PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
December 13, 2024
JM: Hello friends, good morning. Look, had a good week of preparation. Looking to finish it up here today. I think the guys have really been focused and dialed in. The sense of urgency is definitely there. We had a padded practice this week, which was really good for us. Yesterday, really focused on third down and a little bit on the red area. I said it before, the two things that we just have to improve on this week – it's all about this week, it's not about the next four weeks or anything like that. It's about this week. It's turnovers, and we got to play better in the red area on both sides of the ball, which at times during the season, we've shown that. Again, it comes down to consistency, and it starts one game at a time, this week with Arizona.
Q: How are you sleeping?
JM: See, that's a great question. I'm sleeping well, seriously. The funny thing about that is a lot of people say, 'How are you doing' all the time. It's very easy to say, 'I'm good.' But if you start to ask people, 'How are you sleeping,' stuff starts to really get teased out, but I am sleeping well and I appreciate that. How are you sleeping?
Reporter: Not bad.
Q: Big news on Coach Belichick. I wanted to get your opinion on what you think about him heading to North Carolina?
JM: Yeah, I said it before. Happy for him. He's a good coach. He should be coaching. I'm sure he's going to do a good job out there. Wish him nothing but the best.
Q: You guys are heading out today?
JM: Yes, sir.
Q: Logistically, what's the thinking behind that as opposed to flying out Saturday?
JM: Yeah, it's just a long, long trip. It's a long trip and we thought it would be beneficial for us to get out there early. I'm sure the temperature is a little bit different out there as well. When you talk about trying to get acclimated, that's part of it.
Q: How was the padded practice this week and how specifically did Cole [Strange] play in that practice? Do you think he might be ready to play this weekend?
JM: Yeah, like I said earlier, the padded practice was good. Look, we have one more day today before we have to nail down who's active for the roster. I would say it was good, but at the same time, we have to recognize he hasn't been out there in pads much at all. Hopefully it's the growth after that day that we want to see.
Q: I know injury reports don't come out until 4pm, but we haven't seen Javon Baker this week with the concussion. Can you give us a sense of where he is in the protocol?
JM: Yeah, I don't know exactly what level he is, but I do know he's still in the protocol. Just like we've done in the past, as soon as the NFL and those appointed doctors say he's good, then he'll be on the field.
Q: You guys had a non-padded practice on Monday off of the bye week, off day on Tuesday. To see him on the injury report with the concussion was a little interesting on Wednesday. Is that something that happened in practice in the non-padded practice?
JM: I don't want to get into specifics on when he got the concussion, but he's in the protocol. I appreciate the question.
Q: Coach, you recently brought in Truman Jones. Local guy, what did you see from him?
JM: First, I would say just the overall attitude. Obviously, a decent player and we think he could help our team, and that's why we brought him in.
Q: Jerod, you talked about getting young players more involved down the stretch. With Joe Milton [III], could he be elevated to the backup role at some point or is that pretty firmly Jacoby's [Brissett] gig the rest of the way?
JM: As it stands today, I still see Jacoby in that role. Again, who knows what happens, and I reserve the right to change my mind on these things. As of today, Jacoby is still our number two quarterback.
Q: I asked DeMarcus [Covington] yesterday, but you've used Joe a lot for scout team this season. It seems like you've been facing a lot of mobile quarterbacks. That's really helpful. Specifically this week, what have you seen from him in getting ready for Kyler [Murray]?
JM: One thing I would say about Joe, he takes the show team very seriously, which we all appreciate and helps the team as a whole. Whether he's playing Kyler Murray, who's a guy who really escapes out the back of the pocket versus some of these other quarterbacks that step up in the pocket, he does a good job mimicking what those guys would do. Obviously, he has all the tools that you want and he's going to be a good player in this league. He has developed, and developed at a nice pace.
Q: How important is that for your defense to have someone who takes that job so seriously on scout team?
JM: It's great. The most important thing we do during the week is practice. You only have a few of those opportunities. My message to the rest of the team today was we only have a few more opportunities. Let's pour everything into this week, whether you're on the show team or you're a starter on this team, and try to walk away with a win.
Q: What's the most important thing you want to see from Drake [Maye] down the stretch, focusing on one or two things? A couple weeks ago, he talked about avoiding turnovers. Is there some singular focus for him down the stretch?
JM: What he said. Protect the football.
Q: Jerod, if Javon's not available, you only have four healthy receivers. Would you guys be comfortable with that, or would John [Jiles] or Braylon [Sanders] from the practice squad be options?
JM: Yeah, those are definitely options. What I would also say is one of our most dependable rooms has been the tight end room, and we have tight ends that can split out. We have tight ends that can line up, end-line tight ends, so definitely a possibility. Whether it's 11 or 12 personnel, it won't change so much.
Q: Is Caedan Wallace trending to a place where he can play this weekend or does he still need a little bit more time?
JM: I think he needs a little bit more time. Again, we'll see what he looks like today, but realistically, I don't see him playing this week.
Q: Jerod, some of the players have said this week that coming off the bye, you guys are through most of your first season as head coach. Players have said that you've had a really consistent message from start to finish here, regardless of the record. Why is that? Why is it important to you to exhibit that to your players?
JM: Yeah, absolutely. As a leader, I think the one thing they want is consistency, and hopefully that permeates throughout the organization. As you continue to try to build on a culture, I think the attitude of not getting too high and too low is a good mark of a leader. I would also say that it's a good thing that our quarterback is pretty much the same way, and hopefully that continues to permeate throughout the rest of the group. We have guys on this team that we talk about every Wednesday, it's changing the page no matter what happens. If you ride that rollercoaster of emotion, whether it's through reading articles, social media, not playing as much or as well as you would like to play, if you ride that rollercoaster, it turns into a toxic environment. We try to keep that out of here.
Q: We saw some more snaps from Alex Austin and Isaiah Bolden two weeks ago. Do you expect those guys to keep getting in there in the rotation?
JM: That's the expectation.
Q: What did you see out of them in the game?
JM: Those guys went out there and played hard. Alex went out there and made a few plays as well, which is very encouraging, and hopefully we can see it again this week.
Q: There was a little bit of a weird situation in the game last night where a player walked off the field and apparently didn't really communicate to the coaches why or anything. I'm just curious, would you bring up a situation like that with your players? Have you talked to them about it already?
JM: I'm not going to get into all the specifics of what we talk about in squad meetings, and I don't want to talk about a player on another team. But it's just not a good look for anyone.
Q: With Christian Barmore, I know that when he was coming back, you guys really said the expectation is there is no expectation. At what point with him will there be an expectation? Because it just obviously doesn't seem like he's been as productive as last year, so at what point does that ramp up?
JM: Yeah, that's one of the frustrating things. When you have a guy and then all of a sudden, he plays his first game – which he's been out for over a year – and we expect him to return back to the form where he left off. I would say that about other players as well. I mean, you could even use Pep [Jabrill Peppers] as an example, who for six or seven weeks was outside the building, then you expect him to come in and just be the Pep that he was at the start of the season. We have examples of that over and over again. As we continue to progress through the season, you just want those guys to continue to get better. I would say – going back to Barmore – his training camp started two weeks ago, realistically, and it's just where we are.
Q: Just given Bill's ties to here, going to North Carolina, and some of his former assistants being on your staff. Do you anticipate just your staff with you the rest of the season at least? We've seen situations where I think even last year, Ross Douglas maybe left. So, I guess that's the question. Any of your assistants leaving to go down there while the season's going on?
JM: Well, my anticipation is that we will have all of our coaches, so I'm not sure. But again, it could change. I mean, I don't know.
Q: Do you anticipate Brian Belichick following his father eventually?
JM: I don't want to get into that. That's a question for him. Did you ask him yesterday?
Q: Yeah.
JM: What did he say yesterday?
Q: He was focused on Arizona.
JM: Alright, so why are you trying to trip me up? No, I'm just playing. I'm just playing.
Q: Do you like this State Farm Stadium? Some good memories at that stadium?
JM: Yeah, I do. Yeah, good memories at that stadium. Good memories. But what I will say, like all the things that have happened in the past, after the first five minutes of walking through the stadium, you're like, 'Alright, what do we have to do today?' and hopefully we fly back here with another good memory.
