Current Patriots coach Jerod Mayo and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick have exchanged some subtle, or otherwise, barbs lately. Former Patriots defenseman Devin McCourty, who knows them both well, finds their public bickering unfortunate.
“I hate how when Mayo speaks, it kind of… turns into, ‘Well, he’s trying to attack Bill a little bit.’ Bill speaks, trying to attack Mayo a little. We used to call these two Jerod “Jerod Belichick.” We always said he looked like Bill’s long lost son because of how he was and how similar he was to Bill as a player, so I hate to see how this all turned out, that they’re not a little close and Jerod can I? I’m not allowed to call Bill out as a former colleague, as a coach, and then as your former head coach. I hate that part of this, so hopefully they can figure it out and we won’t see subtle shots like this back and forth in the media anymore.”
McCourty also laughed at Belichick’s claim on Monday Pat McAfee Show that he felt sorry for players labeled as ‘soft’ by Mayo.
“I’ve never heard Bill say he felt bad or hurt for any player, so I thought that was funny,” McCourty said, “but it’s interesting because they don’t have Ja’Whaun Bentley either. I have Christian Barmore doesn’t, and I think one of the things that always stands out to me is Coach Belichick always tells us, ‘Don’t tell me what you did last year.’
Is there a connection between last year and this year?
“Yes, they had a very good defense last year, the way they performed on defense, and I agree with him. Individuals on that team when you talk about Jon Jones, Davon Godchaux and Anfernee Jennings, those guys are not soft. But what I learned playing under Bill Belichick is that strong football teams run the ball and stop the run.”
It could just be a matter of semantics.
“You might not want to use the word ‘soft,’” McCourty said. “At the moment they are not a strong football team. They can’t control the ball very well. They don’t stop the ball. So for me, yes, I think even Mayo have taken back those comments a little bit. I think after the match was emotional and said the team was soft, and I said the same on Sunday night Football night in America. I think when you have a comment like that or your team isn’t playing at that level, Mayo knows it’s on him and I’m sure this team will attack the Jets on Sunday and especially play better defensively because you were called out by your head coach and one of the things I heard when I went back there and talked to players is that Mayo tells us exactly how it is. “Everything he said at the meeting means he came and he already told us that as a team and they said he was very progressive in what he said to the team.”
Ultimately that is the test. What happens on Sunday, when the desperate Jets come to town with a 2-5 record. Will the Patriots take a harder line, or will they give Mayo or others reason to say they’re being soft?
