New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo didn’t mince with his words when discussing his team’s performance during the 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London Sunday, calling the group a “soft football team across the board.”
“I felt like we just went out there and played soft,” he told reporters. “We’re playing soft at the moment. Now in saying that, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? One hundred percent. But that comes through hard work and getting better each and every day.”
On Monday, former head coach and ESPN analyst Bill Belichick said he felt bad for the team’s defensive players in particular during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Last season, the Patriots allowed 3.3 yards per rush attempt, tops in the NFL as Belichick noted. This season that number is up to 4.6 yards allowed per carry, tied for seventh-most in the league.
Mayo clarified his use of “soft” on WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” on Monday, saying that the team’s play was soft, not the players.
- “Let me just go ahead and correct that. We’re playing soft, OK?” Mayo said. “Because if you look at the first — going back to training camp, there was definitely some toughness all around the place and we still had the same players and we just got to play that way.”
The Patriots (1-6) will host the New York Jets on Sunday at Gillette Stadium
