A Series of Mistakes Are Ruining The New England Patriots
The New England Patriots signed former San Francisco 49ers receiver Kendrick Bourne to a 3 year 15 million dollar contract prior to the 2021 NFL season. During that season, Bourne would become quarterback Mac Jones’ second favorite option and Bourne would finish with a career high in receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns. Bourne, known for being a fun loving, kind, and energetic teammate has been nothing but a positive influence on the Patriots team, on and off the field. That being said, why was Kendrick Bourne benched for the season opener last Sunday against the Dolphins, and how is this a direct result of Bill Belichick’s mismanagement of the Patriots coaching staff.
The Patriots came into Miami last Sunday with hope to improve their 10–7 finish last season. Young phenom quarterback Mac Jones is heading into his 2nd season and fans have been excited to see how he has improved. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Josh McDaniels is no longer the offensive coordinator, helping Mac along with his development, that honor goes to former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Patricia has spent the past year working as a coaching assistant for Bill Belichick, after Patricia was kicked out of Detroit for a poor head coaching performance. Thankfully for Patricia, highly touted offensive mind Josh McDaniels took the head coaching job for the Las Vegas Raiders once the season was over. Patricia, having such a good relationship with Belichick, weaseled his way into position to replace McDaniels. This was a puzzling move and it came to light during the game against the Dolphins.
With Patricia holding the play sheet, the Patriots offense struggled to make anything work. Gone were the days of efficiently marching their way down the field, and in was taking shots down field at the wrong times, along with clunky offensive plays. The offense only mustered 7 points on the day and would lose to the Dolphins 20–7. Along with this horrendous play calling, came the absence of Kendrick Bourne. Bourne, who is still widely regarded as the Patriots 2nd best receiving threat, only appeared on two snaps. Bourne wasn’t hurt, but this was apparently a coaching decision. What coach would give practice squad receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey more snaps than Kendrick Bourne? Apparently, the coach willing to do that was Bill Belichick. The reason? Reportedly Kendrick Bourne was late to a player meeting led by offensive coordinator Matt Patricia, prior to the Patriots preseason matchup with the Raiders. This landed Bourne, in what was referred to as, Matt Patricia’s “doghouse”. Presumably being given permission by Belichick, Patricia benched Bourne and only put him in when the coaching staff realized how important he is.
Bourne’s first snap in the game came with 5:23 left in the 4th quarter, with the Patriots needing to quickly get out of a 20–7 hole. Bourne would immediately haul in the longest play of the game, with a 41 yard catch down the left sideline into Dolphins territory. Bourne would then play one more snap and once taken out, his replacement, Nelson Agholor, would fumble the ball, giving away any chance the Patriots had of winning. Bourne clearly has a positive impact on the team.
As we can see, Matt Patricia was not focusing on what gave the Patriots the best chance to win on Sunday and by association, neither was Bill Belichick. The Patriots constantly struggled with getting the ball downfield during the game, once Bourne was inserted, that problem was immediately erased. Matt Patricia let personal grudges over small mistakes get in the way of winning. Patricia most likely made this move thinking the people and media would criticize Bourne for his “immaturity”, but this has backfired big time. This situation shows Patricia’s immaturity. Even owner Robert Kraft was reportedly mad about Bourne’s play time. Ownership clearly sees Bourne’s “mistake” as a minor offense, and for something occurring two weeks prior, it’s a little ridiculous a coordinator would pull something like this.
Bill Belichick has made this same mistake before. This mistake came prior to the start of Super Bowl 52. Belichick would bench star corner Malcolm Butler for the entire game, for disciplinary reasons. As a result, Alshon Jeffery would torch an unprepared Eric Rowe, leading to a Patriots Super Bowl loss. You would think Belichick would never make a mistake like this again, after losing on the biggest stage possible because of something similar, but he did. Bill Belichick is clearly not in the best state of mind anymore. Just the hiring of Matt Patricia tells you that. Patricia had one year of offensive experience prior to this. One year! To get promoted to a coordinator position off one year of experience is pure lunacy. Plenty of qualified options were available to be taken from the pro or college ranks, but Bill prefers to give handouts to his friends. This results in what we saw last Sunday. Patricia even had a horrible reputation with players while coaching in Detroit. This Bourne situation really shouldn’t surprise anyone who saw him work with the Lions.
Should Bill Belichick still be the acting general manager? No. Should he have control over major coordinator decisions? No. Belichick has failed to demonstrate these past two seasons that he can effectively replace the regime that has left. Belichick favors handouts to his friends and relatives, over qualifications and respect. Robert Kraft has begun to notice this, and Patriots fans should hope they see increased involvement from ownership. Belichick is responsible for the failures of his coaching staff and he has had free reign over the entire team’s operation for too long. Belichick is still a terrific coaching mind and should be coaching the Patriots, but it’s time for him to give up his management duties. Dave Ziegler is no longer able to hold the front office in check since he followed Josh McDaniels to become the GM of the Raiders. Ziegler should have been the Patriots general manager, but no one seems to want to take Belichick’s fingers off all controls. Belichick’s failed drafts, coaching hires, and free agency periods, have become more glaring with each year post Tom Brady. Matt Patricia’s reign as offensive coordinator will either make or break the Patriots, and so far it looks like it will break them. Bill Belichick has had too much control for too long. It’s time to get a few more decision makers in the Patriots front office.
