Patriots
“‘Why, Jerod? Why isn’t this team difficult?'”
Devin McCourty pushed back on some of Jerod Mayo’s comments on Sunday. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)
Jerod Mayo’s decision to call the Patriots a “soft football team” after Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars quickly backfired.
The Patriots head coach walked back his postgame comments Monday morning, but that didn’t stop many former Patriots — including some former Mayo teammates — from questioning his choice of words after the New England’s 32-16 loss to the Jaguars.
Speaking on NBC’s “Football Night in America” Sunday night, former Patriots safety Devin McCourty had an issue with Mayo’s comments about the state of a 1-to-1 roster. 6 Patriots.
“Toughness is not a skill set,” McCourty noted, as transcribed by Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston. “You don’t have to be fast or do anything special to be tough. The second part is: “Why, Jerod? Why isn’t this team difficult?
“When you hear that a team is not tough and they are soft, you ask yourself: ‘What is the head coach doing?’ How does he prepare them to leave? Mayo and his team have a lot of questions to answer next week.
McCourty was far from the only former Foxborough player to question Mayo, with Bill Belichick firing his own salvo Monday during his weekly appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“Defensively, the Patriots led the league last year in rushing defense. Yards per carry: No. 1 in the league. And this year they’re somewhere in the 20s,” Belichick said. “They’re the same guys. …I’m a little hurt for these guys. Because to call them soft, they are not soft.
“They were the best team in the league last year against the run. These guys went out there and did it even though we weren’t able to score many points offensively. I feel bad for the defensive players on this one because those guys are a tough group.
Although Belichick likely has a problem with Mayo and the Patriots after being fired in January, McCourty’s comments are more surprising given his close ties to Mayo as a former teammate. McCourty admitted in May that Mayo even tried to recruit him to join its coaching staff in New England for the 2024 season.
Still, McCourty’s criticism of Mayo’s comments is valid to some extent. Even with the lack of skill on New England’s depth chart, the Patriots have regressed severely in several areas since last year’s 4-13 record.
The Patriots have now lost six straight games and given up at least 170 rushing yards three games in a row. According to Boston Sports Info, the Patriots haven’t coughed up this many rushing yards in three straight games since 1993.
Speaking on WEEI Monday morning, Mayo pushed back against any fears that his comments could lead to an unhappy locker room.
“I don’t think it’s divisive in the room at all,” Mayo said. “I think about how I sometimes use the media to send messages, I think some players do the same thing. I’m not going to tell them, “Say this, say that.” »
“No, if that’s how you feel, if you feel like you’re the best player in the league, then go for it. If you feel like challenging your brother to your side, I mean, go out and do it. I just think they use it as a tool to get guys going.
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