Patriots in Freefall: How Jerod Mayo's Inexperience and a Culture of Losing Are Sinking New England
Coaching does not win football games. But, it can lose them. It can also establish a core tenant in the organization that losing is okay. When losing is okay it deteriorates the club from with in. Players start looking out for their next contract instead of the guy next to them. The desire to push through a horrible weather game or tough tackle or take a big hit drains out of the souls of football players. We saw it from the other side for 20 years in Foxboro. Players who looked like they had grasped their last breath as an NFL player were revitalized in New England. They found new life because of the demands of a winning culture and the success that followed with good coaching, mentorship, and leadership. In a word there was pride. As this season wanes on the pride to be a New England Patriot fades with it. When the light goes out it’s very hard to turn it back on. The Krafts are making a massive mistake allowing the acceptance of losing in whatever effort they believe is being put forth to bring them back to a competitive franchise.
Andrew Callahan - Boston Herald
Blame for what happened similarly splintered across the locker room, though few players bothered to pick it up.
Godchaux, who had a front row seat to Richardson’s two-point conversion, told reporters he did his job.
Jabrill Peppers suggested the defensive linemen had to play better.
One of those defensive linemen, Keion White, said he knew Richardson would run, while another, Christian Barmore, argued he was illegally blocked on the play, and may have had a case.
One thing they could agree on: this defense is not together. Not sound. In other words, broken.
“We’re just not playing cohesively as a defense,” White said.
“We’ve just got to play more fundamentally, I guess,” Peppers shrugged.
“It’s too late in the season to be saying, ‘this game we were close,’” Christian Gonzalez lamented.
… the Patriots have rookie coaches Jerod Mayo and DeMarcus Covington, who can’t glue the pieces together. Can’t solidify simple fundamentals. Can’t coach up a steady pass rush. Can’t iron out communication issues in the red zone. Can’t average even one takeaway per game.
Can’t get their defense to simply wait out opponents like the Colts and quarterbacks like Richardson, who typically beat themselves. Did you know their only win the past five weeks came against the Jets? Or that Richardson has nine fumbles this year? Or his season-long completion percentage sits below 50%?
A far too public display of Mayo’s lack of accountability is on his own side of the ball. As a defensive player and coach the cliff this unit has fallen off of since Belichick’s departure is uncanny. They rank at the bottom of the league in every statistically category imaginable. They just let a QB beat them with a 55.7 rating. Communication was supposed to be Mayo’s strong suit. That strong communication was supposed to build comradery and respect resulting in unity. That has not happened. Mayo has failed in his core believes and tendencies and refuses to or is unable to apply discipline in it’s place. The results are evidence that this franchise is taking a turn to the dark side. Starting with comments like this from Keon White
“You never want to lose, and people’s jobs are on the line. So just keeping your job, for real,” White told me. “And making sure, the GM knows what you can do. That’s how I see it.”
Doug Kyed - Boston Herald
“Defensively, we had a few drives there that were good drives,” Mayo said Monday morning in a video conference call. “Obviously, if you take away that last drive – I think it was 17, 18 plays – we’re all feeling a little bit better about the game.”
Mayo had a similar sentiment about his team after losing to the Dolphins, saying, “I think the team has definitely gotten better. You take the Miami game out and look at the last four, we’ve done a lot of good things.” The Patriots defense allowed two 50-yard runs against the Texans in Week 6. After the game, he said, “You take those away and it looks a lot better, but at the same time, that’s what the NFL is. You’ve got to limit those big plays.”
Mayo was asked Monday morning what kind of message it sends to the team to continually ask to remove the worst thing that happened to properly assess the team.
“When I talk to the team, I tell them all the time, I don’t have a crystal ball on what play is going to be important, but you’re exactly right. That’s what the NFL is. The NFL comes down to a few plays, and that’s really my message when I say it,” Mayo said. “It comes down to a few plays. You look at it from one way, if we would have done this, and then you look at it the other way, we didn’t get it done. That’s kind of why we’re here now. We’ve had seven one-score games, and I think we’re 2-5 in those games. We’ve just got to be better. Again, that’s what the NFL is.”
Mayo is no stranger for putting his foot in his mouth. He has done since the second he got the job. But, what Doug Kyed points out here is right on the money. How does Mayo think games are won? Is he of the belief that one day the plays that contribute to actually winning just happen? Or is he aware that it’s his job to develop the habits and skills in his players in order to execute those plays when it matters. Another example of conceding the losing because it’s all part of the process. You sound like the 76ers. Who havent won shit since “Trusting the process”. It would be one thing if there were clear fundamental building blocks we could see in these losses, but that’s not the case. Out side of Drake Maye just being good it has been a see saw of suck all season. P.S. losing with good to really good QB play in the NFL these days is a real neat trick.
Ben Volin - Boston Globe
Mayo has been coaching conservatively all season — punting on fourth and short, taking field goals instead of going for it, and against Tennessee, kicking the extra point to go to overtime instead of going for 2 points and the win.
But Steichen didn’t hesitate to go for it, keeping the offense on the field when the Colts scored with 12 seconds left to cut their deficit to 24-23. Steichen didn’t come to Foxborough to play for overtime — he came to win.
The Patriots rushed for 200 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. They went 6 for 11 on third down. They held the ball for more than 34 minutes. Maye completed 24 of 30 passes and made several big plays. They forced two interceptions for the first time all year.
But they were undisciplined with penalties again, committing seven for 88 yards and getting two touchdowns wiped off the board. And they let the Colts march 80 yards in 19 plays with the game on the line, unable to make the plays when it mattered most.
It appears that the Patriots still are soft, as Mayo called them several weeks ago.
▪ The biggest difference between the teams — the Colts thrived in gotta-have-it situations. The Colts went 3 for 3 on fourth down, 3 for 4 in the red zone (3 for 3 in goal to go), and nailed their 2-point attempt in the closing seconds. Another terrible reflection on the defense led by Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
Mayo and the Patriots were the better team, but Steichen and the Colts showed them how to play to win.
Nicole Yang - Boston Globe
… Mayo, who is still trying to find his footing and establish a culture in his first year as head coach.
Through 13 games, Mayo’s decision-making has repeatedly come under fire.
Related: ‘It’s a bummer.’ It sure is, Drake Maye. The Patriots are letting The Kid QB down.
The Patriots have bungled clock management in end-of-half situations. They’ve been conservative on fourth down. They’ve challenged some seemingly obvious calls and stood pat on some more questionable ones. They don’t seem to have an overriding identity, with Mayo saying everything is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Not calling a timeout amid a lengthy, critical drive could be excusable as an isolated incident. But Mayo’s list of head-scratching decisions continues to grow.
On the Patriots’ final possession, one of desperation as they had just 12 seconds, Mayo decided to send kicker Joey Slye out for a 68-yard field goal rather than keep the offense on the field for a potential Hail Mary.
“Not sure what the numbers are on a Hail Mary vs. the field goal there,” Mayo said. “But that’s what I felt was right.”
The longest kick of Slye’s career (and Patriots history) was 63 yards in Week 4 this season. The longest kick Slye said he’s made during practice this year was 63 or 64 yards in end-of-game, end-of-half simulations. A 68-yard attempt, even if not by much, is outside of his range. Slye noted that Sunday’s chilly temperatures were not favorable, either.
A Hail Mary, unlike a 68-yard field goal, has at least happened before, on multiple occasions. Although both outcomes have a low probability, there is precedent for a Hail Mary from the 50-yard line. Just this season, Aaron Rodgers and Allen Lazard connected for a 52-yard touchdown for the Jets the end of the first half in Week 6. And the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels had his pass tipped right into the arms of Noah Brown in the end zone in Week 8.
Mayo and his staff’s inexperience has been chronicled a lot this year and rightfully so. But, plenty of inexperienced coaches still have plans and goals and philosophies they intend to carry out. This team apparently does not. They have been reactionary all season long. There defensive game plans have just been non existent. They can’t communicate well enough to line up correctly never mind deploy a scheme. It comes as no surprise to see them struggle. But, it’s one thing to struggle with things like in game clock management or on the fly decisions. It’s another to be making those calls with no fundamental plan or ideology behind it. Let me make it simple for you. A young, struggling, impressionable team that has now shown they can put a few points on the board should be ultra aggressive all the fucking time. Please see the Colts on Sunday or the Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell who Mayo has spoke so much about.
Chad Graff - Athletic
The Patriots have scored just five touchdowns on their last 16 trips inside the opposing 20-yard line, a streak that dates back the last four games. Against the Colts, it was a huge issue, especially early. They moved the ball well for most of the game, but stalled over and over in the red zone.
In the first three quarters, they reached the red zone five times. On those drives, they finished with just 13 points — one touchdown, one interception, one missed field goal, and two successful ones. Even on their go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter, the Patriots made life tougher than it needed to be when a touchdown came off the board after an illegal shift penalty, backing them up before running back Antonio Gibson ran it in from 11 yards out.
A lot about the Patriots has improved with Maye taking over, but the red zone is an area that needs to get much better. — Graff
Offensively you have to tip your hat a bit to AVP since Maye has been named the starter. This makes since. Van Pelt although has little to no experience calling an offense (Unsurprisingly his biggest weakness) has been in the league for nearly 30 years as player or a coach. The rest of the staff doesn’t have 30 years combined at their positions. Not even close. I think that average is about, oh I don’t know, zero?! The Conservative nature of this staff shows up with every trip to the Red Zone. It’s either being too conservative or the lack of play calling experience when the field shrinks. I lean towards both suck. They just clam up in their own pool of suck and ineptitude when it matters most.
Drake Maye is good and great to watch. Maye should be your sole focus when worrying about the direction this franchise is heading. In there current situation and looking ahead, Drake Maye has a Matthew Stafford trajectory written all over him for his career as a New England Patriot. Ya, the one where he’s surrounded by a bunch of bozos so he leaves 10 years from now and wins a Super Bowl with winners.
LOSER'S LAMENT
Giardi: Mayo's messaging makes no sense, and his Patriots keep repeating the same mistakes
Mike Giardi - Boston Sports Journal
The first-year head coach wanted us to "take out" the pair of long runs by the Texans in that 20-point defeat. He wanted us to "take out" the loss to the Dolphins and "look at the last four; we've done a lot of good things." Mayo wanted to dismiss Cooper Kupp's overall impact in the 28-22 defeat to the Rams, "Look, Kupp had the one reception, which was a huge chunk of those yards…
… "You look at it from one way, if we would have done this, and then you look at it the other way, we didn't get it done. That's kind of why we're here now. We've had seven one-score games, and I think we're 2-5 in those games. We've just got to be better. Again, that's what the NFL is."
He's right about that. A dozen games this weekend were decided by seven or fewer points. That tied a league record set in week two of this year. There's been no fewer than five one-score games in a week this season; on average, it's nine per week. So welcome to the club, Jerod.
That’s the headline I was looking for!! Really could not have said it better myself. It is a loser’s lament culture building down at Gillette if it has not already taken full effect.
Matt Doloff - 98.5 The Sports Hub
Jerod Mayo has a clear way he wants to coach, and he’s aggressively sticking to it.
After the Patriots’ shocked the Bengals in Week 1, Mayo spoke of empowering both players and other coaches to do their jobs, functioning as a hands-off overseer. SI’s Albert Breer previewed Mayo as a “walk-around head coach.” Polar opposite of a puppet master.
Mayo appears to be a head coach who simply refuses to turn up the dial on his subordinates. His now-iconic quote, “Once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them,” may have had a dash of context cooked out of it in some media cauldrons, because he still hits you with the “It starts with me” every week. But it still sends a distressing signal.
It validates those of us who are wondering: What does Mayo do on Sundays, then? If he’s not going to call any plays, request any adjustments, or convene with any players, then he better call a crisp game, make cleaner big-picture decisions over the course of the 60 minutes…
There is a glaring reason why Jerod Mayo has not taken greater steps to intervene with his coaches or his players. He doesn’t know how. Coaching matters on the margins against similarly talented teams. The Patriots had more than enough talent on the roster to win that game against the Colts on Sunday. They approach and decisions made by the coaches lost the game. Period.
Jerod Mayo is unfit for his position. The Kraft’s plucked him out of a pile of sycophants waiting to board a plane after following chasing the Kraft tale to Jerusalem. They fast tracked him through the “Kraft Management Program” at Optum, guaranteed him a contract behind the back of the Greatest Coach of all time and the Greatest deployer or Spite all time while he was still under contract. That back fired. So, they upped his timeline in a panic with no concrete plan. Mayo is unqualified for his position.
There is no path out of this den of losers with out bringing in experienced qualified outside help to assist Mayo in the areas of weakness. Which is all of them.