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Belichick defends Patriots defense amid Mayo criticism: ‘They’re not soft’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was very critical of his players after a 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, saying “we’re a soft football team across the board” in a postgame press conference.
Calling a football team soft is a significant criticism.
Mayo tried to clarify his comments on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Monday morning, saying “We don’t have a soft football team. We’re playing soft.”
One person who disagreed with Mayo’s postgame comments is his predecessor Bill Belichick. The former Patriots head coach was asked about the Patriots and Mayo’s “soft” comments during his weekly Monday appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show.
Belichick didn’t mince words.
“Defensively, the Patriots led the league last year in rushing defense. Yards per carry (they were) No. 1 in the league, and this year they’re way down in the 20s somewhere,” Belichick said.
“It’s the same guys. They re-signed (Anfernee) Jennings, they re-signed (Jahlani) Tavai, they re-signed (Kyle) Dugger. Marcus Jones and (Christian) Gonzalez have been healthy all year. They were both on injured reserve at this point last year. You got (Deatrich) Wise, you got (Davon) Godchaux, you got Keion White, you got (Marte) Mapu. It’s a lot the same players, and in some cases I would say more.
“I’m kind of hurt for those guys, because to call them soft — they’re not soft. They were the best team in the league last year against the run, and those guys went out and did it even though we couldn’t score many points offensively. I feel bad for the defensive players on that one because those guys, that’s a tough group. Jon Jones, Godchaux, Wise, Jennings, Uche — those guys are all tough players. Dugger. They’re tough guys.”
“The Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year and they still have a lot of those players..
I’m hurt for those guys because they’re not soft..
I…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/belichick-defends-patriots-defense-amid-183417221.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-10-21 18:34:17
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