Jerod Mayo knew there would be days like this when he took over the Patriots in January. He just didn't think they would come so quickly.
The first-year coach has mentioned many times during the course of his brief tenure that he expected there to be bumps in the road as the team attempts to climb out of cellar of the league. Those bumps that have taken place on the field were likely expected. The questions off it are probably catching him off guard.
Mayo stepped to the podium following the Patriots latest loss, a 32-16 trouncing by the Jags in London, and told the media that his team is soft. A day later he stuck with that term in his opening remarks to the media, offering only a slight clarification that he was describing his team at this point in time.
"We're playing soft at the moment, and when I say playing soft, that means stopping the run, being able to run the ball and being able to cover kicks, which we weren't able to do," Mayo said. "In saying that, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? 100 percent."
That part remains to be seen, but what is clear is Mayo is dealing with more than just a limited roster. The main reason for the team's six-game losing streak is talent, but the lack of focus, discipline and at times maturity is about more than simple ability.
Several players have spoken out about these issues including Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekaule and most recently Kendrick Bourne. The issues stopping the run – the Patriots have allowed 193, 192 and 171 yards rushing in the last three games, respectively – led to the two defensive linemen questioning their teammates' desire to play their roles and focus on their individual assignments rather than trying to freelance and make plays.
"Jerod just said everybody has to check their egos when they come in. And I agree with him," Ekuale told the Boston Herald after the Jags loss. "I feel like a lot of guys think too highly of themselves and have to check their egos and come in and just play as a team."
Bourne spoke about a lack of commitment off the field by some teammates after the Jags loss.
"The energy could've been better, a lot better. We've got to find ways from within to fight adversity," Bourne told the Boston Herald. "We know we're going to play at 9:30. Through the week, we need to understand that. That's [making] personal decisions rather than staying up all night or eating whatever. Whatever it is, whatever makes us be better, we have to make those decisions to be better so when we get [to the game] we can be better.
"There's self-evaluating we need to do. I don't know who specifically, it's just as a group it feels like that. Just how I operate, I can feel it. So that's just where I see we can be a lot better."
It's one thing to fight and come up short because the other guys are better. It's quite another to accentuate that talent gap with questionable effort, and at least some of the Patriots themselves are wondering if the latter is becoming a factor.
So, Mayo faces a real challenge not even halfway through his first season: keep the team together and headed in the right direction. Establishing a positive culture is a difficult task under the best of circumstances let alone during a 1-6 start. At the same time Drake Maye is trying to establish himself as the team's franchise quarterback, and the rookie doesn't need to be influenced by the public squabbles that have popped up over the past month or so.
As Maye continues to play and gain experience, he'll likely find his voice within the locker room and work toward becoming one of the team's leaders. But that's asking a lot of a rookie with two starts under his belt. The leadership needs to come from Mayo, and the players need to follow. If not, the season will be a disappointment for a lot more reasons than the record.
Two scores or not to score
That was the question facing the Patriots midway through the fourth quarter after Maye's second touchdown pass of the game pulled the team within nine at 25-16. With 8:22 remaining, Mayo could have opted to kick the extra point and made it a one-score game, but instead the Patriots opted to go for two, failed, and were left chasing two scores with just over half a quarter remaining.
Analytics suggest teams go for two in such circumstances with the idea being it's better to know what you're chasing as early as possible rather than waiting until the end. In reality the explanation makes little sense, as it would be tough to argue that knowing you're within a score with 8:22 left wouldn't be a better scenario than knowing you're still two scores behind with 8:22 left. So, the idea that somehow knowing the situation as early as possible makes it easier to navigate doesn't really hold up.
One tweet I read defended the new-age approach by suggesting that fans somehow think converting a two-point conversion on the last play of the game is easier than earlier in the game. But that's not really the point. Either way you need to convert, but needing one score to set up the game-tying scenario is better than needing two to potentially win it.
And why if Joey Slye kicked the PAT with 8:22 left does it mean the Patriots wouldn't have scored again until there was no time left, making the ensuing two-point conversion do-or die, but needing two possessions and scores in the final minutes means the need for execution in the closing seconds wouldn't exist?
The explosion of analytics with regard to coaching decisions has largely been a great development for the league. More coaches go for it on fourth down in unconventional spots, and more often than not it's added excitement and proven to be correct. I completely understand the rationale of the new-age practice of a team chasing two touchdowns to go for two after the first, rolling the dice that a conversion would then allow a potential win on a conventional PAT later. A failure would still leave the trailing team within one score down eight in that situation. (I don't love that either, but it's based on sound logic).
But I will never understand the idea of needing two scores rather than one to potentially tie a game is better so a team understands what it needs down the stretch. It's a stubbornly short-sighted view that somehow has caught on and become mainstream thought.
Like clockwork
Many of you who read this column weekly know of my obsession with clock management and Sunday offered a couple of valuable examples of how these situations can decide games. As luck would have it, they featured two of the week's best matchups and unfolded within minutes of each other.
The first was handled almost flawlessly by Detroit in the Lions 31-29 win over Minnesota. The Lions trailed 29-28 with 2:32 left when they took over at their own 30 with two timeouts left. Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson were in no hurry, understanding the goal was not just to move into field goal range but also to chew up as much clock as possible.
The announcers sounded incredulous when Jared Goff handed the ball off to Jahmyr Gibbs on the first two plays, wondering why there was no sense of urgency. It wasn't until Detroit easily navigated its way into field goal range with runs and short passes while forcing the Vikings to exhaust their timeouts that they changed their tune. By the time Jake Bates lined up his game-winning 44-yarder, Minnesota was left with just 15 ticks on the clock.
The Lions knew there was no need to rush in between plays because time was not a factor. Either Goff was going to move his team into range, or the Vikings were going to stop them. Time wasn't going to prevent Detroit from doing anything, and Goff executed perfectly.
Incidentally, the Vikings ran a play down the middle for 20 yards in the closing seconds before racing to the line to spike it for one last heave. Minnesota lined up incorrectly as the spike took place with one tick left, resulting in a penalty, but the rule states that an illegal formation doesn't call for a runoff. Therefore, the Vikings simply moved back 5 yards and had one last crack. The Lions then sacked Sam Darnold to end the game.
This would seem to be another area that the league should look at as Darnold's spike would have come after the clock expired had he waited for his team to line up properly. By committing a penalty, Minnesota ensured it would at least get one final snap.
Conversely, Houston had a chance to kick a game-winning field goal with little to no time left but failed to execute in a similar fashion. Admittedly the Texans scenario was far more challenging, taking over at their own 38 with 8:11 left while trailing 21-19, but C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense did the hard part, moving to the Packers 12 at the two-minute warning following a clutch 11-yard completion to Xavier Hutchinson to convert on third-and-10.
At that point Houston's loan goal should have been to record one more first down, which would have allowed the go-ahead field goal to take place at the buzzer. But offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik instead went conservative, calling a pair of uninspired Joe Mixon runs into a stacked Packers box that resulted in losses of 2 and 3 yards. The Packers had all three timeouts left, so the Texans needed to move the chains in order to avoid the possibility of Green Bay having ample opportunity to respond.
Houston was content to force Green Bay to burn the timeouts, which given the amount of time left was somewhat pointless. Slowik waited until third down to allow Stroud to throw, and his third-and-15 attempt to Tank Dell fell incomplete. That left the Packers with 1:44 and a timeout after Ka'imi Fairbairn's 35-yard field goal gave Houston a brief 22-21 lead. The result was predictable as Jordan Love easily moved close enough for Brandon McManus' 44-yard game-winner as time expired.
Power 5
1. Kansas City (6-0) – Imagine what the Chiefs will look like when Patrick Mahomes plays well?
2. Baltimore (5-2) – The Ravens continue to roll with an impressive road win in Tampa.
3. Detroit (6-1) – The Lions are as talented as any team in the league, although the Aidan Hutchinson injury hurts.
4. Minnesota (5-1) – The Vikings and Lions went toe-to-toe so no need for a huge drop here.
5. Houston (5-2) – The Texans offense sputtered but still should have left Lambeau with a win.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
