David Andrews Responds To Patriots Poor Grades In NFLPA Survey
'Any survey can be skewed'
The NFL Players Association survey about the working conditions at each franchise in the league didn’t cast a flattering light on the New England Patriots.
With 1,300 anonymous responses, the Patriots received poor marks on the majority of matters questioned, including treatment of facilities (C-), weight room (D) and travel (D+). The overall grade for New England ranked it 24th out of 32 teams.
Patriots captain and offensive lineman David Andrews wasn’t exactly buying all of the results, though.
“Any survey can be skewed,” Andrews told reporters Thursday while appearing at a Red Across America campaign in Everett, Mass., per the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian. “There’s guys that may have only been in New England, guys that have maybe been with one other team, or ten other teams who took the survey. There’s guys that have families, guys that don’t have families, whatever it may be.
“For me, I think … I’ve loved my time here. And I think everything in that building is designed to help us succeed, and to help us win.”
Andrews has spent all seven of his seasons in the NFL with the Patriots and unlike the survey, he had nothing but glowing remarks about the organization.
“I’m grateful to be in that building. It’s got everything I need to be successful,” Andrews said, per Guregian. “The training staff, the equipment staff, every staff has always been great to me, and helped me out. I think there’s everything I need to succeed in there.”
Andrews could see both sides of the argument when it came to some of the aspects of the survey, like the Patriots not offering a family room at the stadium and players believing the team’s weight room was outdated. But he disagreed with the notion that “only 64% of players believe club owner Robert Kraft is willing to spend the money necessary for upgrades.”
“I think Mr. Kraft is super competitive. I think his focus is on winning, trying to win,” Andrews said, per Guregian. “And, like the coaches, is doing everything in his power to help us win. The Kraft family has been good to me.
“I’ll always have respect and appreciation for everything they’ve done … I can understand (some of the issues with the weight room, family room) but if you’ve only been to a few different teams, or one team, you might not know what it’s like (elsewhere). But sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
