For the Patriots, one of the big storylines coming out of Sunday’s 28-22 loss to the Rams (5-5) was the multitude of questionable coaching decisions made by first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but some of these “decisions” can objectively be categorized as “mistakes.”
But for Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law, it really doesn’t matter who’s calling the plays or what they’re scheming up.
“I don’t give a damn how good you think you are as a coach,” said the Patriots legend. “If you don’t have the talent, you’re not going to be too successful.”
Law was a part of four different Patriots teams that made trips to the Super Bowl (1996, 2001, 2003 & 2004), going 3-1 on football’s biggest stage. Those teams were not only coached by future Hall of Famers, but were bursting at the seams with players destined for Canton, OH (or at the very least, The Hall at Patriots Place).
When asked by his former teammate Jermaine Wiggins on Tuesday’s The Greg Hill Show about how much an elite pass rusher would help improve Mayo’s defensive scheme, Law felt like that unit was missing more than just one piece.
“[An elite pass rusher] helps out a lot,” said Law. “But if you think about the way we played, we didn’t have anybody just go get him, because they had so many responsibilities. So, if you compare our teams with the names of some of the guys that’s on this team right now, you can just go by position defensively.
“We had Willie McGinest out there. Richard Seymour, you know? Bobby Hamilton, Ted Washington - then you got Mike Vrabel, Roman Phifer, Tedy Bruschi. You know, Rodney Harrison, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy - you could sit there and look and talk about these types of names and this type of talent. It’s different when you look around and you see this team right now.
“Who is their Mike Vrabel? Who is their Willie McGinest? Who is their Tedy Bruschi? Who is Richard Seymour? That’s what I’m talking about - talent.”
The 3-8 Patriots play host in Week 12 to the Miami Dolphins (4-6), in a rematch of a Week 5 game that left much to be desired.
New England dropped that contest at home 15-10 in what would be veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s last start before Drake Maye was handed the keys to the castle.
The rookie has gone 2-4 since taking over the job, but has shown week-over-week improvement under center.
Despite the improved play of their signal caller in recent weeks, New England is still a big home underdog for Week 12 at both BetMGM and FanDuel, with both books listing the Dolphins as a 7-point road favorite.