Bill Belichick defends Patriots players, says he was ‘hurt’ by Jerod Mayo calling them soft
The Patriots' defensive players are not soft, Belichick said.
Former coach Bill Belichick responded to Jerod Mayo’s comments about the Patriots being a soft football team on Monday during an episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show.
Belichick, who coached the team for 24 years and drafted many of the players who are on the current roster, said he does not believe they are soft.
“Defensively, the Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year in yards per carry,” Belichick said. “No. 1 in the league and this year, they’re way down in the 20s somewhere. It’s the same guys. They re-signed Jennings, they re-signed Tavai, they re-signed Dugger. Marcus Jones and (Christian) Gonzalez have been healthy all year which they were both on IR at this point last year.”
“You’ve got Wise, you’ve got Godchaux, Keion White,” Belichick added. “You’ve got Mapu … it’s a lot of the same players and in some cases I would say more. I’m kind of hurt for those guys because to call them soft – they’re not soft they were the best team in the league last year against the run.
“Those guys went out there and did it even though we couldn’t score many points offensively, so I don’t know — I feel bad for the defensive players on that one because that’s a tough group.”
As Belichick mentioned, the Patriots were the top team in the league against the run last year at 3.3 yards per carry.
Mayo mentioned that the inability to stop the run this season was one of the reasons he called them soft. The Patriots have given up 170 rushing yards or more in three consecutive games. He also said that the Patriots’ ineffectiveness at running the ball and covering kicks were also factors.
Belichick did not mention the losses that the Patriots have faced on the defensive end. Christian Barmore is out indefinitely with blood clots. Ja’Whaun Bentley is out for the season with an upper body injury. Jabrill Peppers is sitting out while his legal situation plays out. Matthew Judon was traded before the start of the season for a draft pick.
Mayo clarified his comments on Monday, telling reporters that he meant to say the team was playing soft in the moment during Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars in London.
He also mentioned that the injuries are not an excuse.
“Look, we’re all continuing to get better, continuing to learn from one another,” Mayo said. “I would say the messaging is the messaging. When you hear me say we played soft, that’s how I feel about it. It would be easy for me to sit up here and go through injuries and all that stuff, but that would be pointless. To me, we have to be able to go out there and perform at a high level with the guys that we have.”
For the most part, players backed Mayo’s message in their public comments after the game. Quarterback Drake Maye said the team needed to man up. Safety Kyle Dugger said he was glad that Mayo kept it real.
Belichick knows this group well. He constructed most of the roster. He did not publicly call them soft even though they had the worst record of any Patriots team within the last three decades last season.
The Patriots were one of the worst teams in the league last year under Belichick and they are again this year under Mayo.
They may be soft. They may just stink. Either way, neither Belichick nor Mayo has been able to get the wanted results from this group.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com