Has Mayo improved?

[crowell33]

This was the roundtable discussion on Mohegan Sun Sportstonight last night. The prevailing opinion was that Mayo got a pass last season because of the injury issues, but that his play this year is not much better. Everyone on the panel agreed that he was a "solid" player, but that the early hopes that he would become the next Ray Lewis or even Patrick Willis have dimmed.

Agree or Disagree ?

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He's been pretty invisible the last two weeks.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Who thought Mayo was going to turn into Ray Lewis or Pat Willis?

If anything, he projected as a more Al Wilson type than anything else.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He's been pretty invisible the last two weeks.

He wasn't invisible against the Bengals.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He wasn't invisible against the Bengals.

Didn't notice at all. Chung stole the show.

 

[crowell33]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He's been pretty invisible the last two weeks.

Agreed. Compared to the other linebackers, TBC has applied some pressure in the pass rush ( even seems capable of setting the edge against the run), and Guyton seems talented as a nickel and dime coverage LB, but other than that Mayo's performance to date seems well ahead of Spikes and Ninkovich though, correct ? Or am I wrong ?

 

[SuperPatsFan]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Second on the team with 18 tackles.

Barring injury he's on track for a career high in tackles, as well as his third straight 100+ tackle season.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Didn't notice at all. Chung stole the show.

Interesting that you could miss a player who posted 12 tackles. Oh well.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Interesting that you could miss a player who posted 12 tackles. Oh well.

If I'm not mistaken, at lot of the tackles Mayo had in week 1 were assisted when Chung was already there. Maybe it's just me, but my eyes locked on Chung when he started racking up tackles.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Agreed. Compared to the other linebackers, TBC has applied some pressure in the pass rush ( even seems capable of setting the edge against the run), and Guyton seems talented as a nickel and dime coverage LB, but other than that Mayo's performance to date seems well ahead of Spikes and Ninkovich though, correct ? Or am I wrong ?

We all know that Ninkovich is horrible and once Cunningham starts to make an impact, Ninkovich will be sitting on the sidelines until he is cut.

And I don't know what the hell Spikes was doing in coverage against Keller last weekend.

 

[crowell33]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Second on the team with 18 tackles.

Barring injury he's on track for a career high in tackles, as well as his third straight 100+ tackle season.

This was agreed upon during the Sportstonight round table. What their concern was, he doesn't seem to have any pass rush skills ( Guyton and Spikes appear superior in the pass rush ), in fact it was "Big Plays" in general that seem to be missing.

Facts: He has never had an interception in his career, he averages less than 1 sack per year, he averages less than 1 forced fumble per year, and he makes very few tackles for losses.

He does make a lot of total tackles though. Thus, is he solid, but not great ?

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He does make a lot of total tackles though. Thus, is he solid, but not great ?

Unfortunately, a lot of it has to do with the system. Remember, they read and react, not attack.

Like Merrill Hodge showed last season, if you make the wrong read, you will get engulfed in guards as Mayo did quite a bit last season.

 

[skinnydog]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He does make a lot of total tackles though. Thus, is he solid, but not great ?

At this point he's nothing more than solid. So far very, very few big plays.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Yes, Mayo has improved. He's much stronger in coverage over his struggles last season and as a rookie. He's better as a blitzer from his two previous seasons. He looks good as a pass rusher on the edge. He also looks a little stronger when disengaging from blockers, but I'd like more data samples on that. He's starting to understand the game to where I think his next big progression is going to be as a Field General where he'll be making on-field adjustments more instinctively.

It's absolutely clear that Mayo improved in every facet of his game, some jumps are larger than others, but there's little doubt he's playing at a higher level from his previous two campaigns.

 

[Badluck]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

What comes to mind when i think of mayo was that jets game on thursday night a couple years ago, as a MLB he took over that game, he simply dominated i think thats what people saw to say "man, hes going to be something special" like Ray Lewis or Patrick Willis
hes obviosuly not lived up to that game, so "solid" i think is the best word for him

 

[SuperPatsFan]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

This was agreed upon during the Sportstonight round table. What their concern was, he doesn't seem to have any pass rush skills ( Guyton and Spikes appear superior in the pass rush ), in fact it was "Big Plays" in general that seem to be missing.

Facts: He has never had an interception in his career, he averages less than 1 sack per year, he averages less than 1 forced fumble per year, and he makes very few tackles for losses.

He does make a lot of total tackles though. Thus, is he solid, but not great ?

ILB blitzes are not a significant part of this defense, are they?

Generally, the 0-tech nose and the 2 ILBs are responsible for shutting down runs through the A-gaps, and B-gaps depending on the call. It's not a glamorous role.

Maybe the Pats should play a 43 with Mayo as the Mike so he can get on Sportscenter more often?

ETA: And after the Jets game, every team with a decent tight end is going to look for a matchup against Spikes, so perhaps Mayo's coverage skills won't be significantly tested.

 

[TheComeback]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

We all know that Ninkovich is horrible and once Cunningham starts to make an impact, Ninkovich will be sitting on the sidelines until he is cut.

And I don't know what the hell Spikes was doing in coverage against Keller last weekend.

Spikes wasn't supposed to cover Keller, he just dropped back and tried to when no one else did.

 

[TheComeback]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Yes, Mayo has improved. He's much stronger in coverage over his struggles last season and as a rookie. He's better as a blitzer from his two previous seasons. He looks good as a pass rusher on the edge. He also looks a little stronger when disengaging from blockers, but I'd like more data samples on that. He's starting to understand the game to where I think his next big progression is going to be as a Field General where he'll be making on-field adjustments more instinctively.

It's absolutely clear that Mayo improved in every facet of his game, some jumps are larger than others, but there's little doubt he's playing at a higher level from his previous two campaigns.

Yeah, I agree that he's gotten better, he still hasn't shown the big playmaking ability the defense needs right now. Hopefully that will come with time.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

He needs to do a much, MUCH better job of getting off blocks. Other than that, he's a solid WILB in every other facet of his game. The inability to shed blocks is a huge weakness, though, considering what his responsibilities are in this defense.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Re: Has Mayo improved ?

Interesting that you could miss a player who posted 12 tackles. Oh well.

Simply having 12 tackles does not mean he's playing well. He needs to start making more impactful plays. Stop a player at the line of scrimmage rather than 8 yards downfield. Maybe even throw in a interception or a forced fumble once in a while.