It’s often been said that hard times create strong men.
Strong men create good times.
Good times create weak men.
Weak men create hard times.
Or words to that effect.
“Demanding, not demeaning” was how Mayo described it.
“Everyone is happy, running around, and the vibe of the building is different.”
But 41.17% of the way through the season, no one would argue it’s been working.
The Patriots have lost six straight for the first time since Drew Bledsoe’s rookie season.
They’re essentially last in offense and passing offense (the teams below them have had their byes).
Drake Maye has begun solving a lot of those issues.
There was this in the preseason:
… which led to Judon successfully shooting his way out of town.
First KJ Osborn celebrated his touchdown catch by releasing this text exchange.
Then there was Ja’Lynn Polk.
He of the 10 receptions on 25 targets.
The drop rate of 16.7%.
And the contested catch rate of 27.3%.
I don’t read Hieroglyphics.
What do I know?
Which is Jerod Mayo doing damage control.
JM:No, that’s a good question.
Look, we’re all continuing to get better, continuing to learn from one another.
I would say the messaging is the messaging.
When you hear me say we played soft, that’s how I feel about it.
JM:To me, that’s part of being a professional.
That’s part of being a professional.
This is your job, and your job’s not only inside this building but also outside this building.
For me, the messaging is we just need to get better.
We have to do everything a little bit better.
Then came his weekly appearance on WEEI.
Sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.
Then he addressed Polk jumping on the ‘Gram, and gave it his full-throated endorsement.
Which is a bold statement.
And definitely, without a doubt, represents a change from the way player issues used to be handled.
Just not in a way I think any Patriots fan expected when the change was made back in January.
We’ll see how this new approach shakes out in the long run.
While admitting the obvious: It’s been an abject failure through seven games.
I’ll say this though.
As someone who lived through the mercifully short Rod Rust Error:
…
If you’re in your 30s, you might remember stories about Pete Carroll’s Gentle Parenting approach.
Neither of those methods worked.
And it worked pretty well.
Better than Mayo’s so far.
Self-disciplined players loved it.
And did a hell of a lot of winning.
Jerod Mayo is a smart human being.
He just better do it quickly, for his sake and ours.
