Jerod Mayo rips a fresh page out of the Belichick playbook in latest presser
Jerod Mayo started to sound more like his predecessor, Bill Belichick, in his latest Patriots press conference.
Jerod Mayo has tried really hard to be the anti-Bill Belichick, in a lot of ways. But one way he’s not emulating his predecessor is winning football games.
There are numerous reasons for the New England Patriots’ 1-6 record, mainly a poor roster and an inexperienced coaching staff, the latter starting at the top with Mayo. And one of the most noticeable ways that Mayo has attempted to project himself as the polar opposite of Belichick is the way he communicates, with both players and the public.
Mayo seemed to run into his first big problem in that area after the Pats’ 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, when he declared: “We’re a soft football team across the board.” He has since backpedaled, and insider reporting suggests that there’s not as much resentment for those jarring, blunt remarks as one might expect.
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However, it appears that Mayo is finally adjusting his approach – and, ironically, he’s starting to sound more like the “hard-ass” whose personality he and the team aimed to reject.
“The message for those guys is it’s all about the Jets, and we’re moving forward,” Mayo said, as part of the opening statement in his Wednesday press conference in Foxboro. “Obviously, there’s a lot of noise out there, and I said, ‘We are what our record is, and we have to get better.’ That ultimately is my responsibility, and look, I take all the blame, and it’s fine. It’s moving on to the Jets.”
On to the Jets?
Asked whether he said more to the players in light of his “soft football team” comments, Mayo replied, in part: “Look, we’re on to the Jets today. We’ve had those conversations.”
Asked whether he actually wanted an angry reaction from the players as a form of motivation to play better, Mayo said: “Look, I’m just telling you, when I talk after games, it’s about what I see out there on the field at that current time. In saying that, the guys are preparing like it’s any other week, and we’re talking about the Jets.”
How about Mayo when asked how he can avoid another game of “soft” football? “Look, all the guys understand we’ve had our conversations. It’s on to the Jets, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re just going to go out there and play good football. That’s what we need to do in all three phases of the game.”
Mayo mentioned the Jets seven times in 19 questions. Not exactly “We’re on to Cincinnati.” But really only one question was even about Sunday’s game against the Jets at Gillette Stadium, in the first place. There’s too much chaos around Mayo and the team to even worry about the games.
But it was striking to hear Mayo start to take more of a Belichickian approach on Wednesday. No more open books, no more rambling. The past is the past and we’re on to the next football game.
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It remains to be seen if that translates to better football on Sundays. Belichick’s tight-lipped methods didn’t necessarily matter much to the Patriots’ success, either. But we’re starting to see why he did it that way. So is Mayo.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.