Bill Belichick pushes back against Jerod Mayo calling Patriots players "soft"
FOXBORO -- Jerod Mayo called his Patriots a "soft football team" after Sunday's disappointing loss to the Jaguars in London. Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick pushed back on that proclamation on Monday.
Mayo highlighted his team's inability to run the ball, defend the run, and defend kick returns on special teams as three areas where they were soft on Sunday. The Jaguars bullied the Patriots for 4.4 yards per carry, and ran for 171 yards in their 32-16 victory at Wembley Stadium. Getting pounded on the ground has been troubling trend for the Patriots, who gave up 192 rushing yards to the Texans in Week 6 while allowing Houston to pick up an absurd 6.9 yards per carry.
The Patriots had nothing going on the ground themselves on Sunday, with just 38 rushing yards overall. The team averaged just 2.5 yards per carry, which was boosted by rookie quarterback Drake Maye rushing for 18 yards on his three attempts.
And on special teams, the Patriots gave up a 96-yard punt return touchdown to Parker Washington to cap off a 22-point second quarter by the Jaguars. So you can understand Mayo's frustration with the team after their sixth straight loss.
Mayo clarified on Monday morning that he meant the Patriots were playing soft football and not that his players were soft, but the message was pretty clear after Sunday's loss. And to his point, the Patriots have been playing a soft brand of football, which has led to their 1-6 start.
But the guy Mayo replaced on the New England sideline doesn't think the Patriots are soft, and said on Monday that he feels bad for his former players.
Bill Belichick doesn't think Patriots players are "soft"
Belichick coached (and signed) a lot of the players that currently make up the New England defense. So it's no surprise he's come out to defend them.
From his experience, the players on the New England defense are not soft, and Belichick pushed back against Mayo's comments on Monday during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
Belichick recalled that the New England run defense was No. 1 in the league last season, when they allowed just 3.3 yards per carry in his final season on the sideline for the Patriots. This year's team is surrendering 4.6 yards per attempt, which ranks 17th in the NFL.
Belichick noted that the Patriots re-signed Anfernee Jennings, Jahlani Tavai, and Kyle Dugger during the offseason, and this year's defense also has Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones, both of whom were out with season-ending injuries at this point last season.
"It's a lot of the same players and in some cases, I'd say more. I'm kind of hurt for those guys. To call them soft -- they're not soft," Belichick told McAfee. "They were the best team in the league last year against the run, and those guys went out there and did it even through we couldn't score many points offensively.
"I feel bad for the defensive players on that one because that's a tough group; Jon Jones, [Davon] Godchaux, Jennings, Josh Uche. Those are all tough players," Belichick added.
From the sound of it, Belichick is blaming the coaching in New England for the defense taking such a big step back. And as a head coach who always put himself ahead of everyone else when it came to taking the blame for losses and poor play, Belichick clearly doesn't like Mayo calling out players the way that he did Sunday in London.
Belichick hasn't talked much about the Patriots in his various gigs as a talking head, but he felt the need to speak up this week. Considering Belichick brought most of those players that Mayo called soft to New England -- not to mention Mayo has made several comments about the roster he inherited from Belichick being short on talent over the last few weeks -- it's no surprise the former head coach had a lot to say about his former team on this particular Monday.