HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

JM: Look, let's start off, I thought the guys went out there and competed, played hard. Definitely room for improvement. All week we've been talking about, "this game doesn't count but it does matter." It matters from an individual point of view and also from a team point of view. And all that matters really is the guys in those rooms and it's not just me, it's we. That's my message to the team.

Q: Can you walk us through the thought process behind using the quarterbacks in the way that you did tonight?

JM: We wanted to see Jacoby [Brissett] obviously go out there and operate as well as Drake [Maye], mixing them in there with the ones. The rest of those guys, like [Bailey] Zappe and Joe [Milton III], they went out there and finished up the game. Thought they did a good job. But that was kind of the thinking. Next week we have the Eagles. So we'll practice against them and, who knows, the reps will probably change a little bit and we'll see what happens in the game. But that was the thought process.

Q: You mentioned getting Drake Maye into the game. What went into the decision to pull him after one series tonight?

JM: That was always the plan. The plan was to get him in there for one series, to get Jacoby in there for one series, and then really turn it into the Zappe show and then the Joe show. That was the plan going in.

Q: Was there any trepidation over having Drake in another series performing with his, like, second offensive line? Was that part of the decision?

JM: That's always a consideration. If he's in there, you want him in there with the starting offensive line. We've got to protect guy. Not saying we don't have to protect the other guys, but absolutely they're going to.

Q: Do you feel you're going to get enough of seeing him in live action going about it like this?

JM: Like I said, this is the first preseason game. We still have two left. He'll have plenty of opportunities to go against other teams, the two other teams before the regular season.

Q: Just your thoughts on what you saw from Joe Milton. Are you ready for also sports talk radio fever to hit all week with Joe?

JM: I don't even listen to that stuff. But honestly, Joe went out there. We know he has a big arm. He has the athleticism. He's getting better with his reads every single day. He has natural leadership ability. But once again, it's not just about one game; it's about the full body of work. You can come out here and play well but you also have to do it on a day-to-day basis, in practice and you've got to gain the confidence of not only the coaches but also your teammates. And this was a step forward for him.

Q: Obviously you said the plan was to do one drive for both for Brissett and Maye. What came down to the decision to pull Zappe when you did and to put Milton in when you did? Any thought process behind that?

JM: It was about opportunity. It was about opportunity. Zappe went out there, look, he's won games in the NFL before. But then just putting Joe in at a time where we needed a spark and he provided that spark, which I thought was good.

Q: What was it like for you, first game as a head coach?

JM: I just felt like I was just in my element. I felt great to be out there. Nothing else really mattered to me. When you don't have to worry about substitutions and things like that, you kind of see the game from a different perspective, which I thought was great for me today. And it was the first time I really got a chance to experience that. Hopefully it keeps going the same way and we do a good job with the subs with our assistant coaches and I can focus on the game in totality.

Q: Butterflies?

JM: There was more excitement. It was almost like you get on a roller coaster and you just hear that click, like, click, click. And then you get to the top and it kind of is go time. I mean, at this point you're so far along, we have nowhere else to go. I wouldn't say butterflies, just excitement and pure joy, honestly.

Q: Any player specifically that exceeded your expectations going into tonight, just the way they showed in the game?

JM: Honestly, I need to go back and watch the film. The easy answer would be Joe [Milton III]. Joe went out there and I don't think we've ever seen a quarterback here run around as much as he did and was still able to get the ball down the field. He's one of those guys. It was Joe.

Q: Kind of preseason for you guys and the coaching staff as well. First time out. I was just wondering how the communication and all that kind of went for Alex Van Pelt, DeMarcus Covington, everyone?

JM: I would love to tell you that the communication was 100 percent on point. But there are definitely things that we need to work out. But for the most part it was pretty clean.

Q: Taking focus away from the quarterbacks, last season, you mentioned you talked about the progress you'd seen Jeremiah Pharms make over the course of his career in New England. What did you see from him tonight in terms of putting it together on the field?

JM: Anytime he steps foot on the field, he takes advantage of that opportunity. His story is remarkable, a guy just on the street. He was here, we moved him to fullback. He played defensive tackle, he played guard, he played all those positions. When you find a player that just loves the game of football, no matter what the coach asks him to do, it's a great player, in my mind. And Pharms displays that.

Q: After pairing Drake with the top offensive line tonight, do you anticipate giving him more time with the top line in practice this week?

JM: I mean, look, the reps, that's something to talk to AVP [Alex Van Pelt] about. At the same time, I would say this is a huge week for us against Philly. We'll see what happens in practice and then also in the game. But he's ready to go. When he's ready to go, we'll put him there.

Q: You mentioned that Joe's performance stood out tonight. Just curious what role does preseason games versus, say, practice play and training camp play in the evaluation process where you're trying to get a total view of how a player, whether it's quarterback position or another position, can affect winning and make a squad?

JM: We always say there's nothing more important than practice. We continue to stress the importance of the process. Obviously you want that to show up on the field. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn't. But practice is the number one thing for all these guys as far as the evaluation. It's not only on the field during practice, but also in the classroom.

Q: Just quick thoughts on the defensive line, I thought they got after it tonight, played with a lot of energy. What were your thoughts on those guys?

JM: They play with a lot of energy. We were, I would say as a whole, the most physical team on the field today. It starts up front, starts with the offensive line, it starts with the defensive line; I thought those guys played well.

Q: You talked about this being a big week with Philly coming in for the joint practice and game. How will you use your joint practice with your ones and so forth going into this week?

JM: I mean, look, we want to see what these guys can do. If it's ones versus ones, that's one thing. But you also need to see what your second and third string can do against some of their good guys. I'll talk to Coach Sirianni and we'll have a plan of what we want to see. I'm sure he wants to do some things as well to evaluate his own team, and then the game is also very important. So we'll see how it goes.

QUARTERBACK JACOBY BRISSETT

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

(On how it felt getting back in front of the crowd at Gillette Stadium and how he felt he was able to get things going with the offense)

"It was obviously exciting being back on this side of the field. A lot of nerves were obviously built up for this moment, but it was good. Good crowd, even though the weather kind of was crappy a little bit in the beginning. But we had a good turnout. As far as the offense on the limited amount of plays, it was mainly about communication, getting plays from AVP [Alex Van Pelt], getting into the huddle, getting into the line of scrimmage, snap, and then get the ball so I thought that went well."

(On when he knew he was only playing one series and his thoughts on Joe Milton's performance)

"We talked about – the whole thing is just like the coaches tell you whenever you're getting out. Obviously you play those first couple plays and then you get stalled, You're like, 'I want to go back out there. And they're just like, no, we're just not doing that.' And to Joe, I thought he came in and played well. Obviously led us in a touchdown drive with a great touchdown to Quae [JaQuae Jackson] and I was very proud of him."

(On taking this win into practice and the next game)

"I think it's cool to now like, you watch this game and you see the little things that got put under the lights, those things that come up that you kind of thought were things you could brush under the rug that you're like, 'alright, we need to focus on this, clean up on this,' and things like that. So I'm excited to watch the film and correct the small things that will help us go forward."

(On how much work he wants to get heading into the season to prepare as the starting quarterback)

"As much as I can get. I don't think it's any set number or any set amount of plays, it's just going out there and working hard every day. Kind of just going about it like that."

QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

(On his performance and how his first NFL game went)

"Yeah, I think it was awesome. First of all, to get out there in the stadium. Really the first time since I think the day after I got drafted being in the stadium, other than the walkthrough yesterday. Being there with the fans, it was a different feeling. I felt some little chills through my body, but it was just awesome getting to compete against somebody else. We're going through camp and practice with ourselves and finally get a chance to come together and compete as one. Thought the guys did a great job, that was the biggest thing, through the rain, through the weather in the first half. It cleared up and was glad that we came up on the right side. That's what preseason is for, I think just a good group of guys, having them make the plays and it's just fun to cheer on your teammates. So for me just kind of an idea of how much I played tonight and just going there and trying to take care of the football and execute and other than that just fun to be out there."

(On the series he played and what he can improve on)

"Yeah, I think just enjoying the moment is kind of the biggest thing out there. As a rookie in their first preseason game, I thought I handled the nerves pretty well. Cheering on my teammates, that's the biggest thing, cheering on the guys. Loud on the sidelines, engaged, that's the biggest thing. You know, as a rookie, coming in there, you want to be engaged. Take a look at the iPad, at the plays, other than that, on the field, not a lot happening. Threw a screen, first down moved the chains, but I think on a third down maybe should've moved down the field, had some routes on the chains instead of throwing to the flat. But hey, that's why you watch film."

QUARTERBACK BAILEY ZAPPE

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

(On the touchdown drive he led)

"Yeah that was a good drive. Definitely helps when the defense plays good and especially when you kind of get a short field. Kayshon [Boutte] made a great catch. I think that drive, we obviously ran the ball, Kevin [Harris] ran it pretty good."

(On the young wide receivers)

"Those guys came in and understood what the game plan was. They knew what they were supposed to do and ran great routes and caught the ball when the ball was thrown to them. That's really all you can ask of your receivers. Speaking for the guys that I was in with, those guys played well, caught the ball well. I'm sure tomorrow we will get critiqued as far as what they could have done better or what they did good or not good from the wide receiver coaches and keep improving and keep going."

(On the communication among the quarterbacks on the sidelines and any in-game tips)

"I mean we had a pretty good idea going into this game as far as what we were going to get. Both sides were kind of playing their base stuff, obviously it's the pre-season so you don't want to show everything. It's nice to have all four of us quarterbacks rooting for each other. As we come off the series and everyone has an iPad, everybody is talking about, 'maybe we should do this next time, maybe we should attack this guy, or do this route.' I mean, it's more stuff like that that can translate when you go back out there on the field."

(On being the only returning quarterback and what has been different offensively)

"It's pretty much the same. You look back to last year, a lot of it was kind of the same stuff. Come off the series whether it was a touchdown, whether it was a turnover, or whether it was a three-and-out. No matter what the outcome of the series was last year, I could always come off the field and count on [Coach Bill O'Brien] and even Mac [Jones] and the other quarterbacks we had to kind of go over that series and see some of the things we did good and did bad. I think that was the same today. Obviously the quarterbacks and [Coach Alex Van Pelt], all of us kind of combined minds and looked at the last series and looked at what we could do better going into the next series. I think it was more of the same, so I think it's nice to do keep doing that because it helps everybody."

QUARTERBACK JOE MILTON III

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

(On what playing his first NFL game was like)

"I had a lot of fun man. It's a blessing. You know, a lot of people where I'm from, they dream of being in this situation, so just go out there and cherish it all. It means a lot to me. Me, my family and obviously my teammates. My night was – my day itself was pretty calm. Just the calm before the storm, that's how I look at it. I went home, walked my dog like I always do regularly. Just sit down on my bed and look over the call sheet. I try not to scramble my brain too much and study it too much. Once I got it, I got it. Before the game, I might look at it a couple more times, but other than that, just trusting the guys are going to do their job and trusting that I'm going to do my job and that the coach is going to make the right call at all times."

(On how much he feels that he's progressed since arriving in Foxborough)

"I feel like the coaches, the team itself have put a lot of work in to get us where we need to be, especially at a quarterback position. The OC, Coach AVP [Alex Van Pelt] and T.C. McCartney and Ben McAdoo, they put a lot of stress on getting the details right. Your eyes don't match your feet – and just being able to go where your feet tell you to go, and if it's not there just being able to move on. So being able to trust the coaching, the guys around you and just trust the knowledge that they're passing along. Being able to just be there and just take it all in."

(On what leads to him being so comfortable for his first game)

"I feel like, no matter if it's the first game or the last game of the season, I feel like the more you relax, just having a calm mind and not having a scrambled brain, just being you regardless. Like, I have a big personality, I'm going to show my personality every time I have the chance to. My thing is, I want to make sure everybody smiles. Every day. Day in and day out. Make sure everybody smiles day in and day out. Just going out there letting guys know, 'listen man, you don't have to be stuck up, have fun, talk, talk trash.' It's football. At the end of the day, it's football, so no matter what you do, you go out there and have fun and operate and do the assignment your coach told you to do throughout the week. It's going to allow you to have fun. Just having fun and showing my personality is all I like to do."

(On Coach Mayo's comment that he has exceeded his expectations and his own evaluation of his performance)

"Man, hearing that from the head coach, thanks to him, but I feel like I've got a lot more work to do. There's a lot of things in the offense that I need to learn, and I need to learn fast. Just being hard on myself, that's the only way I got this far, is being myself. Thanks to Coach Mayo for saying that, but I feel like I've got a lot of work to do, got to keep studying. Can't get complacent no matter how good the game went tonight. Just being able to wipe it off and put it in the books and get ready for the next one."

(On how he stayed engaged on the sidelines)

"I feel like me, Jacoby, Drake and Bailey just have a bond to where no matter who's in, we always communicate. We see things the other quarterback doesn't see while he's in the game, so when that quarterback comes out of the game, being able to talk about what happened. Seeing the iPad, just being able to discuss the small details. T.C., he's always on it man, he's just always on it. He's a great guy, but at the same time he's just a hell of a coach, he's always on it."