Here’s the full transcript of New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo’s press conference following the Patriots loss to the Commanders Sunday night:
OPENING STATEMENT:
NOTE: The beginning of this press conference was cut off on the broadcast:
” … My message to the team was, ‘Hey, look, they all count now, and so, you know, go get your rehab and your preventative care and rest your minds, but it’s time to go,’ and hopefully we’re all on the same page going forward.”
On the fact he said earlier in the week that some guys wouldn’t play depending on their health and what went into the decisions on the guys were ‘starters’ who played:
“We just played the guys that we thought needed to have more live action, and that’s the way we approached it.”
On if the plan was for Jacoby to just play the first series, or was that a result of [of the hit he took]:
“No, that was the plan. We were going to play Jacoby a series or two and get Drake in.”
On if Brissett would have been able to keep playing:
“He would have been able to continue.”
On what his health status is right now:
“I talked to him. We’ll see tomorrow. You always feel a little bit more sore the next day, but he said he was good. We’ll find out tomorrow.”
On how concerned he is about the offensive line:
“I think it is a concern. I think that the biggest concern for me, it’s not the x’s and o’s of what to do. It’s just the lack of discipline that they showed today. And that’s on all of us. That’s on me. It starts with me. I got to be more diligent and getting on those guys about pre snap penalties and the rest of the coaches have to do the same thing, but the players also have to take responsibility for those pre snap penalties. Look, the referees, they did a good job. They warned us multiple times. We talked, then we got flagged and they just kept throwing the flag because we didn’t adjust. And one thing, you know, I’ve learned around here is we’ll do business as business is being done. And if you see them calling those type of plays, you gotta self correct and get better. So we just didn’t do that tonight.”
On the offensive line being a talking point and why he feels there’s been a lack of progress:
“I mean, look, it’s. I tell the guys all the time, every single day, we just have to get better. Obviously, we have to gel as a unit. That’s one of those units where you got to be close on the field and off the field and build that trust. And it’s a process that we’re continuing to go through.”
On the fact that heading into tonight’s game, he had mentioned that he expected to have a decision on the starting quarterback made by tomorrow night, and if that’s still the plan:
“Yeah, you know, look, I mean, that’s always the goal. And as I always say, I reserve the right to change my mind. In saying that. Look, we got to watch the film. We get in at 03:00 in the morning, so, you know, we’ll see. We’ll see if I can get through all the film on the plane.”
On the fact Demario Douglas played a lot of snaps and if that was by design:
“Yeah, it was by design. Once again, guys that need live action, same thing with Marcus Jones getting them out there, guys that need live action. That was the mentality going into the game, and I was happy to see him out there.”
On the fact that Brissett suffered an injury and if that were to happen during the regular season, if Drake Maye would play if Jacoby was unavailable:
“I would like to sit here and say 100%, he’s our second-best quarterback on our roster right now.”
So is that a yes?
“Next question. I’m not sure. I’m not sure until I watch the film.”
On if he’s concerned about the offensive line if he had to put Drake Maye in:
“You know, look, I’m not concerned about the… Well, look, I’m concerned about every position. And then I would say Eliot [Wolf] and myself and the rest of the staff, our job is to always, you know, look for better players. We’ll be very active on the waiver wire. There’ll be some good football players out there on the street and look, we’ll try to get this team better.”
On what stood out about Drake’s performance:
“Yeah, I think he showed great poise. He went out there, you know, his quarterback rating was 100 or something like that. He made plays. He looked like he was in control of the offense and did a good job for us.”
On Sidy Sow’s injury:
“I don’t have an update. He’ll get an MRI at some point tomorrow.”
On if it’s considered serious:
“I’m not sure. I wish I could tell you. I’m just not sure.”
On if the line’s performance will influence when to play Maye:
“We always say, look, the best players are going to play no matter if it’s a quarterback or at offensive line. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to play the best players.”
On how frustrating it was to talk about the penalties with the offensive line and then to see it happen again:
“Yeah, it’s very frustrating. And once again, you know, it starts with me. I just got to get on those guys more in practice about some of that stuff. I think the most frustrating part was after you’ve been told that you have to move up, that they continue to line up the same way. I would say some of those calls, I mean, I don’t know, but, you know, you look at the pictures and we were definitely deep.”
On the fact they were told about the illegal formations and what was the point of emphasis:
“Well, the point of emphasis, they always give you a warning, like the tackles are too far back and things like that. And we had those warnings and we didn’t take heed and they threw the flag.
On what the rule of thumb on that is:
“They line up off of the guards and then I would also say, depending on, you know, who’s out there refereeing, they all see it a little bit different. Once again, the most frustrating part was, ‘This is how they’re calling your alignment. Let’s make those adjustments.'”
On how gratifying it was to see Drake make the quarterback decision tough on him:
“It’s been great. You know, once again, just his overall steadiness and being able to come into work every single day and get better, it’s been great to see.”
On if he had any awareness about the fact Maye was looking down at his hand:
“I’m not sure. I didn’t see that.”
On how confident he is heading into the opener in Cincinnati:
“Yeah. Look, we’ll be ready to go. We’re going to go into a hostile environment. We have things to work on. We’re going to watch this film, we’ll grade the film. We’ll make roster moves and decisions as we see fit, and we’re going to try to put the best New England Patriots team we can against Cincy.”
“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.)
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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.
