FOXBOROUGH - It's hard out there for a 1-6 football team and that's what Jerod Mayo and the Patriots have been bludgeoned with since falling to the Jaguars last Sunday in London. Mayo and his new staff knew hard times would come when the team broke training camp this summer, they always do, but now, with six-straight losses, there's no escaping that the team must find a way to break through and get a win because a victory is the only thing that will stem the rising tide.
"The message for [the team] is it's all about the Jets, and we're moving forward," said Mayo. "Obviously, there's a lot of noise out there, and I said, 'We are what our record is, and we have to get better.'"
That kind of short-term focus, of leaving behind the problems and issues that plagued the team a week before is a tried and true formula but one that requires a short memory and finding ways to make the team believe in themselves. As Mayo illustrated, the only way to do it is together.
"It's not the first time that any of those men in there have had to deal with adversity, myself included," continued Mayo. "It's a time for us to get closer while everything around you gets louder, and hopefully, we go out there and get a victory."
Perhaps the first place to focus on for correction is the team's run defense which has given up over 130 yards rushing in each of their last five games. From Mayo's perspective not all run defense problems are created equal, as the handful of explosive rushing plays against the Texans devolved into "death by a thousand cuts" allowed against the Jaguars. Either way, the Pats are getting gashed and it will be hard to mount a true counteroffensive in-game until they can stop the run and get off the field.
"You look at one game, it's the three big runs. Then you look at this past game, and it's the 4-yard, 5-yard, 4-yard, 6-yard, just the continuous, slow bleed," said Mayo. "We have to do a better job getting off blocks and going out there and tackling the ball carrier. Again, it's a huge opportunity this week to kind of get back on track."
Breece Hall leads the way for the Jets at running back. He's a talented two-way back who has had recent success against the Pats, rushing for 178 yards in 2023's season finale and then scoring two touchdowns in 2024's Week 3. Having an answer to Hall is a great first place to start for the defensive gameplan, but one that will be difficult to execute for a full 60 minutes of game time.
"A lot of us aren't doing our job, I think that's where the breakdown is coming from," said Keion White assessing the problems of the run defense. "We're just not playing the defense that we know how to play, that we've shown that we can play the past."
"It's about just on a down after down after down basis," said Mayo, stressing consistency. "I tell the players, no matter what, special teams, offense or defense, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know what play it's going to be, but we just need to be sound on every play."
White has been one of the team's better defenders this season, but has yet to get back to the kind of production he had through the first two games of the season. He should play a key role if the defense is to get right.
Will this weekend be any different for a team that has had a similar message prescribed in recent weeks but still didn't break the losing streak? White maintained a steady focus.
"It's no different from any other game and so we have to take every game like an opportunity to show what we can do and really lock in for real," said White. "And I feel like you just take that attitude into every game."
Drake Impresses with Week 2 Growth
Drake Maye earned plenty of praise from around the NFL for the growth and strides he showed in his second start of his career. Maye's footwork, decision-making and deep ball accuracy were highlighted in various film breakdowns, including the below analysis from Dan Orlovsky, a notable Maye critic earlier in the year.
"I'm feeling more comfortable back there, more comfortable in the huddle, play calls and little things like that, little things that you don't see on the field," said Maye on Wednesday. "Felt more comfortable in the huddle, felt like I was bringing some more energy to the start of the game. From there, I think protecting the football, that's the big thing."
Maye avoided a turnover against the Jags though two balls came incredibly close to being picked off, a fact that Maye seemed acutely aware of in his self-analysis.
"I think we did some good things, just didn't sustain it long enough and put drives together, especially in that second quarter," said Maye.
Perhaps lost in the team's 1-6 record is that Maye's impressive development is a positive reflection of the job by his offensive coaches. During training camp the pundits had an easy time dissecting all the things that the young rookie had to work on to be "pro ready." Now, those same pundits are highlighting Maye's growth in the very areas they tore apart this summer.
There's still a long ways to go and two games does not a career make, but after a tough two months to open the season, Maye, Alex Van Pelt and the other offensive coaches do deserve their flowers for quickly getting the third overall pick ready to not only play, but play at a higher level than many might've anticipated based on the discourse from earlier this year.
"I think it's a credit to the coaches here, AVP and T.C. [T.C. McCartney]," said Maye of his solid strides. "They've really hammered it home. At the same time, I think some things where some different drops that I'm taking now weren't really asked of me in college. Some of these five-step under-center play actions, we didn't do much of those. So it probably really didn't give me a chance to show off some of the footwork stuff."
The Jets defense will provide a third-straight defensive front that has its fair share of playmakers, but it's a defense that Maye already saw a bit of in mop-up time late in Week 3. It illustrates how the rookie is already starting to stack plenty of valuable experience and that will continue over the last 10 games of the season no matter what the record looks like.
"We've got a young team in the receiver room. The tight ends got a better understanding of, they've been in a lot of different concepts in the offenses," said Maye. "I think the young guys are starting to figure it out. I think here you're going to see a click, and I think we've got some talent on offense. I'm looking forward to seeing when that happens."
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