With the New England Patriots having a reputation for being a strict and uptight organization, new acquisition Kendrick Bourne thought that was exactly how the organization was going to be. Instead, his assumptions were proved false rather quickly.
Following an initial meeting with the organization last week, the wide receiver found out that behind closed doors, New England could be a bit of fun after all. Bourne, who signed a one-year deal with the organization, had his concerns put to rest after the initial meeting with the organization.
The wide receiver caught 49 passes for 667 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers last year.
“I thought when I came in the building for the first time, I thought it was gonna be all stuck up kind of seeing how it was going to feel, everybody looking at me, coaches meeting, but it was a whole misconception,” Bourne said. “They were relaxed in there. They were laid back, having fun. They know how they want it to look. They know that they want their organization to be serious, excellence. But behind closed doors, it is relaxed. It is fun. There’s laughing in there. I was tripping. I thought it was only going to be myself. … ”
“But first came into the building, (head coach) Bill (Belichick) was super cool. (Owner) Robert Kraft was super nice. I just had a whole different view of the Patriots in my head. It was a happy medium. You can be a jokester, be cool, but we work hard here. This outweighs the silliness, the hard work. I kind of got the happy medium. Turn it off a little bit, I can relax. I know when to turn it on. ‘OK, it’s time to be serious, time to work. We gotta win this game or we gotta knock out this workout or this weight room workout or whatever it may be.’ … Misconception by me. I’m excited to be here.”
With the Patriots needing significant production from the wide receiver position, Bourne figures to be a part of that. Now, he can relax a little bit, knowing that maybe the Patriots do have fun after all.
