12 hours Ago
Bill Belichick and current New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo go back a long way. Mayo played for Belichick in New England for eight seasons, coached under him for five more and then took over the reins of the team after Belichick left following the 2023 season. Therefore, you knew Belichick would take notice of Mayo calling the Patriots "soft" following yesterday's 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The defeat was the sixth in a row for New England, which fell to 1-6 on the season. "We're a soft football team across the board," Mayo said after the game. "We talk about what makes a tough football team, and that's being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run and that's being able to cover kicks.
We did none of those." "The Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year and they still have a lot of those players..
I'm hurt for those guys because they're not soft.. I feel bad for the defensive players because they're all tough players" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.
twitter.com/wVN9ufcNMg During his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" Monday afternoon, Belichick offered a rebuttal of Mayo's assessment, making it clear he took issue with how the first-year head coach characterized his team's supposed lack of toughness. "Defensively, the Patriots led the league last year in rushing defense.
Yards per carry, No. 1 in the league. This year, they're way down in the 20s somewhere.
It's a lot of the same guys," Belichick said . "I'm kind of hurt for those guys, because to call them soft, they're not soft," Belichick added after rattling off the names of several players who were part of last year's roster. "They were the best team in the league last year against the run.
Those guys went out there and did it even though we couldn't score many points offensively. I feel bad for the defensive players on that one, because those guys, that's a tough group." Now, it should be noted that multiple Patriots players, including cornerback Jonathan Jones and linebacker Jahlani Tavai, didn't dispute what Mayo had to say after the game.
Chris Unger/Getty Images "He said it well and we got to look in the mirror and understand what he's saying," Tavai said . "If we're OK being soft, then some people will fall off, and the rest of us who want to prove that wrong will step up and make sure this doesn't happen." Mayo himself also said getting more out of his team "starts with me," so it's not like he abdicated responsibility.
Still, it bears monitoring how this situation continues to play out in the coming weeks, as it looks like the Patriots have a lot more losing left in them this season. Related: Patriots Player Hints He's Leaving Team After Week 7 Loss.
