The New England Patriots were among the worst rated teams in the NFL Players Association “Player Team Report Cards” Census. But if you ask longtime Pats center David Andrews, those grades aren’t an accurate representation of the experience in Foxboro.
Players from all 32 clubs evaluated their own organization in eight off-field categories: therapy for families, nutrition, weight room, strength staff, training room, coaching staff and travel. The Patriots ranked 24th out of 32 teams overall with low grades for families (C-), practice room (C-), team travel (D+) and weight room (D).
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Andrews disagrees with all of those low scores.
“Any survey can be bent,” Andrews said Thursday at the Red Across America campaign in Everett, Mass. According to Karen Gurezian of the Boston Herald. “There’s guys who might have only been in New England, guys who were with another team or ten other teams that took the survey. There’s guys who have family, guys who don’t have family, whatever it is.
“For me, I think … I’ve loved my time here. And I think everything in that building is designed for us to succeed and be successful.”
The seven-year veteran disagreed with any part of the NFLPA report card that painted team owner Robert Kraft in a bad light. “Only 64 percent of players believe club owner Robert Croft is willing to spend the money needed on upgrades, placing him 26th in this category,” it said.
“I think Mr. Kraft is very competitive. I think his focus is to win,” Andrews said. “And, like the coaches, he does everything he can to help us win. The Kraft family has been great to me. I’ll always have respect and admiration for everything they’ve done.”
Andrews praised the entire Patriots staff, including the coaching staff, who received an ‘A’ grade. He acknowledged that parts of the survey, such as the Patriots not providing a family room and the weight room being outdated, were not without merit.
“I can understand (some issues with the weight room, the family room) but if you’ve been to a few different teams or just one group, you might not know what it’s like (at other places),” he said. Kurezian. “But sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
