A general theme of the 2024 Patriots has been undisciplined football. Each and every week, flags are an issue for this 3-9 football team.
Sunday was more of the same, as the Patriots had 10 accepted penalties for a loss of 75 yards en route to a 34-15 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins (5-6).
While Mayo stood by his postgame assertion that he can only do so much for the team once they “cross the white lines” during his interview with The Greg Hill Show on Monday, he did admit that some aspects of his coaching would change if the roster was constructed differently.
“It’s just interesting, because I feel like you may be coaching differently if you had pieces to sub in for guys that were making mistakes,” said WEEI’s Chris Curtis. “Is that just a fair blanket statement without calling anybody out in particular?”
“That’s a fair assessment,” Mayo responded matter-of-factly, with nothing else to add.
Earlier in the interview, Mayo was asked if there’s a point in time where players will need to start worrying about losing playing time if they continue to make the same mistakes - like left tackle Vederian Lowe being called for a false start three times in one half (!), yet remaining in the game as rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s subpar blindside protection.
WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins asked, “When do you get to a point - and I know it’s probably difficult based on personnel - when guys do start messing up, where they gotta be concerned about their asses being on the bench for the rest of the game and worrying about playing time?”
“Yeah, and that’s the hard part,” said Mayo. “You know, as you continue to try and build a culture - and look, these are the things that we’re not gonna continue to do, it depends on the position group that you can at, and whether we have depth at that spot or not. ‘Well, we don’t have depth at that spot,’ that definitely goes into it. But it’s unacceptable by all the players.”
“Like Vederian Lowe,” WEEI’s Greg Hill followed up. “Like, somebody who ends up being penalized three times in that [first half], and certainly costly when it comes to where you are field position wise. Do you have to look, then, back at the roster and say, ‘Eh, we don’t have the depth there, you know, at the position that we need?’”
“That’s part of the conversation, not only now but also, you know, in the offseason,” said Mayo. “Where we are, where we do have depth, and where we don’t.”
These comments harken back to an offseason that saw executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf working with an interim title, of sorts, until May, when the organization officially announced Wolf’s promotion.
In “offseason one” under Wolf, the organization prioritized re-signing talent across the defense, which coming into Week 12 ranked 20th in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. And that ranking is sure to change when new rankings come out on Tuesday, as the Dolphins threw all over New England at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
They also neglected the team’s major needs along the offensive line, signing mid-tier tackle Chuks Okorafor who quit the team after being benched in Week 1, and drafting career right tackle Caedan Wallace in the third round while needs were clearly glaring on the line’s left side.
To cap it all off, they swung-and-missed on acquiring both Calvin Ridley and Brandon Aiyuk at wide receiver, and traded down in the second round of the draft for a player in Ja’Lynn Polk, who has had a disastrous rookie season as a pass catcher.
The spot they moved out of for Polk - pick No. 34 - went to the Chargers, who drafted receiver Ladd McConkey out of Georgia. McConkey has looked like a perfect fit in the Los Angeles offense, while Polk - pick No. 37 - has looked lost here in New England.
Other rookie receivers being drafted in the early 30s were Ricky Pearsall (31), Xavier Legette (32), and Keon Coleman (33), all of which have flashed in their rookie campaigns for their respective teams. Instead of moving up to grab one of these guys, Wolf was content to move back and commit to the second-best receiver coming out of Washington.
There’s no doubt that Mayo should not be let off the hook for the undisciplined brand of football his team has played in 2024.
But when he agrees with the assertion that a different roster would yield different coaching, he may be on to something.