TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo Press Conference 7/26
Mayo confirms Jabrill Peppers extension and more during his media session.
Follow us
Follow Us
🕑 Read Time: 9 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Transcripts
HOME > Patriots Blog > Patriots Transcripts
Here’s the full transcript of what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had to say on Friday, July 26, 2024:
OPENING STATEMENT:
“Look, excited to get back out here. The guys are working hard. I know a lot of times everyone wants to see everyone get better every day, but remember, it’s just not a straight shot to being a good football team. It’s a process, which we have been preaching for a long time. One thing I will say is, and this has been historically, the defense will always be ahead of the offense. The defense will always be ahead of the offense.”
“Now, the offense, obviously, they’re still gelling together. We have a lot of guys on defense that already know the scheme. It’s harder to jump to conclusions. Are these guys going to be good? Are they bad? I don’t know, and I don’t think you guys know either. I don’t even think the coaches out there know. But one thing I will say, it’s about competition, and it’s about getting better each and every day, not only on the field, but also off the field.”
On the fact Field Yates tweeted that the team and Jabrill Peppers are finalizing a three-year extension and if he can confirm that:
“I can confirm it. I’m the head coach. I can confirm it. All right? Hey, I will say this. I’ll confirm it, but I am very happy for Peppers and for his family and also for our team and organization. He really embodies everything that we want on the field. He’s very selfless. He’s out there flying around all the time, and it’s good to get that deal done.”
On how much he enjoys his passion:
“I love it. I love it. I will be honest with you. When he first got here, it was a little bit much for me. A little bit much for me, but I do appreciate it. He brings that passion. He brings that energy each and every day. He’s one of our best communicators on defense along with Dug [Kyle Dugger], and I feel very good about that safety room as a whole.”
On the fact Matthew Judon expressed a level of dissatisfaction with the contract the other day and if he has anything new to add in the wake of what Judon said:
“We’re still kind of working through that stuff. Judon is a huge piece of the puzzle. He’s another guy who brings leadership. He brings, obviously, the playmaking ability, but also just that energy of wanting to go out there and dominate the man across from him. So, hopefully, we will get something done. He understands the business side of it as well. And hopefully, he understands that we really like him. We like him as a player and as a person and want him here.”
On the fact that Davon Godchaux participated in day one and that we didn’t see him until midway through, came up from the backfield, didn’t seem to do anything yesterday and if it’s contract-related:
“No, not at all. It has nothing to do with the contract. He had a little bit of tightness, but he’s another guy who you want to reward the players that embody or encompass what we’re trying to create here from a cultural perspective. And also, at the end of the day, it’s all about wins and losses, and he helps with that.”
On Drake Maye, and the fact there were a couple of times during practice in 7-on-7s where he took off running, and it seemed like a quick decision, and whether he likes that, or if he would prefer him to stand in there, even if it’s going to be like an air sack and just go through his reads and make a throw:
“Yeah. Look, all those guys are taught and told to continue with the play. When you look at the good offenses, take KC, for example, they have what’s on the piece of paper, but a lot of that stuff is just improvisation on the field. Being able to continue that play, you never know what’s going to happen. You could have a free runner, he misses the sack, and now everyone has to get to a spot where you can find him. It’s not just Drake. I would say that entire quarterback room, they operate under the same rules.”
On the offense, how he feels about where they’re at coming back from the summer and picking up where they tried to leave off:
“I feel good. I feel good about it. Obviously, Jacoby [Brissett] leading away there at quarterback. He’s been in this game before, and he’s really displayed a lot of leadership, not only in the quarterback room, but also just amongst the entire offense because he is familiar with the scheme. But I’m happy where they are. They’re out here, they’re working hard, and that’s really all you can ask for. And the progress will continue to go.”
On if he’ll encourage Drake Maye to run and how he feels about it as a head coach, where a guy who’s playing the most important position on the field might be putting himself in harm’s way, but it is one of his strengths:
“To me, especially now early in training camp, it’s really about the progressions. Right? Your reads, you read left or right, or you read the single, those are the most important things. With that being said, as we continue to go, ‘All right, take off and let those guys kind of freestyle.’ There are offenses, like I said earlier, that it’s very tough for a defense when you’re trying to anticipate the route concept or the offensive concept, but then all of a sudden, the quarterback’s outside the pocket. And so those are things that will happen down the line.”
On why Demario Douglas hasn’t participated in team activities and if he can provide details on why that is and his timeline:
“He’s kind of working through something right now, but nothing serious. So day to day.”
On if they’re sticking with the same quarterback rotation:
“Yeah, sticking with the same rotation. I think all those guys are getting good reps, but at the same time, I would say it’s about the quality of the reps, not the actual count. I’ll let you guys count the reps.”
On why we saw Joe Milton taking reps ahead of Bailey Zappe on Thursday, and if that’s part of that and if it will continue:
“Yeah. Look, I won’t say it will continue. Sometimes, maybe you have Joe get more reps, maybe you have Zappie get more reps. The one person I would say is going to get a lot of reps is… Obviously, Jacoby knows the offense, but Drake is going to have an opportunity to go out there and compete. Look, all four of those quarterbacks do have a skillset that we like. We’ll just see how it plays out.”
On what he’s looking for on the offensive line and what the progression is going to be like in his mind as they go forward:
“I’ll just say this with the offensive line, that the best five will play. Now, not going to get into who’s playing guard, who’s playing tackle. But as we continue to go throughout training camp and start to put on the pads, we’re going to put the best five out there.”
On the reasoning behind the new player’s lounge:
“To me, look, this is their place, and that’s their lounge, and that’s their locker room. I think it’s important that you have those spaces. One thing I’ve noticed over the past, let’s say, five years is a lot of times when guys get a break, they just go into their locker and they get on their phone, they’re scrolling through social media, and there’s really no interaction. I thought it was important, I should say, we thought it was important that those guys had a safe space to go. Really, that’s also a time where they build camaraderie. You should see some of the ping-pong games in there or even the PlayStation. We have a PlayStation and Xbox in there as well. But it’s really to bring these guys closer together and have those guys want to be here. These days can be long, but we just thought it would be important for those guys to have that space.”
On who the best ping pong player is:
“I don’t know, because just like I told you, that’s the player space, and I’m a coach, so I don’t go in there. I don’t go I’m doing that. But [Stephen] Gostkowski used to be a great ping-pong player.
On if there’s a coach’s ping-pong table:
“No, we work.”
On the fact before training camp, a bunch of receivers and some quarterbacks got together on their own to do some throwing and if he knew that they were going to do that in their off-time:
“Yeah. I don’t know. They put it together. Obviously, they want to get those extra reps in to make sure everyone’s on the same page. And as they continue to learn and grow throughout the playbook, let me say, then their real true athleticism can start to show. And those reps are important. Once again, I’ll go back to what I say every day is, the reps out here are one thing, but they’re also the mental reps in the classroom, and they’re also those walk-through reps that you spoke about.
On if he likes seeing that happen:
“I love to hear it. I just learned that from you, so I love to hear it.”
On if he pays attention to the Madden ratings when he was a player and if he remembers what his highest was when he was a player:
“I think my highest was like a 91 or something like that? When I was in the 90s, I always bust these guys. They’re like, ‘Oh, man.’ They get so upset when Madden gives them like an 82 or something like that. It’s fun, though, because really, we all grew up wanting to be on that game. We became huge fans of other teams by playing the game. You always want to get the best team. I think it’s fun. I think Madden and EA Sports, they understand, and they’re kind of capitalizing on it a little bit.”
On the fact that in his first time in this role, when he has something like what’s going on with Matthew Judon here, and he’s here talking to the media for almost 10 minutes the other day about his contract, if he worries about how Judon’s concerns might impact others on the team:
“You know, we have a great relationship, but I hate that you use the word disgruntled because I would say he’s out here working every day. His attitude is great in the classroom. His attitude is great on the field. You guys see him flying around here. Obviously, there is a business component to this sport, and he understands that. We want him here. He’s a very good player for us, and he does everything that we want him to do. So hopefully it works out.”
On if it undermines people in leadership positions, whether it’s him or Elliot Wolf, to be talking about it in that way at this point:
“No, look, I’m good with it. I don’t want to put a cap on… If the guy feels a certain type of way, he has that privilege to come out here and tell you guys how he feels. I have to respect it no matter what. At some point in time, there’s going to player that comes up here and says, ‘You know what? I hate Coach Jerod,’ or ‘I hate Mayo.’ And look, that’s how they feel, and I respect that. I know we want to keep as much stuff in-house, but there will be times where they come out here and express themselves, and I think it’s good. They listen to the interview here, and I listen to their interviews as well. I’m not talking to you guys. I’m talking to the players, really. And that’s how I think about it. As the season continues to progress, I want the relationship with the media from the coaches’ perspective, and also from the player’s perspective to be a good relationship. And I’m not saying to write all the positive articles. You write your opinion. That’s what you paid for.”
On the fact Judon said it was easy to get jealous or envious of seeing some of the other players on the team getting new contracts, and if they were cognizant of that during the offseason when deciding who to pay in the locker room:
“Honestly, he’s entitled to feel that way. And once again, we always talk about checking the ego at the door and things like that, but they wouldn’t even be here without some type of ego. And so I understand where he’s coming from there. At the same time, we’re going to do what’s best for the organization and really what’s best for the players, too.”
On the fact we saw Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez taking some reps during wide receiver drills yesterday and if that’s a plan going into the season:
“That’s too early to tell right now. What I will say is the fundamental of catching the ball, whether you play offense or defense, is something that those guys will continuously work on.”
On when it comes to the offensive line, players have just harped on consistency and chemistry being next to the same guy and how they balance that as a coaching staff while also creating competition:
“Yeah, as we continue to progress through camp, obviously, we’ll start to now see how it kind of takes shape. At this given time, though, I would say those guys are willing to swing to any side that we ask them, knowing that we’re going to put the best five out there, and that’s part of the competition.”
On the fact with Peppers, we saw him playing a lot more free safety last year and how he thinks that went, and if he thinks that that can improve moving forward:
“Look, honestly, when I look at our safety room, I see a room that is full of playmakers, a room that… There are some similarities as far as skillset, but there are also things that each one does just a little bit better than the other. We always talk about versatility and being able to move to different spots, whether it’s strong safety or free safety, whatever you want to call it. I think that entire room can do pretty much both of those.”
On how important Josh Uche is in his defense this year:
“Uche is very important. Look, he’s one of those guys that if he gets a one-on-one pass rush, he’s probably going to win. It’s our job as coaches to put him in a position to go out there and make those plays.”
“Appreciate you 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.)
From our archive - this week all-time:
April 8 - April 23 (Through 26yrs)
Join 2,000+ fans getting exclusive stats, analysis, and insights delivered straight to their inbox every week. Never miss a play.