Jerod Mayo was not in the mood to mince his words about the New England Patriots defense following a 41-21 loss the Houston Texans in Week 6. Head coach Mayo, whose background as both a player and assistant coach is on that side of the ball, told the defense, “you should feel like crap.”
The brutal, five-word verdict was reported by Chad Graff of The Athletic, who also pointed out “fundamentals and tackling” were described by Mayo as a “mess.”
In case it’s not clear by now, Mayo isn’t just unhappy with his defense. He’s fuming. The anger is justified because the D’ is supposed to be the strength of the Patriots. A playoff-level unit capable of carrying a team otherwise hamstrung by a pedestrian and mistake-prone offense.
While problems on offense, along with the loss of talented personnel, continue to slightly mitigate some of the issues, New England’s defense is running out of excuses for some increasingly soft showings.
Jerod Mayo’s Defense Continues to Falter in Key Areas
Run fits and tackling were the focus of Mayo’s ire after the Texans amassed 192 yards on the ground and averaged 6.9 yards per rush. Those numbers were underpinned by a pair of runs for over 50 yards.
Veteran Joe Mixon broke a 59-yard gain, before returning Dameon Pierce found the end zone from 54 yards to seal the game.
Numerous missed tackles helped clear Pierce’s path, with even a normally sure tackler like safety Kyle Dugger (23) missing in the open field. Mayo was right to point out the problem afterwards, because this marked the third-straight game the Pats allowed over 100 yards running.
As Mayo explained, per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, “the fundamentals of just tackling and our run fits have to improve. They have to improve.” Mayo also lamented, “we had two runs over 50 yards, so, I mean, that’s just mot winning football.”
Strong defense was a hallmark of last season’s defense. That unit allowed a mere 3.3 yards per carry, the lowest in the NFL, so the decline this year is significant.
The problem for Mayo and first-year coordinator DeMarcus Covington is yielding to the run is not the only issue undermining the Patriots. Not when Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for three touchdowns.
What’s hurting the Patriots most isn’t scheme, nor coaching. It’s personnel.
Patriots Have Lost Too Many Core Defensive Players
Core members of last season’s defense aren’t on the field, and it’s showing. The Patriots lack a consistent pass-rush because they traded four-time Pro-Bowl edge Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons.
His exit compounded the decline of a front seven weakened after the release of defensive tackle Lawrence Guy. Fellow defensive tackle Christian Barmore was the focal point up front and a rising star, but an illness has kept him out so far this season.
No Guy nor Barmore in the trenches has made the Patriots easier to run against. One of their primary jobs would have been to occupy double teams and let thumping middle linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley run to the ball, but the 250-pounder landed on injured reserve after Week 1.
The Patriots are simply missing too many enforcers along the front seven to put up sufficient resistance against the run. Mayo can only do so much to with scheme to cover up, but the dropoff in talent is showing every week.
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