Did Jerod Mayo call out his offensive coaches after Patriots' loss to Cardinals?
BOSTON -- Throughout his first season as head coach of the New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo has said some things that he's later had to take back. Come Monday, Mayo will likely be walking back some interesting comments that he made following New England's 30-17 loss to the Cardinals in Week 15.
It certainly sounds like Mayo called out New England's offensive coaches -- mainly offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt -- after the team failed to convert on a third- and fourth-and-1 deep in Arizona territory in a key moment of Sunday's defeat.
The Patriots were down 16-3 when they got the ball for the first time in the second half, and marched down to the Arizona 4-yard line. Facing a third-and-1, the Patriots dialed up a run for Antonio Gibson up the middle. He was stuffed for no gain.
The Patriots offense remained on the field for fourth-and-1, but like Gibson, Rhamondre Stevenson was stuffed at the line and New England didn't get any points out of the possession.
Given the running abilities of rookie quarterback Drake Maye -- who is a 6-foot-4 tank and has used his legs to make a number of plays this season -- Mayo was asked if there was any consideration toward giving the quarterback a chance to pick up that one, very important yard.
Mayo's response was, to say the least, interesting, and will certainly drum up some more drama around a team that is now 3-11 on the season.
Mayo's odd comment about not giving Maye a chance on fourth-and-1
NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry brought up Maye's ability to pick up yards with his leg when he asked Mayo about potentially giving the quarterback a carry in that situation.
"You said it. I didn't," Mayo responded.
It certainly sounds like Mayo wanted to see a Maye attempt in that situation, but Van Pelt didn't. Mayo was outright asked two questions later if it was Van Pelt's decision not to run Maye in that situation.
"It's always my decision," said Mayo. "I would say, look, the quarterback obviously has a good pair of legs and does a good job running the ball. We just chose not to do it there."
It sounds like Mayo, who was frustrated after the team's fourth straight loss, realized he said something that he probably shouldn't have and he quickly went into damage control. He'll likely be doing more of that when he chats with reporters again on Monday.
But the genie is out of the bottle, and Mayo won't be able to put it back in. This paints a picture of the dysfunction on the sideline and in the coaches room, and the frustration is only mounting as the losses continue to pile up for New England.
Those comments are inviting even more dysfunction and drama to surround the Patriots throughout the upcoming week. But it sounds like this is something that has been building for a while, and is now starting to boil over.
Maye would have liked to have gotten a shot on fourth-and-1
Patriots fans are used to seeing their quarterback move the chains in that scenario, as Tom Brady was roughly 99.99 percent successful on his quarterback sneaks throughout his Hall of Fame run in New England.
The Patriots have been extra cautious with Maye throughout his rookie season, and don't dial up designed runs for the quarterback. That felt like their approach with Maye even before he suffered a concussion in Week 8 against the New York Jets, and it continues despite his success on the ground.
Maye has shown that he's pretty good at doing some damage with his legs, with 359 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. His craftiness led to an incredible shovel-pass touchdown in the fourth quarter, and he scampered for a five-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the loss.
While it's understandable that Van Pelt wouldn't want to get his QB hurt by calling a keeper in that spot -- which was no guarantee to work given the state of the New England offensive line -- Maye would like to have an opportunity to make it happen.
"I was a good quarterback sneaker in college," Maye said after the loss. "There may be a conversation for that."