Patriots fans aired their frustrations with the 2024 season during last Saturday’s loss to the Chargers by booing the team’s effort and chanting for head coach Jerod Mayo to be fired.
During a Friday appearance on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI, linebacker Jahlani Tavai was asked about hearing that reaction from the home crowd. Tavai said he “told a fan to quiet down in a non-polite way” and felt that “everybody can say what they think that we should be doing” before moving on to say that he thinks fans should have more perspective on what the team is trying to achieve.
“I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just have to know their place and just understand that it’s a work in progress,” Tavai said. “Rome wasn’t built in one day. Like I said before in another interview, there’s been teams that have shown a work in progress. The Lions, four years ago when Dan Campbell took over, what was their record? And then these past two years — I’m not trying to compare, but that’s a goal we’re trying to develop here in this new regime. That’s the mission, to get to how the Lions are improving. That’s the type of team we see ourselves as. As a playoff contender. Unfortunately, that’s not this year.”
It’s been a long time since Patriots fans have dealt with a consistent losing team, so adjusting to that reality isn’t going to be the smoothest process in the world. The hope around the team is that it won’t be an extended period of time before they’re experiencing brighter days, but a few more signs of it on the field would go a long way with the fan base.
