pass and returned it for a pick-six. They celebrated that, too, albeit not with the chant.

"It all kind of balances out," Brady said. "The defense makes a lot of good plays out there and we make our fair share."

It doesn't take long, though, to catch the vibe flowing with a defense that ultimately may take much pressure off Brady and the try-again quest to win another championship. With the addition of Revis and fellow cornerback Brandon Browner, plus the return of defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo and Kelly — whose injuries were major setbacks last season — the Patriots might have their best defense in the decade since they last won a Super Bowl.

Last season the Patriots advanced to the AFC title game despite the issues of an injury-ravaged defense that ranked 26th in yards allowed. The unit not only ranked 30th against the run, but was stung by allowing too many big plays off screen passes and had trouble getting off the field on third downs, also ranking 26th in the league in that category.

Two of the Patriots' losses last season — at Carolina in Week 11 and at Miami in Week 15 — might be best remembered for their inability to cash in after driving to scoring range in the final seconds. But before the controversial incompletion to Rob Gronkowski against the Panthers and before Brady's end zone pick against the Dolphins, the defense lost leads by allowing long go-ahead TD drives.

Now, if it can stay healthy, the unit may be better equipped.

Revis (arguably the NFL's best cornerback) and Browner (who will miss the first four games of the regular season due to a drug suspension) have brought a physicality to the secondary that is reminiscent of the style deployed when Ty Law battered opposing receivers.

That parallel hit home over the weekend, when Law was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame and several of the former Patriots defenders showed up at the ceremony.

Former linebacker Tedy Bruschi recalled Law's approach heading into the team's first Super Bowl triumph against the high-powered St. Louis Rams.

"You may be able to run 100 yards fast," Bruschi remembered, "but you can't run 100 yards fast with somebody beating you up."

Fast-forward to this summer's practices. The competition has been intense and physical. At one point last week, Browner got into a skirmish with wideout Kenbrell Thompkins after tempers flared during one-on-one drills.

Like Belichick, safety Devin McCourty downplayed the theme that the intensity has gone up a notch this summer when asked by USA TODAY Sports.

"Everybody wants to write a new story about a new secondary, but you can pull up tape from each year in training camp since I've been here and you've seen guys out here getting physical," McCourty said. "I mean, one year we had three fights in a row and Bill had us running around the field."

Maybe they haven't been running penalty laps, but there is indeed a different presence.

Brady isn't complaining. He sees the rugged work in practice as an opportunity for his receivers to develop.

"That's what defenses do," he said. "We'll go into games and say, 'Look, these guys hold on every play.' They grab you, they clutch you, they hold you, but we still have to figure out a way to get open. It's not flag football. ... We've got to learn to be just as physical. We've got to learn to push off in the right way and get our leverage because that's how it's going to be when it matters."

It all starts with attitude. Don't take my word for it. Listen to Rodney Harrison, the former Patriots safety who had the reputation in his day as one the NFL's most feared head-hunters.

When I asked Harrison for his take on the changes in the Patriots secondary, he could not hold back his glee.

"About time! About time!" he said.

It's also been a long time since the Patriots had more questions about their offense than their defense — which means they may actually be in the midst of developing the formula to finally win another championship.

Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.