Jerod Mayo clarified the comments he made after the Patriots’ 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The New England Patriots head coach took the blame after the loss, but he was asked at what point should some of the blame go on the players.
“Once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them,” Mayo responded. “There’s nothing any coach can do for them once they cross the white line. It’s my job to continue to prepare not only them but our coaches to go out here and play better football.”
Those comments didn’t go over well publicly, and Mayo received heavy criticism for the response. Some took it as the coach trying to deflect blame.
When appearing on “The Greg Hill Show,” the Patriots coach further clarified what he meant by the comments.
“You know, I’ve always said in the media, even when I was a player – oh, I should say going back to when I was a coach in ’19 when I first started – is that, once you cross the white lines, like, it’s your game,” said Mayo, as transcribed by WEEI.com’s Tom Carroll. “There’s nothing I can do – like, I try to give you the tools, you have to go out there with high awareness and execute what we’re trying to do.
“I’ve always said that, and if we would’ve won the game, it looks like a compliment. We lose the game, now it looks like a slap in the face. But if you were to ask any of those players, I say that all the time.”
The Patriots racked up 13 penalties in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. They struggled both on offense and defense in a game where they were completely outmatched.
It’s clear that both coaching and player performance were equally to blame for the blowout loss in Miami. The more important question is what the Patriots do to bounce back from one of their worst losses of the season.
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