‘No player cares about your three-year plan’: What an NFL insider said of derailment of Patriots’ season
"When the here and the now look kinda hopeless, sometimes this is what you get."
The Patriots’ 32-16 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday has led to a week of back-and-forths involving Jerod Mayo and players.
Jerod Mayo has received some heat for calling New England a “soft” team following the game in London. Analysts, ex-players, and the Internet have been speculating over how long Mayo will last in this position and whether his comments were correct, calling into question the team’s off-field behavior.
As Kendrick Bourne implied that some of his teammates might have stayed out later than they should’ve in their recent trip to London, the Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer explained that those actions are common for players on teams whose seasons start to go down the drain.
“It doesn’t surprise me to hear some of that stuff,” Breer said on 98.5’s “Toucher and Hardy.” “I think there is a natural inclination for players to let go of the rope when the season starts to slip away, especially if you’re on a trip like that.”
This isn’t necessarily the fault of the players, Breer said. Rather, it’s because the Patriots haven’t had to deal with being a poor-performing team focused on rebuilding in a long time, according to Breer.
“No player cares about your three-year plan, right? They care about the here and the now,” Breer said. “When the here and the now look kinda hopeless, sometimes this is what you get.
“It feels like they’re out of it this early in the season, and it feels like they’re playing for things like draft position and player development,” Breer added. “They’re playing for 2025 and the future now.”
Breer also said that he doubts Mayo will lose his job after this season but that he wasn’t quite ready to be head coach.
“The timeline the Patriots had set up didn’t actually match up with the reality,” said Breer. “They probably envisioned Bill being the head coach for another year or two and Jerod getting another year or two to develop into that. And instead, here they are in 2024.”
The 1-6 Patriots hope to turn things around when they host the Jets on Sunday as they seek their first home win in over a calendar year.
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