Alex Van Pelt responds to Jerod Mayo's comments, questions about QB runs for Drake Maye

FOXBORO -- New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt took no offense to Jerod Mayo's critical comments regarding the team's offensive play-calling after last week's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. 

Mayo basically threw Van Pelt under the bus following the team's 30-17 loss when questioned why the Patriots didn't call for a Drake Maye sneak when they needed less than a yard deep in Arizona territory.

"You said it, I didn't," Mayo responded, passing the responsibility to Van Pelt.

A head coach making such a comment didn't sit well with Patriots fans and reporters, and Mayo walked it back a bit Monday morning. He said that play-calling falls on him as the head coach and threw his support behind Van Pelt.

New England's OC returned the favor when he got his time in front of reporters on Thursday. Van Pelt said that he didn't even know about Mayo's comments until Monday morning, when the head coach approached him to clear the air.

"I have Jerod's back at all costs," Van Pelt said Thursday. "We have a great relationship and are very communitive. I took no offense to that; I think it was taken out of context, as he said. We have a great relationship."

The two plays that sparked it all happened on New England's first possession of the second half. The Patriots were trailing 16-3 but had marched all the way down to the Arizona 4-yard line. On third-and-1, running back Antonio Gibson was stuffed for no gain. On fourth-and-1, it was Rhamondre Stevenson getting the carry, and he too was stuffed for no gain.

Ven Pelt felt confident that the team was calling the right plays in that situation, but was just as miffed as fans -- and the team's owners -- when they weren't able to execute.

"I know Jonathan [Kraft] was upset. There was no one more pissed off than I was," said Van Pelt. "No bad play-call works. If that play works and we block it up -- we had the right numbers for the right people and it didn't work. In hindsight it's easier to look back and say I wish I did something differently. That's always part of a play-caller's deal after a game. 

"Would I call that play again in that situation? Probably. We needed half a yard; we called that play in the Jets game at the goal line to win it," he said of Stevenson's fourth-and-goal touchdown with 22 seconds left against the Jets in Week 8. "Unfortunately it didn't work out and that was a big swing in that game. We had chance to get back within six points. I thought we moved the ball up and down the field for the most part; it was a strange game in that regard.

"It's tough. If it works it's a non-issue. If it doesn't, you second guess that call," added Van Pelt. "But schematically, we had the right call on. We just didn't get the job done."

Why aren't the Patriots calling more designed runs for Drake Maye?

The big difference between Week 8 and last weekend was that Maye wasn't out there at the end of the win over the Jets, sidelined by a concussion he suffered earlier in the game. But the team has taken an extremely conservative approach with calling designed runs for Maye since he took over at QB, and Van Pelt explained why on Thursday.

He said that the team might call for a Maye run should they see last Sunday's scenario again, but they really want to keep the 22-year-old rookie out of harm's way to close the season.

"I think we can sneak with Drake. He's done it in the past. I'm not fearful of that, but really just focusing on keeping him out of harm's way and getting him through these last three games healthy," he said. "We all feel very confident in his abilities. But at the same time, I'd hate to not lose him and not let him finish out the season by using him in a way that we didn't have to."

Van Pelt admitted that the team would probably be more aggressive with their play-calling -- especially for Maye -- if there was more at stake this season.

"If it's third-and-2 and we're trying to get to a playoff spot, we're going to use every means necessary to get those plays and put our guys in the best position," he said. 

"But again, I've been around the quarterback run game in Cleveland and we lost our quarterback for the year," Van Pelt added, alluding to Deshaun Watson's season-ending injury during the 2023 season. "I know what it entails and there is a big risk that's involved. But if it's a playoff situation or gotta-have-it to win the game, then possibly. But when that comes up, we'll make that determination."

Van Pelt on Jonathan Kraft's viral criticism

Jonathan Kraft went a bit viral on Sunday as the CBS broadcast caught him taking notes after a failed Gibson run (which lost five yards because of some extremely poor blocking) while relaying to his father, Robert Kraft, that the play-calling was "terrible." 

"I understand his frustration," Van Pelt said of Kraft's reaction. "There is nothing that is not frustrating about losing. When you have three wins, those things can happen."

Van Pelt said that he hasn't spoke with the Krafts since Sunday, though he doesn't normally chat with the owners outside of some hallway conversations. But if there's anything they ever want to talk to him about, he's all ears.

"My door's always open. The Krafts, I answer to those guys. If they ever want to talk, my door is open. I've had great conversations with Robert over the course of the season, Mr. Kraft, and it's always been positive," he said.

Alex Van Pelt on Kayshon Boutte's apology

Mayo wasn't the only explaining some post-game comments to Van Pelt earlier this week. Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte was extremely critical of New England's play-calling following Sunday's loss, and apologized to Van Pelt for those comments.

Van Pelt didn't take offense to those comments either.

"That is part of receiver play. It hasn't changed since I played: If Andre Reed didn't get enough catches he'd be upset," Van Pelt said, looking back to his career as a backup QB in Buffalo from 1995-2003. 

Van Pelt said that he and Boutte had a great chat on Monday, and he told the receiver not to hesitate to bring things like that up in-game.

"I reiterated that if he sees something during the game to come to me, don't wait," said Van Pelt. "Had a real positive conversation with him and I'm real excited to see him come back and make plays for us this week."

Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Bills game on WBZ-TV, the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay (which you can also stream on CBS News Boston), kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m., and after the game switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!

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