Jerod Mayo Sounds Confident or Delusional After Latest Loss

The New England Patriots changed head coaches after the 2023 season. They chose to fire Bill Belichick and replace him with Jerod Mayo. New England’s ownership was looking for more than a change of bodies with the move. They were looking for a personality change. That personality shift was displayed in Mayo’s postgame press conference after the Patriots lost to the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 Sunday.

Belichick often sounded like his team played awful, even after a convincing victory. Mayo sounded pleased with his team’s performance, even if he was disappointed in the result. The head coach’s comments make it clear that a different type of personality was now running the show in Foxboro. However, it was difficult to decipher if Mayo’s comments were coming from a place of confidence and optimism, or denial and delusion.

“I never really felt like they had control of the game,” said Mayo. “I felt like we had control of the game.”

Also Read – Ten Takeaways From the Patriots 28-22 Loss to the Rams

Feeling like New England had control early is logical. The Patriots led 7-0 early and looked confident on offense and defense. From the time the Rams took over with 12:23 left in the second quarter, the narrative of New England being in control went out the window.

Over the second and third quarters, Los Angeles outscored the hosts 28-6. If Jerod Mayo continued to feel the Patriots were in control during that stretch, he likely had very little company.

Time of Possession

“You look at the time of possession,” said Mayo. “That’s part of the formula. We’ve just got to continue to build on it.”

Jerod Mayo pointed to the time of possession as one reason he felt like New England controlled the game. The Patriots had the ball for 37:20 to the Rams 22:40. NFL teams with 37 minutes of possession in non-overtime games were a combined 528-65 over the past 20 seasons before the Patriots-Rams game. This included a 12-0 record in 2024.

However, there are reasons why this isolated statistic was deceiving in Week 11. For example, New England had the ball for 5:28 on a drive to end the first quarter and begin the second. It ended with a punt. The Rams then controlled the ball for 5:05 and scored a touchdown. Time of possession advantage to New England, but Los Angeles won the exchange 7-0.

But two Rams scores stood out even more in this regard. Los Angeles got the ball at New England’s 12-yard line following a Drake Maye fumble. One play later, they scored on a touchdown reception by Puka Nacua. On the second offensive play of the second half, Cooper Kupp scored on a 69-yard catch and run. The total Rams time of possession for the two drives was 54 seconds and they resulted in 14 points.

STAFFORD TO KUPP.

📺: #LARvsNE on FOX
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— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024

Defending the Defensive Game Plan

Before the game, it was noted that the Rams’ offensive game plan against the Patriots would likely be targeting New England’s cornerbacks aside from Christian Gonzalez. How would New England defend Los Angeles’ star receivers, Kupp and Nacua? The plan was ineffective.

Gonzalez remained on the outside throughout the game. The Patriots opted not to have him lock up either of the Rams stars. Nacua finished with seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Kupp added six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. While Belichick’s schemes revolved around taking away the opposition’s top weapon, New England’s plan left spectators scratching their heads.

Jerod Mayo was asked after the game about the decision of how Gonzalez lined up, or more appropriately who he did not line up across from, which allowed the Rams to dictate and take advantage of matchups throughout the afternoon.

“Going into the game, we have a plan, and we’re always willing to change that plan” answered Mayo. “Like I said earlier, I felt like, ‘We’re going to be okay.’ I thought we could outlast them.”

There are no issues with Mayo’s sentiment. The Patriots should have a plan going into a game, and they should be willing to change that plan as the situation dictates. However, no such adjustments were made in the loss to the Rams. While New England remained comfortable letting him stay on the outside, Los Angeles remained comfortable lining lesser receivers against him. It turned it into a 10-on-10 matchup, removing the Patriots’ premier defender from the equation.

Getting Better

The New England Patriots have improved in recent weeks, with the offense noticeably more capable of putting up Drake Maye since Drake Maye took over at quarterback. They began the season 1-6. The Patriots are 2-2 over their past four games, with both losses coming in one-score games. It is encouraging improvement, though Mayo was asked what his team needs to do to make the next step and get over the hump in tight games.

“Overall, as a group, it’s just consistency,” answered Mayo. “That’s what it is on a down-after-down basis.”

This is partially true. Patriots players need to be consistent. They must line up correctly, avoid presnap penalties, and understand their blocking or coverage assignments. However, the coaching staff needs to be making adjustments. Consistency with playcalling and coverage is not a positive. There has not been enough of that from the staff this season. There was a lack of adjustments against L.A., which hurt New England’s chances of getting a victory in a winnable game.

“Do we need to get better? Absolutely,” Mayo asked and answered. “And that’s my job as the head coach of this football team. It starts with me. I have to do better. Demand more from our assistant coaches. Demand more from our players.”

Unfortunately, Jerod Mayo’s comments give the impression he believes his role is that of a supervisor. That might not be enough for a struggling NFL franchise.

Coaching to Win

Mayo was asked after the game if some of his in-game decisions were made to win the game. Mayo even addressed two of his decisions to begin the postgame press conference before being asked about them. A head coach getting a legitimate question about trying to win was slightly concerning in itself.

“I’m always coaching to win,” responded Mayo. “And look, every decision that I make won’t always be the popular one and that’s part of the job.”

Coaches getting second-guessed comes with the territory of every coaching job in every sport at every level. That said, winning is what is most popular with fans. Many of the boos in Foxboro yesterday were probably because the Patriots kicked a field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-one from the Rams’ 19-yard line with 4:57 remaining in regulation. But some of the boos were for the conservative play calling (consecutive runs up the middle for three and no yards, respectively. Others were for the team’s lack of execution. The fans’ frustration is not limited to one or two decisions.

Learning Process

“You win or you learn. That has to be our mindset,” Mayo said after the latest loss. “It would be a huge disservice if we don’t learn anything from this game.”

New England fans would prefer seeing their team win and learn instead of deciding between the two. Mayo and his team should be learning every week, win or lose. Whether the team, coaches and players alike, learned from their loss to the Rams won’t be evident until more games are played. They did not seem to be learning much during the game, which was starting to test the patience of Patriots fans.

The Patriots wanted a change from Bill Belichick. It’s clear Jerod Mayo provides that. But regardless of how player-friendly, personable, and likable he might be, Mayo won’t win over the fanbase by pointing to time-of-possession victories and offering words not backed up by actions. A willingness to change the game plan is crucial, but making in-game adjustments is too. New England only got halfway there against Los Angeles.

While it’s nice to be encouraging and optimistic, at some point, without any changes, those words sound like denial and delusion. Jerod Mayo is a rookie NFL head coach who should not be expected to be a finished product yet, but he needs to show improvement. He stated at his introductory press conference that players win games and coaches lose games. While that is an oversimplification, and necessarily accurate, the Patriots coaching staff didn’t give the team their best chance of winning yesterday. Their coaching staff needs to realize that and learn from it.