Lately, Bill Belichick has been using his burgeoning bully pulpit to advance agendas and/or settle scores. Whether it’s Woody Johnson or Doug Pederson or now Jerod Mayo, the guy who never said jack squat is talking a blue streak now, Jack.
In addition to Belichick’s Monday remarks to Pat McAfee regarding the new Patriots coach calling his team “soft,” Belichick was asked by Jim Gray during Monday’s Let’s Go! podcast whether he ever had a “soft” team.
“I think when you criticize your team publicly like that, it doesn’t always go over well,” Belichick said in response. “Now, every coach has their own style, and maybe sometimes that can be effective and all. But ultimately I always felt like when the team played bad, that was my responsibility, too. We might have bad playing, but we had bad coaching that led to bad playing. So I think it’s always best to take a look at yourself and do what you can do to help the team and then you know if you have constructive criticism as a coach that’s your job.
“Last year the Patriots led the league in rushing defense, yards per carry. Number one in the league. This year, they’re 26th or whatever it is. It’s the same players. I don’t think that those players on defense are soft. But they haven’t stopped the run very well.”
As mentioned on PFT Live, it feels like Mayo has been caught in the middle of the broader cold war between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft over credit for the Patriots’ championships and blame for the team’s demise.
To date, Mayo hasn’t responded to Belichick. At Mayo’s next press conference, expect that question to be asked. And expect Mayo’s answer to possibly be the next salvo from an end-zone muzzle-loader — even if the finger on the trigger isn’t his but his boss’s.
