TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo Press Conference 8/21
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Here’s the full transcript of New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo’s press conference for Wednesday, August 21, 2024:
OPENING STATEMENT:
“Excited any chance we get to come out here on the field and compete. Today, I would say this week is a little hybrid type of week for us as far as preparation. Still focusing on NEP, but at the same time, trying to make sure our game planning and all that process, the scouting report process, goes smoothly. Out here today, you’ll see some Overse D. Some of that stuff is carded. It’s carded, so it’s like Washington plays, offensively, defensively, and also special teams.”
On what that means from a depth chart perspective:
“That’s why I said it’s a hybrid of training camp and evaluation and also getting ready for the regular season. Everything’s evaluated. Even the scout team reps are evaluated. We want those guys to give a good look. At the same time, we’re still evaluating those guys.”
On if that will be work on Cincinnati as well:
“There’s a little work on Cincy, but as I said earlier, it’s still training camp for us. It’s about getting us better and us on the same page. We can’t win games until we figure out what we’re doing, and that’s the goal.”
On the fact he said everyone who is healthy will play and if there is any thought process on how much time the quarterbacks will get:
“It’ll be a little different. I want to keep that close to the vest, though. But all the quarterbacks will play in the game.”
On Kendrick Bourne and Sione Takitaki and if he expects them to start the season on the PUP list, or if he anticipates one or both back:
“When those guys are ready to come back, they’ll be out here practicing. And that’s the hard part. I don’t like to put time limits deadlines on it. When they’re ready to play, and we get them from the weight lifting staff and also [Head Athletic Trainer] Jim Whalen and his staff, then we’ll go with it.”
On Josh Uche having worked off to the side, hasn’t been available for some of the days, and if this is this something from the offseason, or is it something that happened during the spring or in the summer here:
“That’s something that happened during the summer. I don’t think it’s major, but put him in the bucket ‘once he’s ready, he’ll go.’ He is dealing with something, though.”
On Marte Mapu and his status:
“Yeah, he’s one of those guys who, I would love to say day-to-day, but we’re probably talking week to week. I’m sure no one ever said that before to you guys, but week to week.”
On the fact we’ve heard he doesn’t like the term ‘Player’s coach’ and why that is:
“I think I’m going to be a great coach. Whether you want to call it, whatever you want to label it as, more power to you. It’s the same thing when people say, ‘Well, it was a black coach.’ No, I want to be a good coach first that happens to be black. That’s how I see it. I happened to be a player at one point in time.”
On how he thinks that manifests itself in the way he conducted camp this summer, and the fact the team wasn’t given a lot of veteran days off and things like that:
“Yeah, because we just have to get better. Coming off of last year, kept a bad taste in our mouths. We still have a lot of players that returned from then. I would say they want to work, and that’s the most exciting thing for me. They want to be out here in pads. They want to do live drills and things like that. That’s our goal, is to be a better team this year. ”
On if the plan for Drake Maye this week is to have him run off some of the cards like he was doing scout team, or if he will be more focused on Patriots stuff:
“No, he’ll be focused more on Patriot stuff, and he’ll be focused more on Washington stuff, quite frankly.”
On what he wants to see from the quarterbacks, Drake and Jacoby in particular, this week:
“I think it starts with the operation. I always say, good huddle, good break, good play. And so it starts in the huddle, then getting guys lined up and going out there executing the play, making the right reads, and moving the offense down the field.”
On when it comes to that pre-step operation for Drake Maye, if he’s in a place where if he had to start, you feel like he’s ready, or if he feels like he’s still coming along:
“100 %, I think he’s ready to run a huddle.”
On the fact he was very blunt in his assessment of the offensive line in the wake of the Philadelphia preseason game, and how he feels they’ve responded over the last couple of days:
“They’ve responded well. And I will say, going back and looking at the film, the practice, I got that. But if you were to look at the whole body of work with our offensive line, they’ve done a good job, and they’re getting better going forward.”
On between joint practices, preseason games, how many snaps do he needs to see from a guy to say, ‘I want him on my team,’ and if there’s a set number in his mind:
“Not really in my mind. I think you just want people that love football and that will do everything as far as preparation in the weight room, in the classroom to get on the field. Those are the guys that I really want. I’ll take a less talented guy that just loves the game of football, and you know he’s going to get better with the high ceiling than a player who’s just blessed with a lot of athleticism but he’s lazy.”
On Layden Robinson working with the ones and if that’s just how he’s playing, or if it’s something he’s seeing from Sidy Sow:
“No, it is a competition. I would say he’s strung a few weeks together here, and that’s the thing. I told these guys at the beginning of camp,’There are more people in this room than there are jobs. And so either you’re going to hold onto your job, or someone’s going to take your job.’ And I would say all those guys have been battling. So it’s going to be a tough decision.”
On the fact Mike Onwenu was asked after the second game if there was any plan to move him to tackle and he said he he’s just been told he’s at guard for right now, but we’ve seen him work at tackle this week and what the plan is there:
“I would say, look, we always, as coaches, reserve the right to change our mind. And I don’t want that to get misconstrued in any type of way. But that was the plan initially. And then as we continue to build depth amongst the offensive line, we have to move those guys around.”
On if it has anything to do with Layden Robinson stringing some weeks together:
“No, it has everything to do with us just trying to find the right combination. ”
On the fact they brought in several players yesterday, a couple of linebackers, wide receiver, and what the thought process is behind that at this stage of camp:
“Yeah, there’s no better evaluation tool than getting guys out here 11-v-11 and seeing what they can do. We’re limited during the season to have guys out there because it’s just a workout in the bubble. And so the thought process was, look, bringing some players that we’ve identified as being potential candidates to be on our team and see what they have.”
On if they anticipate making the bulk of their cuts on Tuesday or maybe a little bit before:
“That’s a conversation that Eliot and I have had. We’ve gone back and forth on how to really do that. What I will say is when you play a Sunday night game compared to a Thursday night game, you kind of get tight on time. So we’ll have those discussions here and also on the road before the game.”
On who has the final say on those cuts:
“Yeah, I thought I was pretty clear about this. For me, Eliot and I are on the same page. I hope it’s always that way. You’ve heard the horror stories around the league as far as Coach and GM relationships are concerned. The final say so is Eliot. We collaborate on everything. He collaborates on a little bit of scheme things. I collaborate with him as far as evaluation. But I lean on the experts in that world, and Eliot is that guy.”
On if they need to come out of Sunday night with a starting quarterback in his mind and what the plan is for that:
“I would say by Monday night, we should know who the quarterback is. Sunday night game, it’s always hard to really crank through the film, especially on the road. But I think Monday, Tuesday, we probably need to know who it is. Now, that doesn’t mean I’ll tell you on Monday or Tuesday.”
On the defensive tackle spot with Christian Barmore out, and the fact Jeremiah Pharms and Davon Godchaux have been active and if there’s anyone else catching his eye at that defensive tackle spot inside:
“You can throw Dan [Ekuale] in there as well. He’s one of these guys who… He’s a penetrator. We know exactly what he is, and he’s a good player for us. And we also have guys on the perimeter, on the outside, I would say, that can slide inside on third down. Those are all things that we’ve thought through.”
On the starting quarterback decision, and if he would say he has final say on that or if that’s another thing where Eliot Wolf will make that call:
“The players that go on the field, I would think I would have final say. But once again, I know I’ve used this word a lot, we will collaborate on that.”
On the fact since the spring he had said Jacoby Brissett is the starter, and the fact there’s been a shift after this last game where it’s up in the air and now it’s a competition, and if that’s surprised him at all, and what’s led to that:
“Not really. I would say you come in the camp and you want to have an idea of how it’s going. It’s still a competition, and Jacoby is still QB1. It’s a competition amongst all the guys on the field, including the quarterback spot. So hopefully that makes sense to you guys, but he’s still QB1.”
On how he would describe how the dynamic is going between he and Alex Van Pelt:
“It’s going well. We’re on the same page. We meet multiple times a day. I have nothing but complete faith in AVP and the rest of the staff.”
On what he’s learned about him from being around him every day in terms of what type of coach he is:
“Yeah, he’s just one of those steady guys. A big play doesn’t get too high, a bad play doesn’t get too low. And I think you need that in your coordinators. Now, you also need coaches that can kind of really turn up and get on the players. But at the same time, the consistency in his attitude, I think, has definitely rubbed off on the guys.”
On as they shift to Alex Van Pelt’s run game, how he feels it’s going right now:
“I think the run game is going well. We have a great group of backs, which I think is a great group of backs. They may not get the publicity and things like that, but between Gibby [Antonio Gibson] and Ramondre [Stevenson] and the rest of that group, I feel confident about the room.”
On how he feels about Dell Pettus and his fit in the safety room:
“Yeah, he’s definitely making a case for himself, not only defensively, but also on special team. So that’s going to be a hard decision there, but he’s doing a good job for us.”
On if it’s Alex Van Pelt’s decision when it comes to who the starting quarterback is:
“It’s between Alex, myself, Eliot, and the rest of the offensive staff. I think our goal is to put the best team that we can put out there.”
On if they’ve seen it the same way, in his view, to this point in the summer:
“I think so. I think anyone can see the confidence growing in Drake. Anyone can see Jacoby go out here and, as a total body of work, do a good job. So we’ll see how it goes.”
(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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“On the fact since the spring he had said Jacoby Brissett is the starter, and the fact there’s been a shift after this last game where it’s up in the air and now it’s a competition, and if that’s surprised him at all, and what’s led to that:” Nothing changed or shifted accept the media being starved for a story on a QB controversy and need to pitch Maye as the starter due to a highly impatient fan base. The media trying to spin Maye’s 54 yds passing as surpassing Brissett? The key variable and flaw here that is fully… Read more »