PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
August 11, 2024
JM: Well, excited to be back out here. The players had yesterday off. We'll come out here and compete, and honestly, get ready for the Eagles.
Q: What went into the decision to part ways with JuJu Smith-Schuster?
JM: Yeah, it was a decision between Eliot [Wolf] and myself, really to give the younger guys an opportunity to go out there and get more reps and show what they can do.
Q: Specific to his health, I know [Smith-Schuster] dealt with a knee injury coming into last season, seemed to sap a lot of his explosion. Is that something that you just felt like wasn't going to get better here?
JM: I mean, that's part of it. At the same time, we just want him to get healthy. He still has some good ball left in him and I wish him nothing but the best.
Q: Now that you've had some time to watch it and everything else, what did you take from that first preseason game into this week?
JM: Yeah, the first game was really — at least for me, obviously you want to go out there and coach the game, but also just see operationally how everything was working. Whether it's the communication from the booth downstairs or from coach to coach, those were definitely things that I just wanted to see for myself. A couple of things to iron out there. From a football perspective, I thought those guys went out there and played hard. They flew around. Once again, it doesn't matter who is out there, it's about the quality of the reps and this week we'll have starters playing a lot more.
Q: Considering he didn't play much the other night, how big of a week is this for Drake [Maye] in practice, in the joint practice, all of that?
JM: Yeah, for all the quarterbacks, it's a huge week for those guys to really show development. Drake will play more this week, for sure. But don't forget, anytime you practice against a team, they'll get a lot of good reps against someone else and based on that, we'll see how they'll play in a game. That's all positions, though.
Q: Now that you've had a chance to go back and watch the film, what did you see from Joe Milton [III], seeing it a second time?
JM: Yeah, you know, just watching Joe run around and that athleticism is always a welcome sight. In saying that, there are still things for him to work on. One thing would be ball security. I know it looked cool, but it's always a dangerous thing, swinging the ball around like that, but this is a guy who is working hard every single day and getting better.
Q: How do you anticipate the energy, the intensity, the work changes this week as you get closer to the regular season?
JM: Yeah, this week — well, first of all, in practice, we're going to be wearing the same color. I think it's good to have joint practices that break up the monotony of training camp. But hopefully, you continue to see the team gel together and guys taking a step forward.
Q: Last week, there was a lot of reporting about Brandon Aiyuk. I'm not asking you about him specifically, but there is this sort of notion that maybe certain players don't want to come here or New England is no longer a destination. As a former player and head coach, one, how difficult is that? And two, does that also speak to what you guys have to build here when it comes to the on-field product and just make things maybe more appealing?
JM: Yeah, look, we're always trying to get better. I think Aiyuk is still in San [Francisco] right now, and he didn't go to some other teams as well. What I will say is, when we start to win games, guys will want to come here. When we start to establish the culture, establish the roster, I think guys will be excited to come back.
Q: Thinking about your first game as a head coach for you, when you went back through it, maybe with Evan [Rothstein], or however you do it game-management-wise, what did you learn?
JM: It was great. Look, it was the first time I had four channels on my headset, right? And so Evan and I have a dedicated line and we talk through things during the game that will come up during the regular season. We didn't necessarily approach those situations that way. But, it was good. The communication was good between the special teams coaches, the offense and defense. So, it was good.
Q: Just to follow on that, that one play in the late second quarter, before the two-minute warning—is that an example of one where you would hurry up to the line in the regular season, but you decided not to?
JM: That's right, and there are certain situations in these preseason games where sometimes you're like, "well, let's just run our two-minute drill," even though there's six minutes left. So, you're trying to do different things against different teams and see how it kind of works out.
Q: Did anything surprise you with that? Kind of along what went on in the game, what went on in the whole day, did anything surprise you or maybe easier than you thought, harder than you thought in just managing your time?
JM: Honestly, I felt like I was in my element, and I said this after the game, where I didn't really have to worry about substitutions and things like that. It was more of a holistic approach and I mean, I enjoyed it.
Q: You mentioned four channels. Evan's got one. Are the other three just offense, defense and special teams?
JM: Yeah, yeah.
Q: The McCourtys? Zo (Scott Zolak)?
JM: No, no (laughing). But you know, the special teams coaches in the past didn't have headsets here, and so, now they do have headsets because I think it is important that we're all tied in. That's just my philosophy.
Q: I saw [Matthew] Slater on the sideline and it looked like he was on a headset, but also talking to guys. Is he going to be an important conduit for the players and the coaching staff?
JM: One hundred percent. I think it's important for him to have a headset and he's been helping with the special teams as well. Remember, his role is like this umbrella role, whether it's advisor or coach, whatever you want to call him. But, he's always there to help and I think he did a good job.
Q: We've seen [Atonio] Mafi and Nick [Leverett] get some work as backup centers behind David [Andrews]. How would you assess that group behind the starter?
JM: Yeah, it's a work in progress. David's been doing it for a very long time and some of these other guys, they just haven't done it. They've played more of a guard role, but look, they're getting better at it. The coaches are doing a good job spending that extra time working on snapping. You always want to have someone else, one or maybe two extra guys that know how to snap the ball.
Q: Jeremiah Pharms [Jr.] played offense in a couple years in the past. What kind of look did he give your defense when he was doing that? What does it say about his work ethic?
JM: Terrible, terrible look. He is not an offensive lineman, but what I will say about Pharms is, you know, he's the "more you can do" type of person. He's always trying to help no matter what you ask him to do. He just loves football, whether it's playing offense, defensive line, on the practice team. Like, whatever it is, this guy's going to give you a hundred percent, so I appreciate him.
Q: What did Layden Robinson show you in the film review?
JM: That we still have a long way to go. Those young linemen, it was their first opportunity, and we're looking for the growth, whoever we're talking about, we're looking for that growth from Week 1 to Week 2.
Q: He's a guy that obviously played more right guard in college. Playing more left the last few days, I would say, game and practice. Are you getting more confidence that he might be able to do that?
JM: Yeah, I do think those guys are going to be good players. I think Layden is going to be a good player, for sure. And once again, the more you can do it, it's good. Now, this week against the Eagles, they got some big guys in there. It's going to be a huge test for them.
Q: Matthew Judon was on the sideline a lot, kind of helping coach up some players. After everything that kind of happened over the last week or two, what was it like to see that from him during the game?
JM: To me, it's not everything that happened over the last week or two, it's one day. I think we all, you know, have a bad day every once in a while. He was dialed in, he was excited for the players, and he was coaching them up over on the sideline. No complaints from me.
Q: Any update on the PUP guys, health-wise? Cole [Strange], Kendrick [Bourne]?
JM: Look, those guys are progressing. Some faster than others, but when they're ready to get out there on the field, they'll be there.
Q: How is your relationship with Alex Van Pelt been? It sounds like you gave him the autonomy to give the input on what you guys wanted to do offensively a bit, prior to the preseason game.
JM: Yeah, our relationship has been great. He is the head coach of the offense, and you know, once again, we meet about these things all the time, and sometimes things change. People want to say, "why didn't Drake play this much or that much?" We had a plan and we have a plan for this week as well.
Q: And you feel comfortable with, "do your thing, I'm delegating to you (Alex Van Pelt) to make these decisions"?
JM: Yeah, for the most part. You know, when I watch other teams, I may give him some ideas and I may not necessarily know all the lingo, but look, "we need to get the ball in this space" or "we want to run the ball this week," he's open to all that stuff and we're on the same page.
Q: To go back to the game management stuff for a second, just thinking big picture, how will you decide when to go for it on fourth down in the season? Is that Evan saying the analytics say, "go, go, go!" or is that a feel thing? How do you decide that?
JM: Look, Evan does a good job with all that stuff, but ultimately, it's my decision and every game is its own game. That's how I would approach it.
Q: You mentioned Matthew Judon, I know you've spoken about being in a good place with the relationship. As far as the off-field contract negotiations go, do you feel like that's also in a good place right now?
JM: I would say so. I mean, look, he understands he is under contract and we expect him to be out here at practice and it's time for him to play, to go out there and play the game.
Q: Vederian Lowe has gotten a lot of run with the top offense. I am wondering what you've seen from him, both on the field and in the preseason?
JM: Yeah, I mean, look, this is one of the quietest offensive linemen I have ever been around, but this guy goes out there every single day and improves. He has great athleticism, great length, and I look forward to seeing him against better competition.
