Mayo calls Patriots ‘an all-around soft football team’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo didn’t mince his words during his press conference following Sunday’s demoralization. 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
“Disappointing game. We started fast, but what I would say is we are a soft football team across the board,” Mayo told reporters at Wembley Stadium, as seen in the video above .
“You talk about what makes a tough football team is being able to run the ball, stopping the run and being able to cover kicks. We didn’t do anything all of that today. They controlled the ball for most of the day. Their running game averaged over 4.5 yards per carry, our running game – I’m not sure of the average – but that. Wasn’t good. We can’t stand here and pout, I have to put our game together.”
Wow.
It’s not often you see a head coach call his team sluggish, especially in Week 7. This is one of the most serious criticisms a coach can level at his team. The Patriots’ real concern is that Mayo’s rating is pretty fair after their sixth straight loss.
The Patriots led the Jaguars 10-0 early in the second quarter, which included their first opening touchdown of the season. And then the Pats were bulldozed by one of the worst teams in the NFL, giving up 25 unanswered points and completely falling apart on both sides of the ball.
The Jaguars imposed their will on the Patriots with their rushing attack in the second half. At one point, the Jaguars called 17 straight point plays. Jacksonville finished with 171 yards (4.4 per carry) and two rushing touchdowns. The Jaguars used their running game to go 84 yards in 17 plays and fall behind 11:24 from the third quarter to the start of the fourth quarter. Even though the Jaguars came up empty on that drive with zero points, it made the Patriots’ chances of pulling off a comeback incredibly slim.
The Patriots, for the second week in a row, couldn’t generate much to run the football. New England ran for just 38 yards (2.5 per attempt) on Sunday. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson returned from injury and tied rookie quarterback Drake Maye as the team’s leading rusher with 18 yards. Maye was the leading rusher in last week’s loss to the Houston Texans with 38 yards.
What’s wrong with this rush attack?
“I’m not sure. That’s something we’ll have to watch on film,” Mayo said. “What I will say is it’s a mentality, it’s an attitude. Lately, our running game hasn’t been able to do anything offensively. And then defensively, we just have to play better – better technique, we have to lock our guy in front of us and make a tackle.”
The Patriots have a long flight back to Foxboro, where they will watch film and try to make adjustments before next week’s game against the rival New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots, as of 1 p.m. ET Sunday, are alone at the bottom of the league standings with a 1-6 record, and there is very little, if anything, to suggest a bounce-back will happen in the near future. .
