#FreeKendrickBourne -- Should Kendrick Bourne start against Steelers in Week2?

[Deus Irae]

• Of five targets of 20-plus air yards from quarterback Mac Jones on Sunday, receivers averaged 1.2 yards of separation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Week 1 average for all NFL receivers on those plays was 2.2 yards of separation.

Parker leads the NFL in tight-window catches over the past five seasons. Creating separation isn’t his forte, but utilizing his 6-foot-3, 219-pound frame as a physical presence can be. Meyers primarily wins with precise routes and as a technician, rather than as a burner.

So the Patriots voluntarily put less speed on the field by pairing Parker and Meyers with tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, as the Patriots featured more two-TE sets in Week 1.

Whether they change course against Pittsburgh -- injecting more of Bourne's suddenness and Agholor's speed -- will be a notable storyline.

WR Kendrick Bourne could help New England Patriots create more downfield separation in Week 2

 

[PatsFanInVa]

It's all about clicks these days, and the gunslinger who gets by without really having to work at it is a sexier story than the guy who grinds film and throws footballs into the net till well after closing time. The average person can relate to the one who gets by without working for it, since that's what most people do.

It's seductive to identify with the "gunslinger."

If I'm a natural talent having fun because I'm just gifted and naturally the best at what I do, well hell, that's the best ever thing to be, all the results, none of that inconvenient work the mortals have to do... how can you not want that to be your narrative?

I do like to think of myself as having certain natural talents and when I was young, I was happy to believe they were off the charts fantastic. I actually had a few of those "I just do what comes natural and I win at everything" moments. Intoxicating to think life is like that, all I do is win win win win, etc. I don't begrudge that success anybody, what a great life, right? What I don't like, though, is hearing somebody is "trying to be what they're not" or being a "try hard," because they're trying to better themselves, even if its going from being kitchen help to being a host at a restaurant. It's almost like there's an ethic of not trying.... there might be some ultra-naturals, and it's no use putting in your 10,000 hours to master basketball if you're 5'10 and thinking you'll be in the NBA... so yes, by all means apply your work where your talent already lies.

But this admiration of winning without work..... grrrr

 

[venecol]

KB when he was happy & free.

 

[paco130]

I hear you. I just don't see the value of a mid-season coaching change to Payton, who I think squandered a lot of opportunities with Brees & Co., and I think it's too soon to know who'll spring loose by season's end.

I should have been clearer. I didn't mean a change during this season. That would be bad. I mean after this season is over.

 

[PatsfanTN]

The team limits access for a good reason. It's the team's job to win football games and keep its employees focused on that, not on serving up tasty tidbits for the media.

Your suggestion that it's now acceptable to tack together a story based on a month's old interview with the owner and a bunch of conjecture, IMO shows how far people's standards have slipped.


You also seem to be suggesting you want to follow a team that reacts to the owner's pressure ala the Dallas Cowboys.

I thought one of the biggest lessons Kraft took away after telling Parcells who to draft and then putting together the failed Carrol/Zampese/Grier experiment was that he should stay the bleep out of the football side of the operation.

It seems to me he probably still is and Curran is just pulling stuff out his backside to get clicks, but, regardless, the idea that Krafty Bob should be telling the football side what to do is a bad thing, IMO.


Nice scree, but, again, we have no idea what Patricia's actual role in any of this is.

We do know that Curran says he does not know.


This fan base also went nuts when Bob Kraft "picked the groceries" in the form of Terry Glenn over Cedric Jones, but now it's ok for Krafty Bob the football mensch to (perhaps be) sticking his nose in because their binkie (perhaps is) being benched by the mean old coaches.


Guess you also didn't want Josh McD back after he was completely exposed after being HC of DEN and being fired before the end of his second season?

Geez, people, have a tiny bit of faith. It's week one. We're in a rebuild. Put down the pitchforks.


That's what people said about Josh McD after his 11-17 run with the Tebow-era Donkeys AND after signing a deal with IND then leaving them at the altar.

We heard countless times how that was the end of Josh, he was now unhireable, yada yada.

Now he's 1-0 with LV.


I missed it, I had the audio off. WW was also ex-MIA so he had connections to both teams.

Nice try bro but no. Patricia back maybe running the defense, ok. Offense, are you kidding me? And then putting talent in his “ doghouse”?? He doesn’t have the standing on offense to HAVE a doghouse. I stand by what I said.

 

[upstater1]

Nah. McDaniel is 39. He can relate to his players. He knows how to motivate them w/o using a big stick. He's a 1st time HC so the expectations aren't there, despite all their offseason moves. They'll cut him slack.

The problem with Bill's approach now, is that unless they become a winning team, the players will lose faith given their program is so structured with endless mtgs, tough practices, strict discipline, restrictions on what they can say, etc. These young guys aren't old school. Think about it, when these players were in Pop Warner, they probably already had cell phones and SM was already a thing

Players disrespect coaches all the time. How old was Pete Carroll in the mid 90s? 45

Players don't cut unproven coaches any slack.

Let me remind you of something:

 

[upstater1]

I will; re-phrase that:
"You honestly think he has done things that intentionally hurt the goals of the team?"

The goal of the team is to win the Super Bowl.

If he thinks something is divisive and corrosive, that hurts his #1 goal.

 

[upstater1]

KB when he was happy & free.

He averaged 400 yards a year when he was "happy and free"

Have you seen his contract? I mean, he signed for $3 or $4m for 5 years. For the money it took to grab Russell Gage, you could've bought 5 Bournes with that money.

 

[venecol]

He averaged 400 yards a year when he was "happy and free"

Have you seen his contract? I mean, he signed for $3 or $4m for 5 years. For the money it took to grab Russell Gage, you could've bought 5 Bournes with that money.

Huh? What are you talking about?
Bourne signed a three year, $15 million contract. He received $5.25 million in guarantees. There are up to $750,000 in annual per game bonuses. Another $7.5 million in incentives and escalators are available.

But in your view that's chump change and we can just afford to sit him.

BTW, Gage got 3 for $30M.
30/15 does not equal 5. Lol

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I think what BB has done has been pretty consistent. He punished players for being late to team meetings even during a major snow storm. He often trades down in drafts to get more overall picks rather than a few higher picks. He often gets rid of players a year too early because he doesn't want to get stuck with them a year too late. He favors overall team depth over the stars and scrubs approach. He brings players into his system that he expects can conform to it, rather than trying to make a system that conforms to the players. His drafts look poor to people who don't factor in draft position and his desire to build team depth and his relatively good success at building the team via late round draft picks, UDFAs, and free agents.

A lot of fans hate these things, and in turn that makes it so mediots like Curran have things they can use to take him down a notch and lift themselves up a notch, yet it's clear BB doesn't care much about what the media says and does. The media has shown they need to get clicks to survive and they'll do pretty much anything to get them. Fans that can't see through that are destined to live a life of getting their emotions jerked around by the latest media troll job.

How many division titles has he won without Tom Brady?

 

[venecol]

Lol at the 8 fools that would rather sit Bourne in Fat Matt's stinking doghouse for being a tad late to a meeting five weeks ago, so he can show the rest of the players who's the boss; instead of having him on the field helping the TEAM WIN Fking GAMES.

Fortunately you're 11% is like what's left when you take out whites, hispanics and blacks: like eskimos, american indians, multi-racials and morons.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Lol at the 8 fools that would rather sit Bourne in Fat Matt's stinking doghouse for being a tad late to a meeting five weeks ago, so he can show the rest of the players who's the boss; instead of having him on the field helping the TEAM WIN Fking GAMES.

Fortunately you're 11% is like what's left when you take out whites, hispanics and blacks: like eskimos, american indians, multi-racials and morons.

wow that was a really crappy simile at the end.

I didm't vote at all, I just don't know how tf we're all so worked up about the employee says x (and not much of that,) the employer says y, and not much of that, the media says x, y, z, p, d, and q.... and alll we reallly know is that an okay rece8iver wasn't out there when we lost. It;s just the drama du jour. He's a guy that added up to an efficient 800 yards and 5 TD aa year ago. What is he here? He's "the best offensive player on the team," a reason for people to lose their ****, attack each other... etc. It ain't worth it, it's a nontroversy. And man that last line I don't even want to go there, I think that was to indicate the scarciity that 11% represents or something but it came out I'm gonna say problematic.

And all over Kendrick Bourne.

 

[Calhoun44]

Lol at the 8 fools that would rather sit Bourne in Fat Matt's stinking doghouse for being a tad late to a meeting five weeks ago, so he can show the rest of the players who's the boss; instead of having him on the field helping the TEAM WIN Fking GAMES.

Fortunately you're 11% is like what's left when you take out whites, hispanics and blacks: like eskimos, american indians, multi-racials and morons.

Just because you have a different opinion of some of us doesn't mean that others are morons. The poll question is worded in a way that was bound to polarize this issue. I voted that I'm in agreement that he should be benched because BB has proven for a very long time that he knows a sihtload about winning football games and how to motivate players, create a winning culture and build team chemistry. I think he has strict rules and beliefs that might seem silly to ordinary folks, but I think that at the elite levels of athletics it can be the difference between winning and losing championships. He has seen it firsthand for many years and I trust he hasn't all of a sudden forgot how to build a team for a playoff run. They may not have the elite talent right now, but they will hopefully by playoff time be a team that is smart, disciplined, has team unity, and that will run through brick walls for BB. I guess I blame the player for not following the rules and he is the one hurting the team. There is no reason to bench anyone (Welker, Butler, KB, etc.) unless they are not following the expectations laid out by the coaching staff. I trust that this coaching staff is very clear in the expectations that they lay out to each player and none of them should be surprised when they are disciplined for coming up short on their end of the agreement. I think BB would be hurting the team more if he didn't discipline the players and continually looked the other way.

 

[Calhoun44]

fify

I figured that if you were going to change my posts, I thought it was fitting to have a bit of fun with yours. I apologize if you were offended and didn't appreciate my humor. BTW, I laughed at yours. Go Pats!

 

[JayNM]

In-season I don't think a coaching change does much... I'd start picking some juniors and assistants for this season, guys with some CV, and yes, from his circle (so he feels comfortable working from the get-go)

but I'm ready to die on this hill: We NEED an overhaul of the coaching staff. BB needs to let go of something, bring THE best outside guy he can find, I'd say even with the Krafts overseeing* the process (pls, dont let Robert alone in these meetings Jonathan), and fill the coaching staff with other people, with experience in OTHER winning cultures.

I've been preaching this for over a year now, the shoe is gonna drop sooner or later, the patriots organogram is just NOT healthy

 

[venecol]

Just because you have a different opinion of some of us doesn't mean that others are morons. The poll question is worded in a way that was bound to polarize this issue. I voted that I'm in agreement that he should be benched because BB has proven for a very long time that he knows a sihtload about winning football games and how to motivate players, create a winning culture and build team chemistry. I think he has strict rules and beliefs that might seem silly to ordinary folks, but I think that at the elite levels of athletics it can be the difference between winning and losing championships. He has seen it firsthand for many years and I trust he hasn't all of a sudden forgot how to build a team for a playoff run. They may not have the elite talent right now, but they will hopefully by playoff time be a team that is smart, disciplined, has team unity, and that will run through brick walls for BB. I guess I blame the player for not following the rules and he is the one hurting the team. There is no reason to bench anyone (Welker, Butler, KB, etc.) unless they are not following the expectations laid out by the coaching staff. I trust that this coaching staff is very clear in the expectations that they lay out to each player and none of them should be surprised when they are disciplined for coming up short on their end of the agreement. I think BB would be hurting the team more if he didn't discipline the players and continually looked the other way.

FWIW, I don't think you're a moron. Just being sarcastic.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

In-season I don't think a coaching change does much... I'd start picking some juniors and assistants for this season, guys with some CV, and yes, from his circle (so he feels comfortable working from the get-go)

but I'm ready to die on this hill: We NEED an overhaul of the coaching staff. BB needs to let go of something, bring THE best outside guy he can find, I'd say even with the Krafts overseeing* the process (pls, dont let Robert alone in these meetings Jonathan), and fill the coaching staff with other people, with experience in OTHER winning cultures.

I've been preaching this for over a year now, the shoe is gonna drop sooner or later, the patriots organogram is just NOT healthy

I'm not as easily sold on the OMG/"evidence" phase of demanding coaching changes, given the ground rules.

But I will join you in thinking the ground rules on bringing in a coaching staff are rife for abuse. I don't know if Steve Belichick is really terrible. I do know it's unlikely that the greatest coaching mind in the game somehow spawned the next greatest coaching mind, or even a very good coaching mind. Running your staff in the small family business model seems unlikely to yield the best people - it's just a one in eight billion shot that his son will have the "right stuff."

Obviously he'd have football with his cheerios from age 3 onward, but still. Where else has he coached, right?

Maybe you should go all the way to the corporate route and say BB should recuse himself if he even knows a guy up for a job. That wouldn't make it impossible for your buddy to get the job, but would provide more of a runway for outsiders.

And at least make someone else like GB take the younger Belichick. Maybe not now but as a policy for the future on nepotism. I mean, we took the younger Lombardi (I have no idea whether there's any relation, just a joke.)

Cronyism and nepotism are also the backbone of a system that results in having to have a Roony Rule - e.g., BB only has white kids. He is pretty color blind about assistants he's hired though so at least there has been at times a pipeline in NE

 

[Wozzy]

You can't let the lunatics run the asylum. If Bourne was punished in game one because he was late to a meeting then it was the right thing to do. Time to move on and get him back into the lineup, he's been saying all the right things to the media and seems contrite.

 

[JayNM]

I'm not as easily sold on the OMG/"evidence" phase of demanding coaching changes, given the ground rules.

But I will join you in thinking the ground rules on bringing in a coaching staff are rife for abuse. I don't know if Steve Belichick is really terrible. I do know it's unlikely that the greatest coaching mind in the game somehow spawned the next greatest coaching mind, or even a very good coaching mind. Running your staff in the small family business model seems unlikely to yield the best people - it's just a one in eight billion shot that his son will have the "right stuff."

Obviously he'd have football with his cheerios from age 3 onward, but still. Where else has he coached, right?

Fair enough and agreed.

Personally I don't have anything against SB and he seems to doing well with the safeties. But it is like you said and it's like everyone knows: He definetily didn't have a arduous path to the job, and the same can be said for other guys in the staff. That is concerning, bc there are many in this scenario within the team.

Maybe you should go all the way to the corporate route and say BB should recuse himself if he even knows a guy up for a job. That wouldn't make it impossible for your buddy to get the job, but would provide more of a runway for outsiders.

I dont like this part only bc if you are in the industry for as long as him, with his amount of reputation, it's probably impossible to find someone who is "very" outside his circle. But I get what you mean, and I think it's aligned with my op

And at least make someone else like GB take the younger Belichick. Maybe not now but as a policy for the future on nepotism. I mean, we took the younger Lombardi (I have no idea whether there's any relation, just a joke.)

I would applaud the Belichicks if they went outside and kicked ass. Like, serious compliment to the family.

But it is IMPOSSIBLE to not be biased to your children/father. Just impossible. This HAS to create dynamism problems, even if a little. I dont have a problem with your lineage opening doors, it's part of nature too, in some ways

Cronyism and nepotism are also the backbone of a system that results in having to have a Roony Rule - e.g., BB only has white kids. He is pretty color blind about assistants he's hired though so at least there has been at times a pipeline in NE

Took awhile to understand what you meant, but very good point, yeah, I can agree with this

 

[State]

Knowing Matt's ego he would bench Mac the rest of the season for such insubordination.

I'll never forgive Patricia for costing us a Superbowl. Benching Butler is the worst coaching decision in the history of the Patriots

And many if not most Detroit fans will say Patricia is the worst hiring decision in the history of the Lions.

And that’s saying something.

That fifth game that most here think will be a Patriots victory will keep looming larger with each Patriots loss.