TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo PostGame Press Conference 8/8

Here’s the full transcript of Jerod Mayo’s postgame press conference following the New England Patriots’ win over the Carolina Panthers Thursday night:

On the thought process behind using the quarterbacks in the way that they did tonight:

“We wanted to see Jacoby, obviously, go out there and operate, as well as Drake, mixing them in there with the ones… The rest of those guys, like Zappe and Joe, they went out there and finished up the game. Thought they did a good job, but that was the thinking. So next week, we have the Eagles. So we’ll practice against them. And who knows, the reps will probably change a little bit, and then we’ll see what happens in the game. But that was the thought process.”

On the decision to pull Drake Maye after one series:

“Yeah, that was always the plan. The plan was to get him in there for one series, to get Jacoby in there for one series, and then really turn it into the Zappe show and then the Joe show. That was the plan going there.”

On if there was any trepidation over having Drake in another series perform with the second offensive line and if that was part of the decision:

“That’s always a consideration. If he’s in there, you want him in there with the starting offensive line. We got to protect that guy. Not saying we don’t have to protect the other guys, but that absolutely did go into it.”

On if he feels he’s going to get enough of seeing him in live-action, going about it like this:

“Yeah, like I said, this is the first preseason game. We still have two left. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to go against the two other teams before the regular season.”

On his thoughts on what he saw from Joe Milton and if he’s ready for ‘Sports Talk Radio Fever’ to hit all week with Joe:

“Well, first of all, I don’t even listen to that stuff. But honestly, look, Joe went out there, we know he has a big arm, he has the athleticism, he’s getting better with his reads every single day, he has natural leadership ability. But once again, it’s not just about one game. It’s about the full body of work. So you can come out here and play well, but you also have to do it on a day-to-day basis in practice. And you got to gain the confidence of not only the coaches, but also your teammates. And this was a step forward for him.”

On what came down to the decision to pull Zappe when he did and to put Milton in when he did:

“Yeah, it was just about opportunity. It was about opportunity. And Zap went out there… Look, he’s won games in the NFL before, but then just putting Joe in at a time where we needed a spark, and he provided that spark, which I thought was good.”

On what it was like for him in his first game as a head coach:

“I just felt like I was just in my element. I felt great to be out there. Nothing else really mattered to me. When you don’t have to worry about substitutions and things like that, you kind of see the game from a different perspective, which I thought was great for me today, and it was the first time I really got a chance to experience that. So hopefully it keeps going the same way. We do a good job with the subs with our assistant coaches, and I can kind of focus on the game in totality.”

On if there were any butterflies:

“It was more excitement. It’s almost like when you get on a roller coaster and you just hear that click, like click, click, click, and then you get to the top and it’s go time. At this point, you’re so far along, we have nowhere else to go. I wouldn’t say butterflies. It’s just excitement and pure joy, honestly.”

On if there were any players, specifically, that exceeded his expectations going into tonight, just the way they showed in the game:

“Honestly, I need to go back and watch the film, the easy answer would be Joe. Joe went out there and he’s been, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a quarterback here run around as much as he did and still was able to get the ball down the field. He’s one of those guys. So, it was Joe.”

On how the communication and all that went for AVP, Demarcus, everybody:

“I would love to tell you that the communication was 100% on point, but there are definitely things that we need to work out. But for the most part, it was pretty clean.”

On the progress he’s seen Jeremiah Pharms make over the course of his career in New England. and what he saw from him tonight in terms of putting it together on the field:

“Look, anytime he steps foot on the field, he takes advantage of that opportunity. His story is remarkable. A guy just on the street. He was here, we moved him fullback. He played defensive tackle, he played guard, played all those positions. When you find a player that just loves the game of football, no matter what the coach asked him to do, it’s a great player in my mind, and Pharms displays that.”

On after pairing Drake with the top offensive line tonight, if he anticipates giving him more time with the top line in practice this week:

“Look, the reps, that’s something to talk to AVP about. At the same time, I would say this is a huge week for us against Philly. We’ll see what happens in practice and then also in the game, but he’s ready to go. When he’s ready to go, we’ll put him in.”

On what role preseason games versus practice play and training camp plays in the evaluation process when he’s trying to get a total view of how a player, whether it’s a quarterback position or another position, and how that can affect winning and making a squad:

“We always say there’s nothing more important than practice. We continue to stress the importance of the process. Obviously, you will want that to show up on the field. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. But practice is the number one thing for all these guys as far as the evaluation. It’s not only on the field during practice, but also in the classroom.”

On his thoughts on the defensive line:

“They played with a lot of energy. We were, I would say, as a whole, the most physical team on the field today. It starts up front. It starts with the offensive line. It starts with the defensive line. I thought those guys performed well.”

On the fact he talked about this being a big week with Philly coming in for the joint practice and the game and how they’ll use these joint practice with their ones and so forth going into this week:

“I mean, look, we want to see what these guys can do. If it’s ones versus ones, that’s one thing. But you also need to see what your second string and third string can do against some of their good guys. I’ll talk to Coach Siriani, and we’ll have a plan on what we want to see. I’m sure he wants to do some things as well to evaluate his own team. And then the game is also very important, so we’ll see how it goes.”

“Thanks, 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.)

About Ian Logue

Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.

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