Perry: Why Lil'Jordan Humphrey is playing more than Kendrick Bourne originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO -- Kendrick Bourne ended up as the second-most productive Patriots wideout against the Ravens, despite seeing the workload of a part-time player.
Bourne played less than one-third of the Patriots' 66 offensive plays Sunday. But he finished with four grabs for 58 yards on five targets, finishing a distant second in catches and yards to DeVante Parker (five grabs, 156 yards).
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The Patriots once again leaned on their 11-personnel packages Sunday, meaning they played the vast majority of their snaps with three receivers, one tight end and one back on the field. Combined with an injury to starting wideout Jakobi Meyers, that should've meant more work for Bourne.
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Or so you might've thought.
But it was Lil'Jordan Humphrey who played the vast majority of snaps against Baltimore. He saw 53, placing him behind only Parker (66) in that category.
"Yeah, the coaches got the plan," Bourne told NBC Sports Boston. "I think it works. I can't say this or that. I'm definitely happy with what I got to do. I would love to play more, but I gotta just keep proving it to the coaches. Game by game. Every time I go in, just making the plays that come so I can try to go out there more."
Bourne was asked if he believes his ability to block is preventing him from seeing more snaps.
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"They just got different packages," Bourne said. "Bigger packages here and there. LJ is a bigger guy so they like to confuse the defense. It’s the coaches’ plan, and I gotta just go with the punches."
Humphrey was used as a run-blocker on 79 percent of his snaps (23 or 29) through the first two weeks of the season. He's been targeted twice in three games, catching one pass for 11 yards.
The Patriots had the option to replace Meyers with a tight end -- either Hunter Henry or Jonnu Smith -- while using more 12-personnel looks. But that was not the case across situations.
Bill Belichick called for two-tight end sets on 15 plays. It was Humphrey who was the biggest beneficiary of Meyers' injury, even though it's Bourne who has been the more productive player through the air through three weeks.
"It's a decision on the type of formations, the type of plays you're running (and) they're running," Belichick said Monday morning on WEEI when asked about the thinking behind playing Humphrey more. "It was a lot of loaded, heavy boxes from the Ravens. That involves some things in the running game. (Humphrey) is a cross between 12 personnel and 11 personnel. It gives us a little bit of both on the field."
