The New England Patriots struggled mightily yet again on Sunday, losing 30-17 to the Arizona Cardinals to drop to 3-11 on the year. In particular the offense was quite the eyesore; they managed only 90 yards in the first half and totaled all of three points before garbage time in the fourth quarter. At this point in the season it is not necessarily unexpected, but coming off a bye week this late in the season it was a shockingly terrible performance.
Head coach Jerod Mayo seemed to express his frustration with the unit in a strange manner after the game while speaking to media. He was asked about one particularly questionable sequence for the Pats, when they had the ball at the Cardinals' four-yard line in the third quarter and faced a third-and-one. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called two run plays that were stuffed for no gain and New England turned the ball over on downs deep in enemy territory.
Mayo took a question from a reporter asking if the Patriots would consider using the athletic Drake Maye to run in those sorts of situations, which seems like an obvious solution given the rookie has already exhibited an impressive ability to gain yards with his legs this year. Mayo responded, "You said it. I didn't." It was a strange answer that seemed to question the decision-making of his own offensive coordinator, and was taken as such by the general public.
As such Mayo felt the need to backtrack on Monday morning. Meeting with media back in Foxborough, Mayo insisted he "didn't mean anything" by the quote and it was more of a "defensive response" than anything.
Jerod Mayo on his "You said it, I didn't" comment about Drake Maye not being used as a runner deep in Arizona territory:
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) December 16, 2024
"I didn't mean anything by that. It was more of a defensive response."
Added that he didn't want to get into all the details on those decisions last night.
It is not the first time this season the rookie head coach has had to clarify what he meant while speaking to the press, which isn't great for the Patriots. They have enough dumpster fires on the field to put out; the franchise doesn't need additional negative attention in the form of careless quotes that require a clarification hours after the fact.
Whatever progress Mayo has shown this season it's clear he still has a long way to go when it comes to media savvy.
More of the Latest Around the NFL
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots' Jerod Mayo Backtracks After Strange Response to Question About Drake Maye.
