PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO

PRESS CONFERENCE

October 2, 2024

JM: Hello, good morning, friends. I'm excited to get back on the practice field, go out there and compete and get ready to play against a good football team. I don't want to sleep on these guys; I know they had some struggles and things like that, but this is still a very good football team with weapons across the board, offensively, defensively and also on special teams. So, like I said, we're excited. I think the guys, they came in today, we changed the page, we're moving forward. We understand what we have to do to win this game. Just like every week, we have those targets out there; we just have to go out there, execute and hit those targets, and that's what we fully anticipate. I know a lot of you guys are wondering about Dave Andrews, so, it's already out there at this point. It's going to require surgery, and he will probably go on IR and be done for the season. Fire away.

Q: How big of a blow is that to you guys?

JM: It's tough. One thing about Dave, the first word I would say is just toughness. He's a guy who, he's been a captain here, he has great leadership ability, he's tough, he's able to communicate across the front, and it's definitely a huge loss. With that being said, we've got to – next man up. Next man up, and I know that sounds very cliché, but that's the mentality. We fully expect him to still be around the building, and maybe he'll be a future coach at some point in time, but we'll see.

Q: You talked about next man up. It seems like Nick Leverett is the one to step in. What's your confidence level in Nick, and what have you seen from him?

JM: Yeah, I thought Nick did a decent job stepping in there this past game, and now that he'll get more reps during practice, you expect him to continue to get better every single day. So, that's our expectation.

Q: Jerod, you mentioned earlier this week that you and Eliot [Wolf] were going to meet and talk about the alignment and stuff, the people that were out there and talk about that. Any updates on that about possibly bringing somebody in?

JM: Not at this current time. We talked about the – the question here was about the veteran offensive linemen that were out there. So, we're not on that at this current time.

Q: How important is the position of center in this offense as far as being kind of the one in charge?

JM: It's very important. I always say, you want to see the same picture, and it starts with the center, and it starts with the quarterback. The center and the quarterback, I would say. So, it's definitely important as far as being on the same page, ID'ing the mic points and all those things. So, with that being said, Nick, he can do it. He's proved that he can do it, and hopefully, he continues to get better.

Q: Understanding how important David is to the offense, how does his injury affect the plan for Drake[Maye]?

JM: I would say those are independent of each other. You always want to have a veteran center in there, but with that said, they don't tie in together.

Q: How do you not let a 'woe is me' attitude take hold when you see the injuries starting to affect you guys?

JM: For us, it's about mental toughness. It's about mental agility. We won't be rigid in our thought, and we're going to try to put the best team out there. I'm not really a big 'woe is me' or anything like that. We knew going into the season we would take our lumps, and even after the first game when we beat Cincinnati, we understood that this is unsustainable as far as winning that way. With that being said, there have been things that we've done well, especially after the first two games. Those were competitive games. The third one wasn't so competitive, and this past one, we still had an opportunity as bad as we played. I think it still comes down to execution.

Q: Jerod, looking at your season now four games through, are you not playing Drake because you're concerned he's going to get hurt?

JM: I'm not really thinking about that. Look, Jacoby's [Brissett] our starter. He's our starting quarterback this week. I think Jacoby has showed a lot of toughness out there. Going back, even looking at the film, there are times where an average guy would not be able to get back up, and I think he's done a good job with that.

Q: Jerod, have you at all considered giving Antonio Gibson the start this weekend given Rhamondre's [Stevenson] fumbling issues?

JM: That's definitely under consideration. I've had multiple conversations with Rhamondre. But look, we can't preach that ball security is job security and still have him out there the majority of the time. So, I think it sends a stronger message to the players that there are certain things that we just can't do to win, especially with the team that we have today.

Q: Are you at the same point on that with the edge stuff? Are you at the same point? I'm typically thinking about Keion [White] just on the first couple third downs there. But he doesn't always play there.

JM: That's right. He doesn't. Look, one thing I'll say about Keion, and once again, if it was something that was happening on a week-to-week basis, like the fumbling with Rhamondre, that's a little bit different with Keion. I would say as far as the edge is concerned, it's not just one person. It's been different people every single week. Look, if you were to take a snapshot – and I think it's important to remember that we are still early in the season – but Keion has been one of our most impactful players, and we look forward to his continued growth. But again, it comes down to execution. It comes down to discipline. It comes down to doing what's right for the team and not for the individual. I would say, when you go back and look at some of those plays, you think, look, we're not good on third down. Why? It's not because we're not covering guys. It's because we're giving the quarterback the chance to get outside the pocket. I think we just need to play better as a team and not as individuals for us to have a good chance at winning games.

Q: Has that surprised you, Jerod, the lack of execution, maybe, on the defensive side of the ball where you're coming from with what you've seen so far, especially in the last couple of games as a team?

JM: Yeah, as a team. Look, I take 100% accountability for that. It's my job to get these guys on the roster ready to go out there and play at a high level. The last couple of weeks, we just have not done that. So, I'll take that one.

Q: Jerod, you described your first win in Cincinnati as unsustainable. I don't think we've heard you describe it that way before. Could you explain why?

JM: Well, I'm just giving you a snapshot on what we told the team. I mean, in this league, you have to score points to go out there and win. You have to win the time of possession. You have to – those are things that you have to do. There aren't too many games you're going to win if you score under, let's just say, 21 points.

Q: You just said that you guys have to play more as a team. One of your players this week, Davon Godchaux, said that he thought players were being selfish on defense, how they were approaching the game plan. Do you concur with that, and how do you feel about a player voicing that?

JM: No, I'm okay with a player voicing that because that's what I said in the squad meeting. So, everything I say to the players, and I'm not saying it as a secret. We just have to play better together. Especially defensively, look – well, I would say across the board – it takes 11 people to make a big play. I know one person gets all the praise and things like that, but it takes everyone being on the same page. I agree with DG [Davon Godchaux] in regard to some of those plays are selfish plays. That's exactly what it is.

Q: Any update on Kyle Dugger?

JM: Not at this current time.

Q: There's a report out there that Davante Adams would prefer to be traded. Do you anticipate pursuing him?

JM: Yeah, look, the scouting department is on top of all of that stuff. I have not had conversations with Eliot in those regards.

Q: Jerod, you said that Kendrick Bourne will practice today. Any updates on Sione Takitaki and Marte Mapu?

JM: All three of them will practice today.

Q: On the offensive side, it looked like last game, [Ja'Lynn] Polk and [DeMario] Douglas were a little upset that they weren't getting the ball at certain points. What's going on the offense?

JM: Yeah, one thing I would say is as a team, we don't want to show or voice our frustrations on the field like that as visible to everyone. I will say, look, it's good to have guys that want to go out there and make plays, guys that want to go out there and compete. It's a natural human instinct to be frustrated when things aren't going your way. Look, things aren't going our way as a team right now, and am I frustrated? Absolutely. But I understand that we have a lot of work to do. It's the first quarter of the season. Now, we're going into the second quarter of the season, and hopefully we're getting better.

Q: Jerod, as somebody who's trying to establish a program here, you've lost [Ja'Whaun] Bentley and now Andrews. How challenging does it make it for you to lose guys that could be sort of guys that carry your message to the rest of the locker room?

JM: Sometimes I feel like being a captain this year is like the Madden curse at this point. We've lost a lot as far as our captains are concerned. With that being said, I think guys just have to step up. Guys have to step up. I know that the players understand that everyone has to take their game to the next level. I know the coaches understand that we have to demand more of our players to go out there and play winning football.

Q: Does it concern you at all, though, if things are hard – and things are hard right now for you guys – that not having those players could make it tough for the locker room to remain together?

JM: Yeah, I'm not worried about the locker room, especially at this current time. I would also say the players understand it's still early in the season. So, we'll see what it looks like going forward.

Q: I know after Bentley went down, you made Dugger a captain. Do you have any plans similarly with David Andrews?

JM: Well, look, we just had that conversation here over the last couple of days, and I haven't put much thought into that as of now.

Q: Jerod, we haven't had the chance to talk to Ben McAdoo in a while. I'm just wondering if you can offer any insight into what his role looks like throughout the week and how much he contributes to the offense.

JM: He does a lot for us. He does a lot on the offensive side. He's in all those meetings, the game plan meetings, but he also does other things. I don't want to get too specific, but some of those are, let's call it, it's kind of like assistant head coach's coaching role. I bounce a lot of ideas off him. He's been in the league for a long time. He's coached every position on the offense, and he brings tremendous value every single week.

Q: Jerod, with Sione, Marte and Kendrick, would it be unrealistic to expect those guys to play this week?

JM: I wouldn't say it's unrealistic. I think we have to sit here and see how the next couple of days go. Look, even those guys are at different points as far as, I'm not going to say 100%, 80% and all that stuff, but I would say those guys are at different points. They'll practice depending on how their body feels. We'll go through our individual drills, and we'll take it from there.

Q: How important is it to get a guy like Kendrick Bourne back, both on the field and off the field because he's a vocal guy?

JM: No, that's right; it's very important. I would say he brings great energy everywhere he goes. So, going back to missing some of those guys, our leaders in the – I know he wasn't voted captain, but he did have a significant amount of votes from his peers. I thought that said a lot for a guy that didn't practice. Just his energy and his vibe is contagious, and we can't wait until he's out there making plays.

Q: I think from the outside looking in, it kind of looks like everything's kind of collapsing in on you guys. What's your message to the team this week as you get ready for the Dolphins?

JM: Yeah, we always talk about the process. Look, you can look around the league and look at what we would call established coaches at this current time. But there was a time in their career early on where they probably were getting killed, too. I think about Dan Campbell, I think about [Kyle] Shanahan, I think about all those guys that had to weather the storm, and that's what we'll do. It starts with me; I'll weather the storm. You can write whatever you want. That's your job, and I understand it. I used to work in media. I understand that you guys have a job to do. I ignore the noise, and my responsibility is to put a winning team together, not only for now, but also in the future.

Q: You mentioned after the game the other day, when you were asked about the pressure that Jacoby had faced, schematically, you said, 'We have to do a better job of getting the ball out of our hands.' You mentioned that the offensive line has to protect better, too. When you say schematically, I think of Alex Van Pelt. How would you assess the job that he's done through four games?

JM: I think there's no problem. I mean, look, there are things you always want to look back on game plan-wise and say we should have done it this way. With that being said, I think we all have to take some accountability. The quarterback, the O-line, the coaches, all of us have to take a piece of that accountability to be on the same page and put a productive offense out there.