Patriots HC Jerod Mayo
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
December 24, 2024
JM: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Definitely the holiday season, a time to really be around family and really just tell people how much you appreciate them. I always grew up where it wasn’t really always about the gifts, didn’t get many gifts as a kid. My kids are growing up totally different than me, but it is what it is. My message to the team was, look, this is a huge week as far as being able to compartmentalize. When we’re in the building, it’s all about football. When they’re outside the building, obviously, they need to spend time with their family, and it’s all about family at that time. Being able to do that I think is good to have a balanced life. The unsung heroes, all the people who are doing the shopping, taking it off of our plates here. So, just wanted to give them a shout out because I couldn’t imagine right now going into the stores or wrapping gifts, never really been my thing. Moving on, this is a very good football team, a team that honestly reminds me of the old school way of playing. Going out there playing good defense, solid base technique, being able to stop the run, having those playmakers over there. Offensively, they have a great quarterback in [Justin] Herbert. But really, this team also up front, they’re very talented across the board up front, and I think they work very well together, especially in the run game. As the weather changes and they’re coming out this way, I expect them to try to run the ball, especially how we looked last week. So, that’s the challenge to the players that, look, they’re going to come in here, it’s no secret. They’re going to want to run the ball, and we have to stop them and make them a one-dimensional team. Good running backs, obviously, is a huge Baltimore Raven type of flavor to this entire staff, and even the players. You look at the backs that they have, a couple of them came from Baltimore. We’ve gone against Greg Roman multiple times over the years. He’s a very good coordinator, very experienced. He’s going to exploit your weaknesses, and I think they do a good job with that. Defensively, I’ve been a fan of this player for a while. He always pops off the film, is Derwin James. I think he’s just one of those guys that, he’s a football player, and you can tell by the way that he goes out there and plays. Just his energy, enthusiasm, and the rest of the crew kind of follows his lead, in my opinion. Not to take anything away from the front guys; they have two very good defensive ends, and they have some big guys up front that do a good job two-gapping. But I think it all starts with Derwin. I think we have to know where this guy is on every single play. If he’s down near the line of scrimmage, he can absolutely rush and drop from there. If he’s in the back half, he can play a deep part of the field as well. So, definitely a very good player. Look, for us, we’ve got to be able to stay balanced. We’ve got to stay ahead of the sticks, stay ahead of the chains. Again, this is another opportunity against a team that really doesn’t turn the ball over much for us to go out there and try to get after it. So, fire away.
Q: You just mentioned that you know they’re going to run the ball because of the weather.
JM: Well, not because. They’re going to be pretty balanced is what I would say. I would say they would – I don’t know what the weather’s going to be. I think it’s actually going to be pretty nice, I think the last I checked, but go ahead, sorry.
Q: With the run defense, that was something you mentioned that really struggled on this last game, and you said the two things the game came down to. How are you working on that going into this game, knowing that that’s probably something that you might emphasize?
JM: Yeah, to me it’s about block destruction, it’s about tackling. The best tacklers I’ve ever been around always knew where their help was. So, not letting the ball carrier get out to the edge is definitely a huge part of it and turning it back into the teeth of the defense.
Q: When you look at the emotion of the Arizona game versus last week, what did you see as the difference, and how do you get that out of your team on a weekly basis? Because it seemed like they had that passion from the start Sunday.
JM: Yeah, I would say the Arizona game, to me, at least from an effort standpoint, was an anomaly. It’s not what we put on film as far as effort. Now, have we always played clean games? No, I mean, look at our record. But in saying that, I would say they always go out there and play with tremendous effort. That’s what showed up last week, and it’ll show up this week. We’re at home; we’ve got to protect home field, and that’s the goal.
Q: You guys have had a number of different guys wearing the green dot since Ja’Whaun [Bentley] went down. How much of a challenge has that been?
JM: I would say all of those guys that have had the green dot throughout the year have done a good job of doing it. Sometimes I think we make too much of a big deal about the green dot. I mean, literally, a coach is talking to you, and you’ve just got to repeat. It’s like playing a game of telephone. In saying that, though, the adjustments after that are always difficult. Look, we have some good communicators on defense. You have [Kyle] Dugger of course, Jahlani [Tavai] and [Christian] Elliss. All those guys have done a pretty good job as far as that is concerned.
Q: Jerod, I know each turnover has its own story, and perhaps there’s no common link. When it comes to Drake [Maye], is there a chance he might be trying to do a little too much on some of those turnovers or trying to take it upon himself to produce?
JM: Look, Drake is a competitor, and he’s always going to try to go out there and make plays. I think just the way that he’s played, how well he’s played this year, oftentimes we forget that he’s a rookie quarterback. Those are lessons learned. I’ve been very upfront about this; the intangible with Drake, besides his even demeanor, is he’s learned from his mistakes, and I expect that to continue going forward.
Q: Hey, Jerod, just following off what Karen [Guregian] just talked about in terms of turnovers. I know in terms of fumbling, it’s been a tough year for Rhamondre [Stevenson], there’s no doubt about it. But when you, as a coach, want to try to prevent fumbles, is it a mental thing, or is it a technique thing with holding the ball? How do you try to prevent that?
JM: It’s a combination of the two. You have to understand how important that is. Then there’s also the, ‘Let me take you through the whole elbow tight, eagle claw grip,’ that whole thing, but there is a technique about it and then just the overall focus.
Q: Jerod, last year you prepared for Justin Herbert with a different offense, different team, a lot of different personnel. What’s the biggest difference you see in him in Roman’s offense with Harbaugh’s kind of physical style?
JM: Yeah, I mean, look, I think he’s doing a good job protecting the ball. I think, what does he have, 3 interceptions? It’s something low. But that’s what he’s doing a great job at, and it gives that team a chance to win.
Q: Jerod, talking about the fumbles, we saw a play on the sideline where Jon Jones is making the tackle by himself on [Khalil] Shakir, but also punches. It seems like that’s sort of evolved. I mean, the peanut punch was a thing, but it used to be the second guy coming in, and now it appears – are you teaching that more, or is that just an instinct thing?
JM: We always teach that, and Jon Jones, over the last few years, has come up with plays like that. He just has a knack for punching at the ball. You always want to make sure that the tackle is secure; I don’t want to get away from that. But at the same time, that’s something that he’s been very good at for a while now.
Q: As a player, coach, how much do you appreciate trying to get Christmas in there for your players, and was there a favorite gift you got as a kid? Was it a football, or was it anything like that?
JM: I would say just to go back to the gift part, I still remember being a young kid, at the time, I think, single-parent home. I have a great stepdad; shout out to all the stepdads. But my grandfather bought us mountain bikes and then took us to the BMX track, and I was scared to go up the hill. It was almost like my grandfather – not that I was going to get a spanking for not going up the hill, but it was one of those types, ‘I better get my butt up the hill,’ so that was a great memory. I appreciate you bringing that up.
Q: How’d you do?
JM: I went up that hill. I went up that hill.
Q: How about coming down?
JM: Yeah, that’s the easy part, that’s the easy part. There was a BMX track like five minutes from my house, and we had to ride those new bikes – mountain bikes – to a BMX track. So, all the other kids had their Huffy’s and all that stuff, and we got these big tires on our mountain bikes, but it was fun.
Q: Do you have a favorite Christmas movie or your kids’ favorite that you like to spend time with them doing?
JM: I’m a huge “Home Alone” guy. It was during my time. Then the big debate or back and forth is, is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie, and I say it is. It is. It is.
Q: What types of things are your kids asking you for?
JM: I have no clue, and again, that’s why I started this off. I just want to thank my wife, and thank just all the people, men and women, who go out and do the Christmas shopping and allow their spouse or significant other to focus on what they have to focus on.
Q: Did you believe in Santa, and do your kids believe in Santa?
JM: When I was a little kid, the way I was raised, they wanted to make sure you knew where those gifts came from. My kids, I feel like at this point in time, the new generation, they believe more in the Elf on the Shelf than they do actual Santa Claus, and that in itself takes time. I’m not sure if you guys are familiar, doing all the creative things with the Elf on the Shelf. Pouring the cereal out in the kitchen, throwing toilet paper around the house, moving the elves –
Q: Snoop on a Stoop?
JM: There you go. Same thing, same thing.
Q: Greatest parenting decision was to not do that.
JM: The kids love it, though. The kids love it.
Q: I know we asked you a lot last week about comparisons between Drake and Josh Allen. Do you see any similarities between Drake and Justin Herbert?
JM: For me, it’s probably too early to tell. What I would say is, again, I don’t want to get into the comparison thing. I think Drake is on track to be a very special player in this league, and hopefully we all get a chance to see it.
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