FOXBOROUGH - While Alex Van Pelt appreciated Kayshon Boutte apologizing to him for critical remarks the receiver made aimed at him, the Patriots offensive coordinator took those comments in stride.
Van Pelt, a former Buffalo Bills quarterback, said he'd get pushback quite a bit when he played.
"This is the best part of receiver play. It's not changed since I've played," Van Pelt said during his media session Thursday. "When Andre Reed didn't get enough catches, he'd be upset and I'd understand that. It's the competitive nature of these guys."
Following the 30-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Boutte was critical of Van Pelt's game plan in the first half.
"We knew they was gonna play man (coverage) the whole game. But I feel like it's disrespectful when they go man first quarter, you know?" Boutte said Sunday after the game. "So I feel like we need to be better at attacking that instead of being shy about it."
Boutte approached Van Pelt on Monday, saying he was wrong for saying what he said.
"We had a really good conversation on Monday," Van Pelt said. "I just reiterated to him, if there's something you see during the game, we can always talk about it. Communication. You can come to me during the game. Don't wait. Let's try and find solutions during the course of the game. But it was a real positive conversation with him. I'm excited to see him make plays for us this week."
Boutte knows he went about venting his feelings the wrong way.
"I think it was just the frustration that I had lingering from the game that went into the postgame interview," Boutte said. "I feel like I was wrong for what I said. It wasn't the right way to handle it and go about it. That's my fault. I take accountability for it."