TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo Press Conference 8/28
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Here’s the full transcript of New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo’s press conference on Wednesday, August 28, 2024:
OPENING STATEMENT:
“Last couple of days have been pretty difficult as far as cut down day is concerned. It’s tough on the players, it’s tough on their families, it’s also tough on the coaches and the scouting department. We all understand the business part of it. It’s still very fluid as far as the practice squad in our roster as a whole. But at the same time, I told the players privately that I’m very thankful for their professionalism in understanding the business part, and I want to make sure I express it here publicly as well. Those guys, they handled the news like true professionals, and I’m very appreciative of it. That was my first time doing it, but like I said, it was very difficult.
“Looking forward to putting the rest of the roster together, the practice squad, and then really just looking forward to getting the team ready to go against Cincinnati. This week for us, it’s really about just getting the Patriots better, and then next week, it’ll be about preparing for a game.”
On if he can provide any information on the starting quarterback:
“I know everyone wants to know that. I’m going to talk to the individual players tomorrow. I’m going to have a team meeting tomorrow, and then I’ll get it to you guys.”
On if he’s made a decision, and just hasn’t communicated it yet to them:
“Yes, we’ve made a decision. Just haven’t communicated. And honestly, I want those guys to hear it first from me before they hear from someone else.”
On why it couldn’t be done this morning:
“Because I’d rather do it tomorrow. When we get… Look, this morning was a hectic day. We were still working through the roster and things like that. And as much as you want to have squad meetings, sometimes the time just doesn’t permit that.”
On the fact he mentioned there have been a lot of tough decisions and family considerations and that thing, and if there was any position, specifically, that was the most difficult as you looked at it and said, ‘All right, I’m keeping seven wide receivers, or I’m keeping seven whatever it is,’ and if anything that stuck out to him:
“There were a few of those discussions. In saying that, we feel pretty good where we are as of today. Now, once again, it’s very fluid. And so you’ll still see transactions continue to happen, not just from our team – we’re not unique to this situation – but across the league. You look across the league, there have been teams that, they carry 12 defensive linemen. I don’t know what that means, but once again, the transactions don’t end today. They’ll continue. I can’t give you a specific position, though.”
On how many people were in the talk about collaboration, and how many people are involved with the decision to name the quarterback:
“Really, if you want to talk about the process, Alex [Van Pelt], myself, we just have those conversations, but he gets input from his coaches as well. And ultimately, it’s my decision to make.”
On the fact they claimed two tackles on the offense, and his thoughts on where they’re at with what he wants from the offensive line:
“I think it’s very clear we have to improve as a whole. We have to improve up front. And we felt like we did that with claiming those players.”
On the fact the media won’t get to talk to him tomorrow, and when it came to making that decision, when was it made on the starting quarterback:
“It’s hard to nail down a particular date. If you want me to, I’ll say yesterday. I’m not sure what that date is. I just know I feel like I’m doing what’s best for the team in the decision that I’ve made.”
On if it was a long process in the conversation between he and Alex Van Pelt, and the fact he mentioned that they were in lockstep:
“Yeah, it remains that way. Once again, you have to have those candid conversations, and you go back and forth, you weight things differently. When it’s all said and done, you just want to make sure you’re doing what’s best for the team and what’s best for this organization.”
On if they’ve made a determination on who their starting five offensive linemen will be:
“Look, we’re still working through that, and we just have to make sure we have our roster complete before we even make that decision.”
On his thoughts on Jacoby Brissett’s comments on WEEI when he said he still believes he’s QB1 of the team:
“I think all the players, not just quarterbacks, they have to have that confidence that they should be starters. I’m not going to dig too far into that. That’s his opinion, and we all have one.”
On if he feels like he has to, when he tells the team who’s going to be the starting quarterback, if he feels like he has to explain it to them or if he just makes that announcement and that’s it and it is what it is:
“Look, they’ve gone through the process as well. They’ve gone through the spring with these players. They’ve gone through training camp with these players. I’m sure they all have an opinion on who they think should be the starting quarterback, but I don’t I have to explain it to anyone else. It’s my decision. And look, if it doesn’t work, blame me.”
“I would say one thing. I think it’s important to remember what’s good for the team today may not be good for the team weeks down the line. And so I think the challenge is you want to win every single game now, but also, we’re trying to build something special here in New England. So that, to me, that was a challenge.”
On the designation of Christian Barmore, if that was made because they’re confident he’ll return at some point, or if it’s just leaving that possibility open:
“I was just leaving open the possibility. And once again, we want Barmore to be healthy, and when he’s healthy, he’ll be out there.”
On if Sunday’s game and the performance of the offensive line give him second thoughts about where to go with the quarterback position:
“I think some of that stuff is being overblown. I would say we average five yards of carry, and the quarterback, was it one sack and two quarterback hits? If you were to say that was the stat line, you would be okay with that. Now, in saying that, we’re still just trying to get better. We’re trying to get better at not only that starting five that we’re talking about, but also just on the practice squad. And that’s how we look at the practice squad as well. These guys aren’t here on our practice squad just to take reps during practice. No, we look at it from a developmental standpoint where all of these guys need to be ready to play. And I think it would be naive for us to say, going to that first game where really no one has played four quarters of football. To think that guys won’t have to rotate in there at times, no matter what the position would be, would be just not right, in my opinion.”
On the left tackle position and if there’s any clarity on Vederian Lowe’s situation:
“Yeah, Vederian, right now, he’s dealing with a little something. We’ll see when he’s healthy. We’ll see when he gets back out there what that looks like. I think there is clarity as far as week one, but once again, I know everyone’s focused on week one, but I think you have to look out the front windshield at times. ‘How does this evolve over time?'”
On Sidy Sow, and if it looks like he’s dodged something significant:
“That’s how it looks right now.”
On the decision to waive Bailey Zappe and keep Joe Milton on the roster:
“One thing I’ll say about Zappe, and look, he has been the ultimate professional. Even before I took this role, we’ve had a good relationship, and I’m always going to root for a guy like Zappe. Always had a great attitude, even though things weren’t probably ideal for him personally. In saying that, we think that these three quarterbacks have a chance to be better than what Zappe displayed.”
On the fact he talked about competition and talked about players overtaking each other to win a competition, and if there are instances where someone might have outplayed another but might not start:
“I think the important thing for me is the full body of work. When I say competition, it’s not just one day or one game. It’s everything. Like I said earlier, there’s different weights to those things that they do, particularly well or not well. And so to me, it’s the full body of work, the spring, the summer, and all of those things.”
On what he can tell us about the players they claimed and what he sees their roles potentially being on the team:
“Yeah. We’ll see. You watch some of the film, you watch all of these guys, and we were in a very unique situation being third on the waiver wire, and we felt like we improved our team, offensively, defensively, and special teams. When you talk about you get a linebacker that can fly down in the field like that, you get some offensive linemen that could possibly develop into good players, we have to take swings at these players, and hopefully when they get here, they’ll fall in line and contribute to our team this year and in the future.”
[Inaudible – possibly related to who they may be removing from the roster to make room for the claimed players … ]
“We had a conversation with the players that we removed.”
On their thinking behind keeping seven wide receivers:
“Initially, all those guys have a particular set of skills, and we’re still just trying to figure out who the best guys are. And once again, I would say this is the initial cut down. It won’t probably look like this in the next few days. It’ll be different. And so the roster is still fluid. There’ll be hundreds of transactions here over the next couple of days, and there may be another player that we’re like, ‘Wow, we should take a swing at this guy.'”
On his thoughts on the kickers:
“Yeah, I thought those guys competed. Chad [Ryland] competed, [Joey] Slye competed. I would say, I think it was clear, at least to me, that Slye, he had a better camp. It’s very easy with kickers. It’s a lot easier with kickers than it is offensive linemen. It’s like, ‘All right, 95 %, 88 %.’ So it was very easy in that regards.”
On the four players they did claim, if they expect to have them either today or tomorrow in the facility:
“That’s the expectation. I’m not sure exactly the rules as far as when you can actually get them in meetings and on the field, but that’s my expectation.”
On the guys that were left off the roster … [Inaudible]
“Well, today was a very difficult day because when you think about it, these guys were very close to making the roster, and we want them to be a part of our program and what we’re trying to build for the future. So there are different avenues, whether you’re talking about or Practice Squad, those are things that are still in discussion.”
On the quarterbacks, if Eliot Wolf is involved in that discussion also:
“Look, he definitely weighs in. But I would say, once again, it’s my decision to make. And a lot of people have opinions and how they think about things. And I’ve lost quite a bit of sleep trying to think about this stuff as well, but I would ultimately put it on me.”
On the fact they have nine rookies and nine second-year players, and the youth movement with the roster:
“It’s very important to have players that are young and you can see the upside and the high ceilings and things like that. Going back to what I said earlier, the balance is wanting to win now and also developing for the future. That’s my job, that’s the coach’s jobs, and it’s on us.”
On the quarterback situation, with practice today and not telling them yet who’s going to be the starter and keeping that close to the vest, how does that change today’s practice as far as first-team rep, second-team reps:
“It doesn’t really change too much. I would say both of those quarterbacks have been in there to start off periods or not start off periods. I think, look, once again, these guys are professional football players, and they’re able to block out the noise, and I appreciate that.”
On what he’s learned about Jacoby:
“I heard from a lot of players that Jacoby was a great leader and very selfless and all about the team, and he’s proven those things to be true. He does a good job for us in the meeting rooms. He does a good job helping out all the quarterbacks as far as from a scheme standpoint. So he’s done a good job.”
On the fact he seems to be the first guy to run out and congratulate a player after a big play and what it’s like to see that:
“To me, it’s great. You should be excited. We talk about the law of abundance versus the law of scarcity. We talk about that all the time, and to be happy for your teammates. A lot goes into any touchdown or any good play. There’s a lot that goes into that. I know one person probably gets the praise, but it’s a group effort.”
“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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