Kendrick Bourne Laughs Off Colts Wanting To Turn Patriots Into One-Dimensional Offense
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The Colts want to make the Patriots a one-dimensional team on offense come Saturday night. The Patriots offense finds that rather comical.
Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke kicked off the week by saying the Indianapolis defense is looking to shut down the New England rush attack so they can see what Mac Jones can do against them. Basically, the Colts are going to try to make the rookie quarterback beat them.
It makes sense, considering the Patriots tout one of the best running games with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. Two weeks ago, New England ran all over the Bills during a windy Monday Night Football clash in Buffalo, with Jones throwing just three passes.
That was an unprecedented game, something we probably won't see again for a long, long time. And while Jones wasn't asked to do much against the Bills, he has certainly shown throughout the year that he is more than capable of leading an offense. So when he was asked about Okereke's comments on Tuesday, Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne couldn't help but chuckle at the notion that New England is a one-dimensional team.
"I think that's just funny," said Bourne. "Obviously, we're not a one-dimensional team. Last week, we ran the ball, but conditions are conditions.
"That's just a funny comment to me. I feel like we can do everything," he added. "We're in control of what we do."
Bourne himself has shown that the offense can do everything, with seven rushes for 81 yards to go with his 42 receptions on the season. He pointed out that New England's playbook is pretty intricate and has adjustments for every defensive look they may see.
"That way you can't make us one-dimensional because we know every look. We've really practiced or tried every look," he said. "So that's just a funny comment, in my opinion."
The Colts defense is pretty average against both the run (allowing 111.8 yards per game, which is 17th in the league) and the pass (230.2 yards per game, ranking 12th), but where they make their impact is in the turnover department. The Colts have an NFL-best 29 takeaways this season, including a league-best 14 forced fumbles. The Pats offense has turned the ball over 16 times this season.
But as Bourne said, New England is certainly not one-dimension on that side of the ball. They are a run-heavy offense thanks to that two-headed monster of Harris and Stevenson, and the team racked up a season-high 222 rushing yards against the Bills last week. But the Patriots will also let Mac do his thing, as we saw in Week 12 against the Titans, when the rookie threw for a career-best 310 yards. And Josh McDaniels is never afraid to mix it up a bit with end-arounds or fleaflickers as a way of keeping opposing defenses on their heels.
Considering the Patriots have won seven straight, the offense is doing something right each and every week. Now we'll see what they have planned for a Colts defense that appears determined to make the Patriots beat them through the air on Saturday evening.
Tune in to Patriots-Colts on Saturday night on WBZ-TV! Kickoff is set for 8:15pm, and stay tuned after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!