While it’s not the only reason the New England Patriots are off to a 1-6 start and have lost six straight games for the first time in 31 years, this season has made it clear that their roster is simply not good enough to win on any kind of regular basis.
When asked on The Greg Hill Show last week why the Patriots’ roster was in such bad shape to begin with, head coach Jerod Mayo answered, perhaps facetiously, “You tell me.”
That was interpreted by many as a shot at his predecessor, Bill Belichick. NFL analyst, and friend of Belichick, Mike Lombardi was among those who took it that way, calling it a “cop-out” during an appearance on NESN’s Foxboro Rush podcast and asking, “When are they going to stop blaming Bill for everything that goes wrong?”
The Greg Hill Show followed up with Mayo on the state of the roster on Monday and the backlash from Lombardi and others, and Mayo tried to make it clear that he is not blaming anyone else and takes full responsibility for where the team is at.
“I'm not making any excuse,” Mayo said. “I think it all falls on me, and I'm OK saying that.”
Greg Hill followed up by asking Mayo if he was comfortable with the roster heading into the season and if he felt like he had done what he needed to do to address weaknesses.
“As an organization, we're always trying to bring in good players, whether it's through free agency, through the draft, through all those things,” Mayo said. “And at the same time, you know, it takes time to do that stuff. It's no shot to anyone else. Ultimately, me and Eliot [Wolf], we’re responsible for the roster and for what we put out there on the field.”
Obviously, it’s fair to say that Belichick did leave behind a depleted roster, one that went 4-13 last season. But it’s also fair to say that Mayo, Wolf and company did little to improve it this offseason outside of drafting quarterback Drake Maye third overall. Most of their other “big” moves were just re-signing guys who were already part of the roster Belichick left them.
Mayo has made a habit of walking back or clarifying his own comments, including earlier in the same Greg Hill Show appearance Monday when he clarified his postgame comments calling the Patriots “a soft football team.”
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