The most recent NFL, AFC East, and New England Patriots rumors, rumblings, and signings.
With a lot of holes to address in free agency, particularly on offense, the New England Patriots unofficially begin the 2024 season under new head coach Jerod Mayo and general manager Eliot Wolf.
The Pats are trying to rebuild after a 4-13 season and Bill Belichick’s firing, and the trade of former franchise quarterback Mac Jones and the re-signing of receiver Kendrick Bourne are probably just the first of many dominoes to fall in the upcoming weeks.
“He’s just, treating everybody fairly, giving everybody an opportunity.”
To put it mildly, a lot has changed in Foxborough in the past few months.
Not only is the great head coach Bill Belichick no longer on the sidelines, but his exit also brought about a number of adjustments to the front office and coaching staff of New England.
And while it’s still unclear how the redesigned Patriots will perform in their first season under head coach Jerod Mayo and interim general manager Eliot Wolf, it appears that players will have a little more breathing room under this new leadership.
With regard to Wolf, Bourne remarked, “He’s just, treating everybody fairly, giving everybody an opportunity, bringing guys in not just – you drop a pass, you don’t get an opportunity next week.”
While Bourne did not explicitly criticize Belichick and/or other prior coaches, it is not difficult to draw conclusions from this.
During Belichick’s time in New England, a number of crucial errors—such as a turnover, a missed assignment, etc.—often resulted in a significant reduction in playing time for specific players, if not a complete benching.
Bourne, who spent the whole 2022 season in Matt Patricia’s doghouse, cited rookie Demario Douglas as an excellent illustration of the high expectations placed on young, talented players.
Although Douglas showed early promise during the preseason and first few weeks of the season, he mishandled the ball in the first quarter and was benched for most of New England’s Week 2 loss to the Dolphins.
Although Douglas finally made his way back into the starting lineup for New England’s offense, Bourne emphasized that a young player’s confidence could be harmed by prolonged benchings.
“It’s simply unavoidable,” stated Bourne. “He’s attempting to be himself, an explosive player like he is. But the confidence is destroyed when you don’t let us back into the game. That, in my opinion, will make the difference. It’s like, “No, dude, you just made a mistake; anybody can experience that.” A player will just be able to succeed with such mentality.
Of all, throughout his 24 years as head coach, Belichick’s strict methods did bring six Super Bowl victories to Foxborough.
To be sure, a rebuilding New England team in 2024 will probably insert a number of rookies into key positions on the depth chart, so going forward, Foxborough may need to be a little more forgiving.
