How do you react when your head coach questions your toughness in front of an international audience?
That was the question posed to several New England Patriots players Wednesday after Jerod Mayo called them a “soft football team across the board” following an embarrassing 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Responses varied.
“I’ve never been called soft by a coach,” wide receiver Kayshon Boutte admitted. “I feel like it was a shot at the whole team and not an individual perspective.
“But I feel like you’ve got to play harder. We’re tired of being 1-6, coming in and saying the same stuff every week, so I understand where he was coming from.”
Tight end and co-captain Hunter Henry also viewed Mayo’s words as a motivational tactic for a team that’s lost six in a row and owns the NFL’s worst point differential (minus-76) through seven games.
“I think it’s got to challenge you,” Henry said. “This is a physical game. You never want that to be your identity at all. So, I think that’s big challenge for all of us. I’ve looked at myself in the mirror, and I think everybody else has looked at themselves.
“I think that’s a big challenge, and you never want to be identified that type of way.”
Many media critics — including Mayo’s former boss, Bill Belichick — thought Mayo crossed a line by declaring his players without accepting personal responsibility for the team’s poor performance. But defensive end Keion White is among those who seems fine with Mayo calling it how he sees it.
“For me, it don’t really bother me,” White said. “It’s all about what we put on tape. There are plays where a lot of us were playing soft, me included. So, I don’t really take things personal.
“I don’t think anyone should takes things personal, especially in this line of work. I feel like since all of us have been in like middle school, we’ve all had coaches that said a lot worse.”
Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, meanwhile, suggested his head coach didn’t quite mean what he said Sunday in London.
“I don’t think he was initially just calling the team soft,” Godchaux said. “Probably just out of frustration. I know he definitely feels a different way about the team, but when you’re frustrated, things come out. But I definitely know that he don’t mean that towards the team.”
Mayo did clarify on Monday that he meant the Patriots played soft against the Jaguars as opposed to actually being soft. But either way, his attempt to light a fire under his team may have caused more harm than good, as Mayo’s comments have been a primary topic of conversation for the last three days.
For the most part, players don’t seem to be taking Mayo’s words personally. But they’re not exactly presenting a unified front, either, and it will be interesting to see if they can get on the same page this Sunday against the New York Jets.