Jerod Mayo – The Patriots played softly, but he believes they can turn things around

Jerod Mayo reiterated his comments Monday about his New England Patriots being a “soft football team across the board” and said he believes the players have what it takes to turn things around.

“I felt like we just went out there and played softly. We're playing soft at the moment,” Mayo said of his comments after the team's 32-16 loss to the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. “When I say this now, do I believe we have the people who can turn this ship around?

Mayo said in his first season as coach that he measures a team's strength by how it stops the run, runs the ball and covers kicks. On Sunday against the Jaguars, the Patriots gave up 171 rushing yards, ran for 38 yards and gave up a punt return of 96 yards for a touchdown.

Several players agreed with Mayo's assessment and said he told them about it in the locker room after the game before sharing his comments with reporters. At the same time, frustration was palpable among some players in the locker room after Sunday's loss, the team's sixth straight after a 16-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the first week of the season.

Mayo, who played linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, has described some of his coaching style as “demanding without being demeaning.” On Monday, he was asked if his belief in that philosophy had been shaken by the team's struggles.

“It’s in my DNA. Again, a lot of this stuff is about relationships and treating people as human beings. That doesn't mean we're out there gently training these guys. I think the coaches are doing a good job coaching them hard,” he said Monday.

“Obviously if we were sitting there at 6-1 it would be easy to continue to spread that message. But at 1-6, I think it's a natural question: 'Should we change our coaching style?' I just think we need to continue to work hard and continue to push the players to do well on the field.”

The inability to stop the run has been an issue for the team in each of the last five games, with opponents averaging 167.4 yards per game over that stretch. The absence of defensive tackle Christian Barmore (blood clot), linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (torn biceps) and safety Jabrill Peppers (commissioner's exempt list) was a factor, but players have preached a next man up mentality.

On offense, the team has started seven configurations on the offensive line due to injuries and ineffective play. That seems to have affected the running game the most over the last two weeks, making the Patriots one-dimensional with rookie quarterback Drake Maye and the passing game.

Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, has been one of the bright spots in the team's recent struggles. He was 26 of 37 for 267 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday.

“He’s definitely playing at a good level for us,” Mayo said.

Bill Belichick shared his opinion on Mayo during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” saying the Patriots played “soft” against the Jaguars. His words carry a little more weight — and perhaps a personal touch for his former assistant — since he was referring to the 2023 Patriots when he was the team's head coach.

“Defensively, the Patriots led the league in rushing defense (yards per carry) last year. Number one in the league,” Belichick said. “This year they are somewhere way down in the 20s. It's a lot of the same people. They re-signed (Anfernee) Jennings. They re-signed (Jahlani) Tavai. They obviously re-signed (Kyle) Dugger,” right? Marcus Jones and (Christian) Gonzalez were healthy all year, but they were both on IR last year. You have (Deatrich) Wise, you have (Davon) Godchaux, you have (. Marte) Mapu. It's a lot of the same players and in some cases I would say more.

“These guys kind of hurt me because to call them soft – they’re not soft. They were the best team in the league against the run last year. Those guys went out there and did it even though it was us. “I couldn’t score a lot of points on offense. I feel bad for the defensive players because these guys are all strong players. “