Mayo also addressed reports that came out last week suggesting the Patriots had called around for advice on developing Drake Maye as the franchise looks to develop its QB of the future. Mayo quickly denied those reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those reports are false,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cNone of those reports are true. \u2026 We\u2019re sitting here saying, \u2018he\u2019s developing great.\u2019 \u2026 Who do you think\u2019s responsible for that? It\u2019s Alex Van Pelt.\u201d<\/p>\n
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You can read more from Mayo\u2019s Monday availability below, as well as reaction from Patriots players from the loss.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how Monday unfolded.<\/p>\n
After a tough day for the Patriots secondary, cornerback Jonathan Jones was the first to take accountability for the team\u2019s struggles on the back end with a postgame social media post.<\/p>\n
Jones met with the media on Monday afternoon to explain his statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust, you know, not making plays,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI mean, there were some difficult plays, difficult situations, but I always hold myself accountable. That\u2019s just how I\u2019ve always been, [how] I\u2019ll always be, not just with sports, just in life. So, always going to hold myself accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
New England had no answer for the Rams\u2019 passing attack, as Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes on a big day in particular for star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to take anything from them, because they are really, really good receivers,\u201d Jones said. \u201cJust schematically, I think we don\u2019t give enough credit to their their coordinator for how they came the game plan that they had. They do a good job of scheming and getting those guys open, they know they\u2019re not going to line up in wide splits and get off press man to man coverage, and so their coaches don\u2019t ask them to do that, and they do a good job of scheming ways for them to get open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jerod Mayo and the defensive staff came under some criticism postgame for the game plan, which saw top corner Christian Gonzalez largely schemed out of the game as protected the boundary and Los Angeles avoided him at all costs.<\/p>\n
Jones, for his part, doesn\u2019t think there was an obvious fix on that side of things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI mean, even looking back at the film, there were, I mean, just a handful of plays that I\u2019ll say that, you know, we\u2019re just out-schemed, you know. I don\u2019t want to say out-schemed, [plays] that just were a good scheme versus, you know, a call. And so I don\u2019t think there\u2019s really a lot of adjustments that, could have been made to really do anything different. [The Rams\u2019] coordinators did a really, really good job, everything they were doing was motion ID to make sure that, \u2018hey, I\u2019m in the right, call for what I want to be in.\u2019 And so they had a really good game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
After speaking with the media on Monday morning, Jerod Mayo joined WEEI\u2019s \u201cThe Greg Hill Show\u201d for his weekly appearance. Here are some highlights from his interview.<\/p>\n
On Drake Maye\u2019s late interception: <\/b>\u201cLook, one thing about Drake, he always takes responsibility, and I appreciate that about him. And you know, we\u2019re both going through this together. When I say we, I\u2019m talking about Drake and myself. I mean rookie head coach, he\u2019s a rookie player, and we\u2019re going to learn through these experiences. And [Maye and DeMario Douglas] definitely weren\u2019t on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the inconsistencies on defense: \u201c<\/b>Yeah, I\u2019m not going to get into, you know, the players we had at Week 1 compared to here. You know, we always have that next man up mentality. Look, my expectation of our defense is to always go out there and perform at a high level, which, I would say we have at times in the season, and it goes back to consistency and we\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Jonathan Jones taking responsibility for his struggles Sunday: <\/b>[Jonathan] Jones is one of our best leaders in that locker room. I know he\u2019s not a captain, but he is in my eyes, and that\u2019s what it\u2019s about. You know, once you get the team to the point where they understand where they\u2019ve messed up on the field, you\u2019re at a good place. The same thing, you know, when I started coaching 2019 you know, we had a great room of [line]backers, smart guys that I actually played with. You have guys that know when they messed up. And the the other side of that is when you have players out there that don\u2019t know what they\u2019ve messed up, and that\u2019s more difficult, and I look at that from a team-wide perspective too.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Ja\u2019Lynn Polk\u2019s struggles, lack of visible frustration: <\/b>\u201cLook, he\u2019s frustrated, and that\u2019s part of the maturation process too. For a guy like Polk, that\u2019s the difference between, let\u2019s say, a younger guy and a veteran player in this league. The younger guys are still trying to understand holistically what needs to be done, especially in critical situations. Do you want him to like, throw his helmet?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s up to the individual. You know, some players, they get so emotional, they throw things. Other players go into a shell. Other players respond the right way, on to the next play. So that\u2019s the way he handled it, but again, the frustrating thing about that, that false start play, in my mind 100 percent is gonna be a touchdown. And, you know, we have to learn from that, not only Polk, but myself as well, all of us, we have to learn from those mistakes. And that\u2019s what the NFL is. The NFL like, it\u2019s not like, you know you\u2019re playing UT Chattanooga. You\u2019re not playing those types of teams, but it comes down to a handful of plays. And I tell the guys all the time I don\u2019t have a crystal ball to be able to sit here and tell you what play it\u2019s going to be. So that\u2019s why you have to go out there and play with tremendous effort and execution on a down to down basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Patriots\u2019 tackling struggles: <\/b>\u201cI would say the fundamentals of tackling, it is part effort, it\u2019s also part technique. And so that\u2019s … it was disappointing as a defensive coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started in the spring, talking about entry angles and things like that. And then obviously during training camp, we have multiple opportunities to work on tackling. At this point in the season, you would hope to have your your sword sharpened enough in the fundamental area that those plays won\u2019t show up. But like you said, it did show up yesterday. We\u2019ve got to do a better job.\u201d<\/p>\n
On if Drake Maye should\u2019ve started sooner: <\/b>\u201cI mean, that\u2019s for you guys to sit here and debate about, you could see the other quarterbacks in the league, the first round guys, and I\u2019m sure you guys could debate about those as well. There was a point in the season where everyone was like, \u2018oh, all these teams made the right decision,\u2019 and now they\u2019re looking back at it like, \u2018oh, maybe we should have sat him,\u2019 and then vice versa. Our record right now, obviously it\u2019s not where we want to be, but the other side is, \u2018well, we should have started [Maye] the first game.\u2019 So, that\u2019s for you guys to sit here and and talk about that, not me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good about the trajectory that he\u2019s on, and as people continue to be excited \u2014 which, it is exciting to have a quarterback go out there and play like that \u2014 we need to continue to manage our expectations and realize that he is a rookie quarterback, and hopefully he continues on this trajectory, because that will help us become a good football team.\u201d<\/p>\n
On reports about the team calling around for advice on developing Maye: <\/b>\u201cYet we sit here and say he\u2019s developing at a good trajectory. Can we all agree on that? All right. All those reports are false. None of those reports are true.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, like, it\u2019s almost like talking out both sides of our mouths. We\u2019re sitting here saying, \u2018he\u2019s developing great.\u2019 … Who do you think\u2019s responsible for that? It\u2019s Alex Van Pelt. He\u2019s responsible for that. And so why even call around to ask how to develop a quarterback? Yet everyone in the New England area, you just said Sean McVay, included, on the West Coast, is like, \u2018hey, this guy\u2019s developing at a good rate, and he\u2019s going to be a good football player in this league.\u2019 Yeah, that, to me, that is the frustrating piece of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jerod Mayo spoke to reporters Monday morning to discuss Sunday\u2019s loss to the Rams.<\/p>\n
Here are some highlights from his availability.<\/p>\n
On Sunday\u2019s loss to the Rams: \u201c<\/b>Look, it\u2019s always disappointing to lose a game, especially here at home. Thought we did a lot of good things. I would also say we lack execution in some of the critical times in the game that we really need to convert, and that\u2019s what a good football team does. But the guys went out there, played with energy, they played hard, played tough. I thought offensively, we did a pretty good job executing the game plan, and then special teams-wise, I would say there were things that we left out there on the field, and then defensively, obviously the receivers were a huge issue for us. You never want to give up big plays. That definitely hurt us as far as momentum and things like that in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo back to the drawing board. We have enough talent in that room, in the locker room to win football games, and I stand by that, and I have to be better, because we have to be better, and the players got to be better. But we have enough talent in there. Looking forward to these guys changing the page and continue to get better as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the deep touchdown to Cooper Kupp to start the second half: \u201c<\/b>[It\u2019s] risk-reward. And we felt like that was a good time to call that blitz. We\u2019ve called it a couple times in the game, and sometimes it was a run play and it gave us some movement up front. You know, when that happened, on that big play, it was just \u2014 we didn\u2019t get there in time, and it was poor coverage on the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
On struggling in key moments, in the red zone: <\/b>\u201cI would just say overall, probably just a lack of execution. Even yesterday, you look at it, we\u2019re in a short-yardage situation, and then get a penalty, have to move back, or tackle for loss. And then things kind of change, but we just have to be better. We\u2019ve got to be better in protection … I mean, look, there are other players in the box that we just got to be precise and execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
On regrets over key decisions in the game: <\/b>\u201cI don\u2019t want to use the word \u2018regrets,\u2019 but look, I\u2019ve been very open. You know, being a first-year head coach; I\u2019m learning as well, and it\u2019s a good experience. And like you said, hindsight is 20\/20 but that was the decision I made during the game that I thought gave us the best chance to win the football game.\u201d<\/p>\n
On developing an overall philosophy on key decisions vs. making them case-by-case: \u201c<\/b>Yeah, my opinion is the case-by-case [approach], like, how the game is going, what the flow of the game is. Like I said, in the moment, I always feel like I\u2019m making the right decision. And it\u2019s very easy to look back and say, \u2018Well, I wish I would have done X, Y, and Z.\u2019 And that would be multiple situations, you can go back to the London game, and then some of the same situations showed up yesterday, and if you execute, we\u2019re not having this conversation. But you know, as I said, as I say here today, look, it\u2019s 100 percent on me, and I have to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
On <\/b>Christian Barmore\u2019s return: <\/b>\u201cIt was just good to see him out there. You know, there are definitely things we have to work on, I would say the number one thing is just pad level. It was really his first time being in pads. I look forward to him continuing to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
On <\/b>Kendrick Bourne\u2019s strong response to Week 10 benching: \u201c<\/b>He responded great. I think he was our leading receiver yesterday. [He\u2019s] just a guy that, it doesn\u2019t matter what position you\u2019re talking about, there\u2019s nothing more important than practice and going out there and performing at a high level practice, which I would say he had a great week of practice and it transferred to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New England\u2019s defense allowed four passing touchdowns by Matthew Stafford, and receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua each had over 100 yards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n