Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had to say following the club’s 25-24 loss to the Colts on Sunday:
EDITOR’S NOTE: Portions of this press conference were omitted in the beginning due to the broadcast cutting in late:
OPENING STATEMENT:
“…There are things that are good. We just need to be more consistent. I would say penalties, and look, it’s about us. Penalties continue to show up, both operational and post-snap, which we got to do a better job of. I would also say just our red area in general, our red area offense, I think we were one for six. Our red area defense, we weren’t able to stop them there. And that’s really the game. You talk about on special teams, the missed field goal, I thought we handled the situations the right way, the way that we wanted to, and we gave ourselves a chance to win. [We] gave ourselves a chance to win at the end.”
“Fire away.”
On the fact he mentioned they did some good things today, on that 19 80-yard drive, how disappointing was it? Especially since they had 3 fourth down conversions allowed and weren’t able to make a play, plus the two-point conversion:
“Yeah, it’s very disappointing. They obviously ran the ball relatively well. We just didn’t make the stops that we need to. And look, that’s the NFL. That’s the NFL. We say it every week. That one play here, that one play there. And that extended drive definitely hurt. And then those guys going for two and couldn’t keep them out.”
On what went into the decision at the end to go for the field goal instead of the Hail Mary:
“That was 100% me. Look, [Joey] Slye was hitting it well in pregame and I felt that that was the best thing to do to help our team win the football game. Not sure what the numbers are on Hail Mary’s versus the field goal there, but that’s what I felt was right.”
On if there were any thoughts of taking the timeouts earlier in the drive where the Colts ultimately scored and what the thought process was:
“Absolutely, there was a thought. We’ve also won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way and keeping our timeouts, is what I thought was best for the team.”
On what he saw on the interception on the goal line to Hunter Henry:
“The one that kind of just bounced around a little bit? I mean, look, it’s just unfortunate. And again, just in the red area in general, I would say from the entire game, we just weren’t good enough. As the field starts to contract like that, the details and everyone has to be on the same page, and we just didn’t do well enough.”
On the missed 25-yard kick by Slye, it looked like he looked down in frustration after the kick in disbelief, and if there was something that went wrong:
“Nothing with the operation. It was a miss hit. ”
On the fact they had a season high in rushing and why they were able to be so successful running the ball:
“I’ve said all along, we have good backs, and we just have to get them started. I would say just the mentality. If we don’t have a good running game, it starts up front. The same thing here, it starts up front. I thought Layden [Robinson] actually went out there and moved some bodies in his physicality and definitely showed up the entire offensive line, and that’s good to see. You just got to keep it going.”
On the fact he mentioned penalties off the top, and what’s happening in the process that’s leading up to the result on Sunday where you continue to have issues like that?
“Look, we know with this crew, I think we had them the first Miami game, they threw 10 holding penalties between the two teams. So we went into the game knowing that that’s one of the calls that they make a lot. It just comes down to, look, some of them, obviously, were questionable, but they called them, and we just got to fix those mistakes.”
On the fact the offense had four trips inside the 10 yard line but only came away with one touchdown, and how frustrating it was, and if there is anything he can do to pinpoint these sudden problems in the red zone:
“No, I’m going to go back and watch the film. But again, we have to… I mean, it’s ultimate execution at that point in the game. Now that safety that usually plays in the deep part of the field, out in the field, now is part of the count, and we just have to do a better job executing.”
On if he categorizes this as a game they should win and should have been able to close out:
“Look, it comes down to execution. I think we should win every game. That’s just my mentality, and we just got to get better.
On the play late in the game, a 3rd-and-8, a catch by Mallory and the fact it looked like it might have wobbled and if there were any thoughts on challenging it:
“We were waiting to see the replay. Never really got a clear shot of it, so I didn’t challenge it.”
(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.
