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New England Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo didn’t hold back when he called the team “soft” after its Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but his predecessor disagreed with his assessment.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during an appearance on Let’s Go! with Jim Gray and Tom Brady that he believes the Patriots’ struggles aren’t solely because of the players.
“Last year, the Patriots led the league in rushing defense yards per carry, No. 1 in the league. This year, they’re 26th or whatever it is. It’s the same players. I don’t think those players on defense are soft, but they haven’t stopped the run very well,” Belichick said.
The Patriots fell to 1-6 with a 32-16 loss to the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. New England opened the game with a 10-0 lead before quickly collapsing. The team totaled just 38 rushing yards while allowing 171 rushing yards by Jacksonville.
“We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said after the loss. “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 also surrendered a 96-yard punt return touchdown in the loss. New England is allowing 136.1 rushing yards per game, a massive leap for a defensive unit that ranked fourth in the NFL in 2023 with 93.2 rushing yards allowed per game.
Mayo doubled down on his comments on Monday but expressed optimism that the team will be able to get back on track.
“I felt like we just went out there and played soft. We’re playing soft at the moment,” Mayo said, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “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.”
Reiss also pointed out that “multiple players agreed with Mayo’s assessment,” and he addressed it with them in the locker room before criticizing the team publicly.
Still, Belichick’s philosophy is that a team’s struggles fall on the coach.
“Ultimately, I always felt like when the team played bad, that was my responsibility,” Belichick said. “We might’ve had bad playing, but we had bad coaching that led to bad playing, so I think it’s always best to take a look at yourself and do what you can do to help the team.”
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