Mike Reiss: Patriots Players Have Bought in on Jerod Mayo’s Message
On Tuesday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Mike Reiss who covers the Patriots for ESPN, joined the show. Reiss made the point that Mayo’s actions in training camp had a direct result in the Patriots 16-10 victory over the Bengals on Sunday afternoon, as the players have bought into the Head Coach’s message.
Watch It Here!
“Let’s Go To The Hill”…
Bertrand: Is the win surprising, or how they did it surprising?
Mike Reiss: How they did it? Not surprising. I felt like if they were going to win, that was the way they had to play. I think just the fact they went into an opposing team stadium on opening day as the biggest underdog, and won the game. I mean, look Beetle, last week we were talking about what if Jerod Mayo is a terrible coach? That was one of our topics.
Bertrand: Right.
Mike Reiss: We really had no idea how this was going to go. So I think that part to me was surprising.
Bertrand: Yeah, as far as him and building his program, and getting buy-in from players, there could be nothing better than how this went on Sunday.
Mike Reiss: I agree. I don’t know if you guys talked about this. He told the story yesterday to the reporters on his video conference about how they were on the sideline in the fourth quarter, and the players were saying to him, “Let’s go to the hill, let’s go to the hill.” That was a reference to Training Camp, Beetle. When it’s the end of a training camp practice, two hours in, and (Jerod) Mayo sends them to run the hill. It’s the whole message from Mayo, we’re going to do hard things. So the players are saying that on the sideline in the fourth quarter,” Let’s go to the hill. “
Bertrand: That’s great.
Mike Reiss: To your point Beetle, it couldn’t have worked out better for Mayo. that’s how Mayo described the sideline in the fourth quarter.
Zolak: Don’t be surprised if next time you cover the team, you walk around and see, “Let’s go to the Hill” shirts in the locker room.
Mike Reiss: I could see it.
Listen to The Full Segment Here!
Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in an upset win over the Bengals?
UP: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
Bentley was all over the field in his first game captaining the defense under new coordinator DeMarcus Covington. He logged a team-high 12 tackles, and also generated a half-sack, as he was often shooting gaps to bring the pressure on third downs. The Pats defense was humming for most of the game, and it’s no coincidence that Bentley was heavily involved in that.
Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss (31) runs with the ball against New England Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (8) and safety Kyle Dugger (23) in the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
DOWN: LT Vederian Lowe
Lowe isn’t as much of a “down” as Okorafor, as he came into the game as essentially an emergency backup. But it turned out that Lowe had to check into the game in the first quarter. He committed a false start during his first series and gave up a fair amount of pressure, but quarterback Jacoby Brissett handled it well. Despite the thrill of victory, left tackle remains a big concern for the Patriots going forward.
Next Patriots Ups & Downs comes after they take on the Seattle Seahawks in their 2024 home opener at Gillette Stadium.
