Patriots Playmaker May Be in Hot Water For Candid Comments, Says Analyst

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The New England Patriots‘ offense has been struggling, and they are beginning to show cracks on the inside. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne has gone from a breakout, successful free-agent signing in 2021 to a polarizing, seldom-used lightning rod for conversation in 2022.

As one of the few Patriots players on the roster seemingly willing to speak his mind to the media, Bourne is usually one of the best bets for a solid quote that gives a look inside what’s currently ailing New England’s attack.

One of Bourne’s most recent answers may land him in hot water with the usually tight-lipped Patriots coaching staff. After the Patriots’ Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Bourne was asked about New England’s attack and what he thought his team could do better.

“Um, yeah, man, we need to scheme up better,” Bourne said via the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan. “We need to know what they’re doing. We need to know what they wanna do on third down, you know what I mean? It’s kind of sporadic. They call this, and we call that, and it falls right into what they want. You know what I mean? We need to have it where they’re falling into what we want, things like that. So that’s not my job, my job is to just run the call, but as we all can see, they had what — 30 first downs and we had eight? So something they were doing against us is working and something we’re doing against them wasn’t working, so it’s just about figuring it out each week. We’ve still got life, but we need to hurry and pick it up.”

Could Kendrick Bourne Find Himself in Trouble After Criticizing the Coaching Staff?

It doesn’t take a master interpreter to detect the shots Bourne takes at the coaching staff with that response. While most of us can’t clearly define it, that doesn’t sound like a “Patriot Way” sort of response. Still, from a fan and media standpoint, it might be the meatiest answer anyone associated with the team has offered this season regarding the Patriots’ struggles on offense.

While the substance of Bourne’s response may be undeniable, it’s also very possible the 27-year-old may have ruffled some feathers with his candor.

The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang mentioned that Bourne “may be in trouble” for calling out those in charge of New England’s offensive scheme. She also agreed with Bourne and offered backup statistics that support his point.

“Kendrick Bourne may be in trouble for saying the Patriots need to “scheme up” better plays on third down, but he’s right,” Yang wrote. “One of my biggest gripes with the play-calling is the fact that the Patriots seem to rarely throw the ball past the first-down marker on third downs. In their past two games, the Patriots are a combined 6 of 22 on third down (27.3 percent). On the season, they’ve converted just 36.2 percent of their third-down plays. Relatedly, Jones ranks 29th in percentage of throws to the sticks or beyond. Why not at least give the offense a chance by calling a play beyond the sticks? I don’t claim to know more about football than an NFL coach, but the number of third-down throws well short of the sticks is baffling.”

According to Pro Football Reference, Bourne has been on the field for about 42% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps this season. That’s down from 52% in 2021. After he set career-highs in almost every statistical category last season, he was expected to play an even bigger role perhaps.

Bourne had documented issues with the coaching staff in training camp, and it appears that some of the unrest has continued into the regular season. It will be interesting to see if he plays even fewer snaps on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals in a must-win game after his most public criticism of the team’s offensive approach.

Everything You Need to Know About the Monday Night Matchup With the Cardinals

• The Teams and Records: New England Patriots (6-6) at Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
• Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
• Time: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App

The Patriots have dropped to 6-6 amidst their current two-game losing streak. However, all is not lost. A win on Monday night would pull them even with the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers at 7-6, but the Patriots own the tiebreakers over both teams, per Playoff Status.

They own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Jets thanks to a season sweep against their AFC East division rivals. The Patriots currently own the tiebreaker over the Chargers with a slightly superior record against AFC teams. New England is 5-3, while the Chargers are 5-4 against the AFC. This could change by the season’s end, but the tiebreaker edge over the Jets is etched in stone.

The latest injury report for both teams, per Patriots.com is below, and there are some legitimate concerns for both sides.

New England will be without three starters/rotation players. Leading receiver Jakobi Meyers, starting cornerback Jalen Mills and struggling offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn are all out. The Cardinals will also miss players on both sides of the ball, including explosive wide receiver Rondale Moore.

This one will have tons on the line as both teams scratch and claw to keep their playoff hopes alive.