After losing 32-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday, the New England Patriots now sit at the bottom of the AFC standings with a 1-6 record. That is to say, following the loss head coach Jerod Mayo came out and said his team, particularly the defense, is playing 'soft.'
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The 6x Super Bowl winning head coach (2x as defensive coordinator), stuck up for the team in which he coached for 24 seasons.
While on the Pat McAfee Show Monday, former Patriots coach Bill Belichick (2000-2003) responded to his former player Mayo saying this.
"You know defensively, the Patriots led the league last year in rushing defense (yards per carry) No. 1 in the league, and this year they are way down in the 20's somewhere."
Belichick continued, "It's a lot of the same players from last year... I'm kinda hurt for those guys because to call them soft, they are not soft."
Bill Belichick on Jerod Mayo calling #Patriots players "soft":
"It's a lot of the same players from last year. I'm kinda hurt for those guys because to call them soft, they are not soft. They were the best team in the league last year against the run. I feel bad for the… pic.twitter.com/T7sbq2iLZ3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 21, 2024
Belichick pointed out that when he was head coach, "They were the best team in the league last year against the run... I feel bad for the defensive players on that one, cause that's a tough group."
In view of Belichick's illustrious coaching career, he is the all-time leader in playoff coaching wins (31).
Time will tell, if he will attempt to make a comeback into coaching, as Belichick might try to chase the all-time regular season wins record (Don Shula; 328), considering that the former Patriots coach is currently third with a 266-121 career record.
Related: Tom Brady Honors His Coach Bill Belichick: 'It Wasn't Me, It Wasn't You, It Was Us'