TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo Pre-Training Camp Press Conference 7/23
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Here’s the full transcript of what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had to say on Tuesday, July 23, 2024:
On if everyone has reported:
“Everyone’s here. Everyone’s here. Happy about that. These guys are ready to rock. It’s a good thing.”
On the early part of camp, if it’s about judging where guys are relative to where they were when they left:
“Yeah. The first three to five days is really about seeing what these guys have done during the last four or five weeks when they weren’t here. I would also say to see what they retained from a mental aspect of some of the scheme things that we talked about earlier.”
[Someone’s phone starts making noise]
“Whose phone is that? It’s all good. You know what happens in the squad room? And this is even when I was a player. Phones would go off sometimes and everyone would just start coughing. You know what I mean? I guess that’s team camaraderie. None of you guys care about each other. You guys need to have some camaraderie. You guys need to have some camaraderie as a media group.”
On the fact he said every player reported, and whether or not that included Davon Godchaux and Matthew Judon, who both expressed levels of displeasure about their situation and how the relationship is with the team:
“Look, the relationship is still good, at least from my perspective. I know their teammates definitely respect them. Those are valuable pieces of this organization, and they’ve done a lot for us. And hopefully, we can get something done, and those guys are here. I want them here. I think Eliot wants them here. The team wants them here. There is a business aspect to everything, though.”
On this being his first year as a head coach and if there’s anything he looked at where he didn’t realize, as a head coach, he had to do that:
“I mean, there are a few things from a scheduling standpoint. But honestly, it’s been great having a bunch of new coaches in here that I can lean on. And obviously, the coaches that we’ve had in the past that are still here, there really wasn’t anything just huge like that where I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s different.’ But it’s been good.”
On if he anticipates both Godchaux and Judon practicing, or if they’ll both ‘hold in’:
“Yeah. It’s always the expectation. If you’re here, you’re going to go out there and practice, and you’re going to compete. That’s what it’s all about.”
On if it feels like something will have to get done to keep them here:
“Look, this is their first day back. All right. So this is probably a question for tomorrow. At the same time, I’ll reiterate, we want those guys here, and we’re going to do everything possible to keep those guys. And I think it’s good for the organization, and hopefully it works out.”
On any clarification with quarterback on who might be the starter and who might be the number two:
“Coming out of the spring, I don’t think there’s any doubt. Jacoby [Brissett] is the starting quarterback at this point in time. We can look at these other quarterbacks on the roster. At the same time, it’s about competition. And so when we get out on the field this summer with the pads on, we’ll see how it all plays out. But coming out of the spring, I think it’s clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have and played a lot of football.”
On if they plan on whittling down the quarterback depth and if they’ll carry four quarterbacks:
“Look, it’s always a conversation about, ‘Do we move this person here? Do we move that person there?’ We’re always going to take the mindset of we’re going to do what’s best for the organization, and we’re going to try to get those guys to go out there and get reps so they can compete. I don’t know if that means four or three. Honestly, right now, we have four quarterbacks, and those guys will go out there and practice today.”
On what his overarching message is to the team when he stands up in front of the team room:
“The overarching message, I would say, is about competition. It’s about competition, and it’s also about building camaraderie and knowing what to do. Look, I’ve learned a lot of principles here, obviously, from Bill [Belichick], and being tough, smart, and dependable is definitely something that I definitely think makes a good team. That’s still part of my message to the rest of the guys, but when it’s all said and done, it’s about competition and going out there beating the man across from you.”
On what opportunities he sees for some of the undrafted guys and some of the guys who may not be “household-linked”:
“Look, we’re no longer bound by, for the most part, the time rule we had in the spring. So there’ll be enough reps for everyone. I will say it’s not about the amount of reps, it’s the quality of reps. If you’re undrafted, and I had this talk with the rookies the other day, it’s the same thing in college. Everyone’s seeing the five-star flop, and everyone’s seeing the guy with no stars become a starter in college. It’s just the exact same thing right here. It doesn’t matter how you got here. It’s what you do with your opportunities.”
On if there’s anyone who’s stood out to him from earlier:
“Yeah. Honestly, it’s kind of tough. They didn’t really do much. We didn’t know what they actually were going to do at home because they are rookies. It ended up being almost like a phase two day where a lot of agilities and going back to the evaluation process, seeing how these guys came back from the break. We’ll see once we get out here and really compete.”
On how he came to the decision of the 11:00am start time for practice:
“For me, I thought it was important that we had adequate meeting time in the morning before we touch the field. And honestly, I think the guys appreciate that. They want to make sure that they tighten all the screws and know exactly what to do on the field so their athleticism could take over. That was the mindset. And so when you have those earlier practices – look, we’re in New England, we’re not in New Orleans or anything like that – But when you look at those earlier practices, it just takes a lot of time the night before, and you don’t know if those guys really retain it the next day. And so I wanted to give those guys the opportunity to kind of brush up before they went on the field.”
On if he has a sense of where he wants Mike Onwenu to play initially:
“Yeah, I’ve had this conversation with AVP [Alex Van Pelt]. I’ve also talked to Mike and the rest of those offensive linemen. Look, we’re going to put the best five players out there on the field as an offensive line. If that means you got to play guard or play tackle, I don’t know. And we’ll see it, and it’ll play itself out in camp. But that’s my mindset. It’s about putting the best players on the field.”
On if they’re starting out with Chukwuma Okorafor at tackle, and if that’s an open competition:
“Well, I would say right now, based on just the time he’s been in the league alone, he’s going to start there. But once again, my mentality and our offensive mentality is to put the five best guys out there on the field. We’ll see how it plays out.”
On if he expects Kendrick Bourne to be able to practice:
“Those guys are going to go out here and run here in a second, so we’ll evaluate that. He’s been progressing, and we’ll see what it looks like.”
On the goal for this team being to have a successful season and what he feels that looks like:
“Yeah, successful season, in my eyes, is really about the foundation. Have we put together a good foundation of a combination of young and older players to really start competing? And honestly, it would be great to get up here and say, ‘Look, we’re going to win a Super Bowl,’ but once again, it’s about the process. And I tell the guys all the time it’s about process and progress and moving forward.”
On when he looks at that foundation, what specifically that looks like:
“It looks like a winning football team. It looks like a tough, smart, dependable football team.”
On the fact he can’t mention the name of another player on another team under contract, but if the Patriots are interested in investigating another wide receiver?
“We’re always interested in getting the best players on our team. Now, whatever that looks like, look, we’re third on the waiver wire as well. There’ll be some quality players that get released for various reasons, and we’ll have an opportunity to continue to improve our roster. So if you’re going to sit there and ask me, ‘Will we take a good player no matter what position?’ Absolutely. Absolutely. If it helps us get better. Not only today, but also in the future.”
On getting back to the later start times …
“That’s like a Civil War.”
On the fact it can still get hot here and if it’s a 95° day, they have to adjust and if they’ve had discussions to practice safely:
“I mean, it’s all about, we talk about hydration, and we take various measures all the time. We’ll have the ice box outside, and we always have people tracking real-time data throughout practice. And honestly, it’s my job. If those guys end up looking like they’re about to die, it’s no problem in cutting practice. It’s no problem. I will say this, practice won’t be two hours every single day or two and a half hours every single day. I believe in kind of undulating the practice schedule, continuing to confuse the body. And really, look, we’ll have an hour and 30 minute practice, but it’s going to be high-intensity. Or we may have a two hour and 10 minute practice where there will be some, not, slower periods in those. I think it’s important to do that and change it up, to break up the monotony a little bit.”
On where Cole Strange is at:
“Yeah, He’s been in here every day. I don’t even think he really took a break. He’s trying to get out there on the field, and I appreciate it. I’m not exactly sure what that looks like. We’ll see how he progresses going forward.”
On competition and if he envisions a scenario where Drake Maye breaks through and becomes the opening day starter:
“Look, and this goes to any position, if he comes out here and he lights it up, and once again, it goes back to the quality of reps, it could absolutely happen. I sit here and tell you, coming out of the spring, Jacoby looks like the starting quarterback. Now, with that being said, he’ll have competition. Let’s not forget about even Joe Milton. Let’s not forget about [Bailey] Zappe. All those guys will have opportunities to go out there and be the starting quarterback in week one.”
On whether he’s putting them in a protective bubble:
“Not at all. I think this is… I mean, you’ve seen that work in the past, right? You look at other quarterbacks, the Green Bay quarterbacks, where they had a lot of time to… I don’t know if I was allowed to say his name, but I got it. But you look at those situations, and they were able to sit back. There are also been situations where a guy comes right in right now and he balls out. We’ll see what happens when we get out here on the field.”
On what the standard is as they evaluate him, whether he has to be better than Jacoby, if the offensive line has to be at a certain spot, and what they’re watching:
“To me, it goes back to the same word, and it’s competition. It’s not about everyone else. It’s about, ‘Does this guy go out there and perform better than Jacoby, no matter who we’re talking about?’ And so that’s the way I kind of see it.”
On with two rookie quarterbacks who probably can use as how many reps as they can get, if it makes sense to carry four quarterbacks throughout the day:
“I would say, when we talk about reps, in this room, at least, we’re always talking about on the field. We have various walkthroughs and tools that we can use where guys can get these reps. I know it sounds crazy, but even our virtual reality thing that we already… I think we talked about that in the spring, that’s another way that guys are able to steal reps. Maybe a guy gets 20 reps on this day, the next day, he gets two reps. That’s why I always tell you guys to be very careful when you start to put together the depth charts and who gets cut and all that stuff. Because honestly, I don’t even know at this point in time, because once again, it goes back to competing, not only on the field, but also off the field in the classroom, and those things are important.”
On when it comes to competition and reps, from his perspective, how he balances having the veterans in there who keep things on schedule:
“No, absolutely. And they have to learn through those mistakes. I would say for a young player, just don’t be a repeat-error guy. I should say for all of our players. But you will have the opportunity to go out there and perform. Now, looking at some of the veteran players on the roster, realistically, they’re not going to be out there 90 % of the snaps at 11:30 or noon. That’s not what it is. And so those young guys will have an opportunity to really show what they have. There are players on this team that we have confidence in. These are professional football players. Look at [Kyle] Dugger, [Jabril] Pepper[s], Godchaux, Judon, [Ja’Waun] Bentley, all those guys that played a lot of football in this league. And so the young guys are going to have an opportunity to go out there and play as we, I don’t want to say, manage the older guys, but at the same time, we know kind of what they can do. Now, in saying that, you have to continue to evaluate these guys on a day-to-day basis, no matter, rookie, 10-year vet, or whatever.”
On as a rookie head coach if he goes by the ‘Don’t be a repeat offender?’
“Absolutely. Look, Stacey [James] got on me already about some things I said, so I’m trying to do the right thing, Stacey [looks at Stacey James]. No, in all seriousness, though, it is about, look, I’m not going to sit up here and act like I have all the answers. And once again, there are people in my circle, I have a personal board that I lean on those individuals for guidance, and look, I am going to make mistakes. I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m just the most perfect guy. I will make mistakes, and I will learn from those mistakes because I am not a repeat offender type of person.”
On if he’s heard from the league on the Kayshon Boutte situation:
“I have not. I think he’s past it, but that’s more of an Eliot question. He handles that stuff.”
On what the goal is for Drake Maye and what he hopes he takes out of this training camp:
“The goal for Drake is just to get better each and every day. And look, it’s not a straight line up to the top. There will be ups and downs. But if you look left to right, you just hope that if he started here, he’s here. And once again, if he comes out here and he takes full advantage and lights it up, he could be the day-one quarterback. But like I said, coming out of the spring, I think it’s Jacoby.”
On the practice approach and how much of that will be informed by sports science:
“Yeah, a lot of that… We talked about that stuff in the spring. Actually, before we got out of here, we went through each and every day now, knowing that some of that stuff can change, whether it’s weather or wear and tear on the body. But we have a great sports performance staff. It’s led by Jim Whalen and his team, who is our head trainer, but he really sits on top of that stuff. But we have a lot of… We take opinions, obviously, from the weight room staff, and then we have some people on the back end. I don’t want to get into names on who those sports scientists are. Did we already put out the book? We got to put out the book. You’ll see who it is.”
On the joint practices:
“For me, we’ve had years where we had two teams that we had the joint practices against. I will say this, the team that we’ll have the joint practice with, we’re excited. It’s a good football team. It’s something that we use as a measuring stick. One thing I would say with the joint practice is, usually if it’s two days, that day two gets chippy. For me, it’s like, let’s go out here and let’s have a quality practice, one quality practice, and then we’ll play them in the game. Now, one thing I will say that we’re still on the fence or thinking about is how we even approach the preseason in general. We will practice against Philly that one day, now it’s, do we play the starters? How long do we play them? Then even going into game three, where that’s our only rehearsal for a road trip, and that’s going to be a lot of learning for myself as well. But it’s like, how much do you actually play the guys that you almost feel pretty confident that they’re going to make the roster? So, those conversations are still going on.”
On if he can you comment on employing Evan Rothstein as a strategist:
“Yeah. Once again, we can talk about titles, but he has been doing this role since he’s been here. When you talk about from a situational standpoint, game management standpoint. And so he has the title. He’ll help me think through those things. But ultimately, and you guys should remember this, ultimately, I have to make the decision. And so if it’s a bad decision, feel free to rip me and not Evan Rothstein. All right?
On if seeing some of the rookies like Javon Baker miss time during the spring and if they’re good to go:
“Ready to go. Ready to go.”
On if he has a message to the fans:
“Yeah. My message to the fans is it’s all about winning football games. That’s what it comes down to. It comes down to winning football games. No matter what the expectation is from everyone outside this building, we’re going to go work each and every day and we’re going to get better. We’re going to put a good product, a good team out there on the field that you’ll be proud of. Now, whether that’s tomorrow or next year, I don’t know. But I will say that this team, I like the way they’re coming together.”
On the fact Eliot Wolf talked about prioritizing young guys playing, and if that’s an emphasis with the roster construction and the practice reps moving into the regular season:
“Yeah, absolutely. You always want to have those young players out there getting the majority of the reps. Now, in saying that, we have a lot of good veteran players out here on our team. And I don’t want to go back to this word, but it’s about competition. That’s the word of the day. That’s the word of camp. It’s about competition no matter who you are.”
On how they create an environment that is maximum conducive to evaluation and how they make sure they know what they have in those young guys as a club:
“Yeah. I mean, look, that’s for the coaches to sit in a room and evaluate their individual room and also evaluate their side of the ball. And also, with Eliot and his staff, we’ll come together and do that stuff.”
On the fact it’s difficult to play rookies all at one time:
“I don’t think you can just put all the rookies out there at one time. You have to have someone out there… we’ll mix and match. And once again, it’ll go back to what I talked about earlier. We’ll mix and match, old, young, playing experience, non-playing experience, because I do think it’s important. It’s a huge difference if [Dont’a] Hightower is out there running the huddle and a rookie is out there running the huddle. And oftentimes we sit there and say, ‘Well, this guy’s not a good player.’ But honestly, well, maybe if this young guy didn’t have to run the huddle and could just listen and get a call, he could be a performer.”
“And there are players in the league … there are veteran players in the league that if you ask them to do certain things, it’s just a different type of player. Our job as coaches is to make the scheme very digestible, I guess, to make the scheme easy enough that these guys can go out there and understand what to do no matter who you are. And it’s the player’s responsibility and also the coach’s responsibility to make sure that we’re teaching these guys and they know what to do so their athleticism can take over, and it could be a proper evaluation. Now, not knowing what to do, that’s a terrible excuse not to make a team.”
On if day one still entails a conditioning test:
“Yeah. So it’s part of the physical. Part of the physical is those guys going out there and running. So it’s always going to be here. The conditioning test will always be here. ”
“Thanks. Appreciate it, guys.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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