HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO

PRESS CONFERENCE
December 18, 2024

JM: Good morning. As always, on Wednesday, we talk about changing the page. That was the message to the players. Everything we do, everything we talk about, our focus should be on the Buffalo Bills. Talking about the Bills, it starts with the quarterback. He's playing at an unbelievable level right now. He's doing a good job seeing the field, has always been dangerous with both his legs and his arm. I would say, just from watching him, the way he's seeing the field and going through his reads, and the ability to extend plays and turn to street ball is definitely a problem. It's going to take all of us on the field to try to slow him down first and foremost. In saying that, [James] Cook, they got some good backs as well. They try to exploit the backs on the linebackers and even sometimes the safeties, but definitely a very explosive player. Obviously the receivers, even with the rookie, he's playing well for them. Big, fast, strong, can do a bunch of different things. Don't forget about [Dalton] Kincaid, who, especially after coming off last week, he's definitely going to be targeted in this game. We have to do a good job whether we're talking about zone or man, limiting that connection between the quarterback. Defensively, to me it starts up front. A couple good edge rushers in [Greg] Rousseau and [A.J.] Epenesa, very good players. To me, it really starts with Ed Oliver. I think I've been a fan since he was in college, very disruptive player, and you can tell he's really coming to his own and makes this defense go. Good players in the back end as well. Talking about special teams, these guys are physical in the special teams world, and we got to match that physicality and go out there and win that battle.

Q: What's the biggest challenge of Josh Allen? What makes him arguably different than any other quarterback in the NFL?

JM: Yeah, well, first, I don't know how much he weighs, but this is a big human being here. There are rules around tackling quarterbacks, but he also can run you over, run around you, and also still maintain being a passer as he gets outside the pocket. Those are just the challenges that he puts on defenses.

Q: Any plans with the open roster spot to fill that today?

JM: Not today. I'm not going to get into that, but not today.

Q: I think it was Nate Tice that posted on Twitter that Kayshon Boutte isn't finishing all his routes, at least from what he's seen. Have you seen an issue with that at all with Kayshon this year?

JM: I'm not going to talk about specific players. I think we all have to get better. For me, when you talk about Boutte, it's get open and catch the ball. I mean, that's your job as a wide receiver. 'Receiver' is in the title of your job, your job description, and that's our expectation.

Q: Jerod, there was a report from Diana Russini this weekend that said that you've been privately assured that the Krafts are going to give you the time and resources necessary to continue to grow into the job. Has that been communicated to you?

JM: I'm not sure where that story came from. Look, I have multiple conversations on a daily basis with ownership, and they've always been supportive.

Q: You've often talked about getting better in year two, has that been assured to you that you have it?

JM: No, again, for me this week, my focus is on this game, the Bills here, today. Things that happen at the end of the season, I can't control those things, so it's all about the Bills.

Q: I understand where you're coming from on that, I appreciate the answer, but there's obviously been a lot of speculation recently about your future. By that answer, you don't necessarily squash the…

JM: Well, I'm not trying to squash anything. I'm trying to let you know where my focus is, and it's on the Bills. I understand the question.

Q: You mentioned Josh Allen's dual threat ability. Kyler Murray obviously, another guy with a similar skill set. How do you feel like you guys defended him in that respect?

JM: Well, as far as keeping Kyler in the pocket, I would say overall it was a decent job. These are two different beasts that you're talking about, the difference between Kyler Murray and Josh Allen. Kyler, definitely a quicker guy, can do a lot of different things with his legs. Josh Allen, overall, I would say is a stronger guy and one of the top quarterbacks in the league.

Q: Historically, the Patriots have had one of the best defenses, certainly when you played and coached here, and that really hasn't been the case this year. If you had to boil it down, what is the reason for some of the play declining?

JM: Look, I don't want to get into the players or anything like that, we just have to play better and execute better. That's what it comes down to.

Q: Jerod, you said something Sunday that stuck with me. You said accountability is about going out and correcting it, about action. Some of the players, to my thinking, are making the same mistakes. How do you create accountability with the players? Do you not play them? How do you create that accountability so that the mistakes don't happen again?

JM: Yeah, I think you would always love to be able to, 'a guy makes a mistake, you pull him to the sideline and go on from there.' You would love to do those things. I would say we're not in that position right now. Look, I think each individual situation that you're talking about is different. A post-snap penalty versus a pre-snap penalty, at least in my mind, is different in how you handle those things. That's how I go about it.

Q: Jerod, how would you say, as the season's gone on, the players have responded to your coaching style? It's different than what's been here...

JM: It is different. I think those guys, they go out there and they play hard every day. I'm not trying to offer a consolation prize because it comes down to wins and losses, which we haven't won many games this year. That's no secret. I do think the guys go out every single day and practice hard and try to squeeze as much as we can out of those guys to go out there and perform on Sunday.

Q: Do you feel like your message is reaching the team in a way that you would want them to reach the team?

JM: Yeah, I do. I would also say, historically, no matter if you play in high school, college, whatever, you have a conversation with the captains. You have a conversation with the team. The captains have to disseminate that message. We're professional reminders. That's what we are.

Q: Jerod, do you feel that you and the team have established an identity yet, or is that still something that you're working to map out?

JM: Yeah, I understand the question 100%. What I would say is we are what our record says we are at this point in time. We've just got to get better.

Q: Jerod, where do you see the similarities between your quarterback and Josh Allen, the quarterback you're preparing for this weekend?

JM: Well, one is the MVP of the league, and the other is a rookie quarterback. I'm not trying to be smart. I don't want to get into a comparison and comparing those two players. They both offer the ability to run and the ability to throw the ball down the field. In saying that, Josh being a veteran quarterback is a difficult challenge.

Q: Coach, on James Conner's 53-yard run, you mentioned that there were a couple of defenders you would have expected to make the tackle that didn't. I'm curious, when it comes to the safety and linebacker play, have they been meeting your expectations? And if not, where would you like to see those guys improve?

JM: Yeah, they definitely have to improve. I would say all phases have to improve. Coaching has to improve. The expectation is always when you go into a game, you've got to go out there and play with good fundamentals, and tackling falls in that bucket.

Q: Jerod, we saw some issues with the offensive line this weekend. Do you envision any changes with the starting group this week?

JM: We'll see how practice goes today. Again, we're always trying to put the best guys out there that give us the best opportunity to win.

Q: Jerod, as you mentioned, you alluded to the running backs and passing game with tight ends for Buffalo. They've been very productive. There are other games where Allen can throw the ball to different receivers and a lot of targets, lot of protection, part of the skill set there. What have you seen in his growth and the evolution of their offense from when you first coached against him?

JM: For me, I always say, and I told the coaches this, I thought Josh Allen really took a huge step forward when he started taking the profit and being able to take the check down. That was the point, at least in my mind, when he became a very, very good quarterback in this league.

Q: Jerod, I know this is three years ago, but it felt like he started to get a real handle in 2021. You guys threw a ton at him. You faced him three times. What do you remember about spinning the dials as much as possible and him having the answers?

JM: Yeah, I mean, look, just what I said earlier, it was more about him just taking the profit. Early in his career, because he does have a big arm, he does have athletic ability to run around. He was always trying to make the big play. I thought the evolution of Josh Allen was when he took the profit.

Q: Jerod, when you took over the job, there was a lot of discussion about the word collaboration. As you've gone through this first year here, how have you gone about asserting what it is that you want to do when you've, for lack of a better term, had the hammer and made it very clear what you want?

JM: To me, collaboration doesn't mean that everyone has equal vote. It's about just listening and trying to do what's best. Ultimately that's on me to do what's best for the football team.

QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

PRESS CONFERENCE
December 18, 2024

Q: Drake, kind of a thought on heading to Buffalo. What's the coldest game you've played in, experience wise, coming into your career? And then just the opportunity with the marquee matchup; they moved the time up to 4:25, having an opportunity in Buffalo.

DM: Yeah, I think, first off, we heard about the atmosphere, and what a cool place to play. I'm sure it'll be a challenge for us, getting the snap count going with the crowd level and kind of getting our communication. We always talk about operation with AVP [Alex Van Pelt], getting that, studying that up and working on it all week. So, that's an emphasis for us this week, but also an opportunity with a division opponent. I think they're having a great season, so a chance for us to get a good challenge. The coldest environment I've probably played in is back in North Carolina, probably low 20s, maybe teens. It gets cold back home, it does, and it gets real hot, too. So, we kind of get both worlds back home. But yeah, it'll definitely be different. I think it gets – obviously, cold weather games here up in Boston, but different for me. I'm excited to probably wear long sleeves for the first time and kind of embrace it.

Q: Did you plan on going to the North Carolina bowl game at Fenway, and now are you a little disappointed that you can't go now that the game has been changed to Saturday?

DM: No doubt. It is disappointing. I think we probably would have been over here. I think it was an early game start. I think it was – yeah, 11 o'clock in the morning. We're over here on Saturdays, usually until about noon. So, I would have probably been late for the second half or something. You can't control when our game gets moved to, but definitely a bummer I won't be able to check out my guys.

Q: Drake, the opponent this Sunday, Josh Allen, how much of him have you watched growing up? How much have you really – is he someone that you've kind of looked up to as you've grown up?

DM: Yeah, what a special player. He's playing at a really high level. It's been fun to watch some of his highlights in some of the games. They've got a lot of prime time games, so anytime Josh is on, I'm a big fan of his, a big fan of his game. I got to meet him a couple times throughout my time just crossing paths, and he's an awesome dude. He's a great player, and what he's done for Buffalo and how they embrace him is pretty cool and pretty admirable.

Q: How do you personally feel about some of the comparisons that have been drawn between your game and Josh's game?

DM: I think I've got a long way to go. What a player he is, playing at an MVP level. I think the biggest thing is just the progression he's made. I think what he dealt with, whether coming out of college or his first years here, I feel like everybody was just kind of not giving him the credit he deserved. Now, you can see kind of the full fruition of what he's doing and the level he's playing at. Just, like I said, fun to watch, and I think I've got a long way to go to get to anywhere close to playing at his level.

Q: Drake, there's some questions about your head coach's job security at this point in the season. First of all, I wanted to get your take on that, and maybe what do some of the guys in the locker room feel about what Jerod [Mayo] might be going through right now?

DM: Yeah, it's his first year. His first year coaching, being a head coach, it's a tough challenge. For the New England Patriots, like I said, it's a lot of responsibility being the quarterback, same as head coach. It's a lot of responsibility. He's figuring it out, and I think our players, we're behind him. We're backing him. We trust the plan he's got for us, and we trust what he says in the team meeting rooms and all those little sayings that he has. We believe in it, and we're bought into it. I just think the results are coming. I think they're coming. I think everybody wishes they were now, and I think we're kind of striving for that. But sometimes, it doesn't work out that way. But I think we're overcoming, and the winning is coming in the near future.

Q: Do you feel the same way about Alex Van Pelt? I imagine that's -

DM: Oh, 100%. I spoke on AVP – I think I was on the radio show about AVP – just what he's done for my development and just a quarterback-friendly offensive coordinator. I think you want that in that room. He [isn't] easy on anybody; he'll coach you up, he'll coach you hard. He'll let you know when my part of the job or my part of the play is not done right. He'll let you know. He'll be the first one to let me know, but the first one to pump me up. So, he's been awesome and huge for me. Him and T.C. [McCartney] both have been awesome, and I can't say enough about those guys.

Q: With Jerod, what have you noticed about his coaching style this season, now that we're kind of toward the end of the season? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

DM: Yeah, he's a player's coach. He gets it; he played. He knows how to take care of us and take care of our bodies and knows what it's like to, shoot, get injured and play through it, or have to do a lift on a Friday, two days before a game, and you've got to get through it and get through it for just your body and the rest of the season. So, Coach Mayo is – I think that first one was special for him, that first week – and I think since that point on, I think we've just had some things, some little focus things and a few plays that haven't gone our way. But we've been in a lot of games. We always talk about one-score games. We've got to finish better in those critical moments. Situational football, he always preaches. He's big into that of playing better and playing complementary. I think turnovers, me protecting the football and us getting more turnovers would help. So, I think there's a lot of things that go into it, but with Coach Mayo's coaching style, it's been player-friendly, and I appreciate what he's done for still kind of bringing me aside and kind of coaching the quarterback. I think that's pretty cool for a head coach to do, especially a defensive head coach. So, that's been cool for me.

Q: Drake, Jerod was just telling us about how he saw Josh develop, and he thought Josh's evolution was kind of keyed by this idea of just taking the profit. Like, pass up the bucket; you can take the completion. Where would you put yourself in that part of your development, taking a profit, being patient in what the defense gives you?

DM: I think I've been trying to work on that each and every week as I go on. I think last week was a good testament. At some point, you need to take a shot, though, to keep the defense kind of honest. So, I just try to take what they give me. I think AVP and those offensive guys have done a good job of finding easy completions for me. I think a lot of underneath stuff and letting our guys get the ball and run with it. So, I think that's been a huge process for me. Kind of the deeper stuff, I kind of get fooled into taking the deep shot or taking the intermediate shot. I feel like I've done a better job of checking it down or taking the completion. As the year goes on, I think you find that, and trying to find more completions and realize just a completion sometimes is the best play, whether it's a 2-yard gain or a 3-yard gain. I think that gets us better in third-down scenarios where we've been struggling. So, I think that's a big part of me, of my game is figuring out when the time is to do that and when the time is to maybe push the ball down the field.

Q: Drake, is it tough for everyone to stay motivated through these last three games when you know that there's no playoffs or anything at stake?

DM: I wouldn't say so. I think the biggest thing is it's another chance to play in the NFL, play on Sundays, and we're playing great opponents that will have some more games down the road. We're getting a chance to play against a playoff-level team and really see what it's like to, 'Hey, these guys are there and where we want to be at.' It kind of gives us a level of, 'Hey, who can make plays for us in these moments?' and it checks the gas tank for ourselves, where we're at and what we're building on. So, it's a good test for us, a big test. We're going to have a lot of games, hopefully, in Buffalo and with this team in the future, so I think it's an awesome opportunity.