Coming out of Sunday’s 28-22 Week 11 loss to the Rams, fans and media alike had multiple coaching decisions they could question from head coach Jerod Mayo:
- During his team’s third possession, Mayo opted to punt from the Rams 37 yard line instead of giving kicker Joey Slye a chance to flash his big leg for a field goal of 54 yards (remember, the dude hit from 63 earlier this year). A delay of game penalty to give punter Bryce Baringer some more room to work with was no help, as the second-year player booted the ball into the end zone for a touchback. The Rams’ ensuing drive went 80 yards for a touchdown, giving Los Angeles their first touchdown of the game.
- At the end of the first half, with the clock running and the Rams running to the ball on a 4th and 1 from the New England 39 yard line - instead of using one of their two timeouts to get things set and possibly set the offense up for one more shot at points before the half, the defense looked lost and unsettled as running back Kyren Williams picked up 6 yards to keep the drive moving. Lucky for Mayo, this drive ended with a missed chip-shot field goal. But you have to wonder if a stop on 4th and 1 sets New England up with another chance for points.
- On their first drive of the second half, the offense drove all the way to the Rams 5 yard line for a 1st and goal. After three plays only managed three yards, the Patriots were faced with a 4th and goal from the 2-yard line trailing L.A. 21-10. Instead of being aggressive and leaning on the momentum of an offense that had moved the ball with ease for the first 63 yards, Mayo opted to kick a field goal with Slye to make it a 21-13 game. With New England scoring a touchdown on their next possession but missing the extra point, Mayo almost certainly wishes he had those points from the previous drive.
- Ahead of the final possession of the game for New England’s offense, the Rams were forced to punt on 4th and 6 from the Patriots 35. L.A. punter Ethan Evans pinned New England at their own 5 yard line, but a flag for illegal formation was thrown on the play. Mayo had the opportunity to either force Evans to punt it again, or move the ball up 5 yards to the New England 10 yard line. The first-year head coach opted for the yards instead of a re-kick. Five plays later, Drake Maye threw the game-sealing interception.
On The Greg Hill Show on Monday, Mayo talked about having to live with these decisions as head coach on a game by game basis, whether they’re successful or not.
“It’s easy to say, you know, ‘Why didn’t you do this? Why didn’t you do that?’” said Mayo. “But I would say, ultimately, like, I have to make those decisions.
“When I was a player, there were often times decisions made where I was disappointed. When I was a coach, a position coach, there were often times that I wish the decision went the other way. And as a head coach, you actually have to make those decisions and live with the repercussions, like sitting up here with you guys asking me all these questions.”
When it came to decision making duties between the lines, the rookie quarterback looked good on Sunday, as Maye had 30 completions (career high) on 40 attempts for 282 yards (career high) and 2 touchdowns. He paired that with only 1 interception and 3 sacks for his second-highest passer rating of the season (100.2).
With that said, the jury is out on who gets more blame on Maye’s game-ending interception - either Maye or his intended receiver DeMario Douglas. The North Carolina product took the blame postgame for the decision to target the second-year receiver downfield, saying they were on different pages on the play.
“I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep,” Maye said on Sunday. “But at the end of the day, just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing, I guess, got to just talk through more conversations. Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip. That's about it.”
When Mayo was asked on Monday about Maye taking the blame for this interception, he used it as an opportunity to relate to his young QB.
“You know, one thing about Drake - he always takes responsibility, and I appreciate that about him,” said Mayo.
“We’re both going through this together. And when I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about Drake and myself. I’m a rookie head coach, he’s a rookie player, and we’re gonna learn through these experiences.”
Mayo went on to agree with Maye’s assessment that he and Dougals weren’t on the same page on that interception.
We’ll see if more on-the-job training for Mayo will have an impact on his decision making in a rematch with the Dolphins in Week 12.
Miami (4-6) has won two straight, and has looked like a different team since the return of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 7.
Their matchup with New England in Week 5 featured career backup QB Tyler Huntley under center, as they grinded out an ugly 15-10 win over a Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots team in the midst of what would become the worst losing streak of the Kraft family’s ownership of the franchise.
With new quarterbacks on either sideline, let’s hope that yields a more exciting game at Hard Rock Stadium than we saw at Gillette Stadium in early October.