FOXBORO -- No position on the Patriots roster has come under more fire this season than the secondary.

A collection of shifting parts throughout the year, there’s been little continuity at the spot since the start of the season -- 10 different players have started at defensive back for New England, and there have been nine different starting combinations. Almost predictably, there have been record numbers put up against the Patriots’ pass defense and New England was at or near the bottom of the league when it came to passing yards allowed.

The low point came last month when former New England defensive back Rodney Harrison ripped them collectively on national television.

“They won a football game, but they should be concerned because that secondary is probably the worst secondary I’ve seen in the last decade,” Harrison said in the wake of New England’s victory over Washington. “It’s been proven the last two years in the playoffs -- if (quarterback Tom) Brady’s off just a little bit, they’re vulnerable to lose.”

But now, the group has appeared to settle into a comfortable rotation: the combination of Patrick Chung, James Ihedigbo and Devin McCourty at safety (with McCourty seeing snaps at deep safety in nickel packages), and McCourty, Kyle Arrington and the combination of Sterling Moore and Antuwan Molden providing depth at corner in nickel and dime situations.

The return of Chung after an extended time on the shelf has provided some stability at the back end, while the move of McCourty to the deep safety spot has paid dividends. Arrington continues to be a better-than-average option at one corner (we’re talking about a guy who tied for the league lead in interceptions with seven, people), while the Patriots have been able to survive with a combo at the other corner spot.

While the overall stats probably aren’t where they want them to be, rather remarkably, one month after they were hammered by Harrison on national television, they are now part of a defense that stands 60 minutes away from going to the Super Bowl.

“It’s playoff time,” Arrington said with a shrug when asked about how things came together in the divisional playoff win over the Broncos. “Our records, our stats go out the window this time of year. We’re fully committed to play for one another.”

Perhaps the greatest asset as a group is their overall versatility. McCourty has moved back and forth from corner to safety, while Chung’s ability to play the “star” position has him occasionally working in coverage on a receiver in the slot. And Moore has played both corner and safety.

“Just from a position flexibility standpoint, we have a lot of guys that have done some of the stuff that Devin is doing,” said Patriots defensive backs coach Josh Boyer. “Sterling has had positional flexibility for us, as well as Patrick Chung. So all of our guys back there, Kyle included in that mix, they are very aware of what is going on [and doing] what we feel is best for the team that week of who is going to be in what spot.”

The biggest surprise in that group has been McCourty. After a brutal start to the season at corner, it appeared the second-year defensive back had lost some of the confidence that made him a Pro Bowler as a rookie. But he showed great improvement at corner down the stretch, and the move to safety has added a new wrinkle to New England’s defensive game plan.

“For the safety, one of the things you are looking for is a guy that can track the ball in the air, which Devin has been able to do,” Boyer said. “You have to have a little bit of range. You have to be kind of a physical player being able to step up in the box. Devin has done all of those things at points in times for us in the season.”

Chung said that even though there have been multiple combinations at defensive back this season, it hasn’t been hard for everyone to get on the same page.

“Honestly, I think it’s not tough at all. We’re all in the same room learning the same things,” Chung said. “I’ll say that week in and week out. Everybody is in the same room doing the same thing; learning the same thing, doing the same responsibilities. Whoever is out there has to know what they’re doing.”

While the Broncos were mostly reticent to go deep, the Ravens have been known to take their shots downfield with Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, two receivers who average more than 15 yards a catch. That should present a new set of challenges for New England’s defensive backs.

“We haven’t turned the corner yet,” Chung said. “We still have one more game and hopefully another one. We can’t look past this one because it’s the Ravens coming in. It’s a good team — good defense, good offense, good special teams, and we’re in for a battle.”

And just as Harrison ripped the secondary for their performance last month, another former Patriots’ defensive back is pretty high on their chances heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship against Baltimore.

“Yes, they struggled throughout the season, but had a lot of injuries and a lot of things that just weren’t going their way,” Ty Law said when asked about the defense (and the secondary in particular) on Thursday. “And when you have a quarterback like Tom Brady and you can get that many points, it helps you out a lot.

“But they’ve stepped it up in a big way -- especially last week,” Law added. “So hopefully they can carry that over and gain that confidence from these last few performances and play that well on Sunday night, because Tom and that offense is clicking. All the defense has to do is step up, be productive and they’ll win the football game.”