{"id":8338,"date":"2024-12-29T12:11:20","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T12:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338"},"modified":"2024-12-29T12:11:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T12:11:20","slug":"chris-mason-simple-patriots-question-elicits-damning-response-for-jerod-mayo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338","title":{"rendered":"Chris Mason: Simple Patriots question elicits damning response for Jerod Mayo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Jerod<\/p>\n

FOXBOROUGH \u2014 What do the <\/i>Patriots do well?<\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a simple question that should elicit a layered response. That\u2019s not the case in 2024. This season, the answer is also simple.<\/p>\n

This Patriots team can\u2019t hang its hat on a single thing that its consistently good at. That was on display for a national audience on Saturday afternoon, as Jerod Mayo\u2019s group was punked by the Chargers. The Patriots were outclassed in every phase of the game en route to a 40-7 drubbing.<\/p>\n

The defense couldn\u2019t get off the field, allowing seven consecutive scoring drives. The offense\u2019s lone points came on a free play with a just-chuck-it heave. Once again, the Patriots lost the yardage battle (428 to 181), time of possession battle (40:34 to 19:26) and the turnover battle (1 to 0).<\/p>\n

Even Drake Maye, often the silver lining, had a touch of gray on a misty afternoon at Gillette Stadium. His no-look turnover was costly and the (often under siege) rookie finished just 12-of-22 for 117 yards.<\/p>\n

Seriously, what does this team do well?<\/p>\n

Earlier in the year it might\u2019ve just been return punts, but now Marcus Jones is done for the season. The Patriots can\u2019t stop the run, can\u2019t stop the pass, can\u2019t run the football in obvious running situations, and can\u2019t move it consistently through the air. They\u2019re routinely out-coached. Special teams is hit-or-miss. Rookie wideouts Ja\u2019Lynn Polk and Javon Baker were once again no-shows as their draft mate, Ladd McConkey, lit the Patriots up for eight receptions, 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns. So yes, the front office is absolutely culpable here too.<\/p>\n

But the fact that we\u2019ve reached Week 17 and can\u2019t point to a single thing the Patriots do well is an indictment on the coaching staff. This team isn\u2019t improving as the year goes on. It\u2019s regressing. And this is strictly speaking about the on-field product. It\u2019s not even getting into Mayo\u2019s weekly media gaffes \u2014 it was the Rhamondre Stevenson benching that wasn\u2019t on Saturday \u2014 nor anything external. The on-field product matters most \u2014 and it\u2019s been abysmal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last three years have been pretty much a horror show. Let\u2019s just call it what it is,\u201d Davon Godchaux said.<\/p>\n

But even in Bill Belichick\u2019s final seasons, it was easy to point to the defense \u2014 particularly the secondary \u2014 as a strength. They covered well. On Saturday, Justin Herbert went 26-of-38 for 281 yards and three touchdowns, and with 10:54 remaining and 37 points on the board, he was lifted from the game. Herbert diced the Patriots up.<\/p>\n

People often cite Dan Campbell\u2019s first season as Lions coach as evidence that one-and-done coaches are foolish. Detroit went 3-13-1 in 2021. The Patriots are 3-13 now.<\/p>\n

Same thing, right?<\/p>\n

Nope. What is often omitted from that narrative is the way Campbell\u2019s season played out. The Lions started 0-10-1 and then won three of their final six games. They were showing signs of life down the stretch. The Patriots, on the other hand, just dropped their sixth game in a row. They\u2019re free falling.<\/p>\n

With his team already fading from the playoff picture in late October, Mayo outlined a basic goal moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be better as the season goes on, and be one of those teams that no one wants to play at the end of the year,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cThat\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does anybody believe they\u2019ve satisfied that goal?<\/p>\n

Following the beat-down, Keion White said he was hopeful that change would come from this season. And scapegoating offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, as is one rumored move from the Krafts, will do nothing to remedy the issues on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf changes aren\u2019t made then what are we doing?\u201d White said. \u201cThe NFL is a production-based business so if we\u2019re not doing anything to change our production, which is loss, what are we doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerod Mayo’s team was punked by the Chargers on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\nChris Mason: Simple Patriots question elicits damning response for Jerod Mayo - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chris Mason: Simple Patriots question elicits damning response for Jerod Mayo - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jerod Mayo's team was punked by the Chargers on Saturday afternoon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-29T12:11:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/new-england-bau-53.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8338\",\"name\":\"Chris Mason: Simple Patriots question elicits damning response for Jerod Mayo - 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