Jerod Mayo Stressing One ‘Silly’ Thing Before Eagles Joint Practice

Jerod Mayo set the tone early when he took over as Patriots head coach, and the 38-year-old revealed his stance around joint practices before the Eagles arrive at One Patriot Place.

New England will welcome Philadelphia for one day of joint practice next Tuesday. Teams typically hold two days of joint practices, but Mayo had a clear reason why he didn’t want another joint practice during his first preseason.

“To me, having that one practice because honestly, when the fights start to happen, they see stuff on film that they might not have seen live,” Mayo said in a video conference call. “That was definitely the thought process. Once again, this is an emotional game. Things happen but you just never want to see a physical fight on the football field. Hopefully, when the Eagles come in here, I’m gonna stress to our guys that’s not what we’re about. We’re about tough in between the whistles. It’s not about being tough when the whistle’s already been blown.

“I will say this: Some of those fights and I tell the guys you are breaking your hand. People are throwing punches and hitting helmets and shoulder pads. I always thought these fights have always been silly because you can hurt yourself.”

Fights and brawls during joint practice are not a matter of if but when. Former Patriots offensive lineman went viral Wednesday for starting a huge ruckus during joint practice between the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rookie Malik Nabers started a fight during joint practice between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions.

New England players in the past have been involved in brawls, too, so it’s fair that Mayo wants his rebuilding team to focus more on getting better on the field rather than getting into disagreements during practice.

But players are eager to get physical, which joint practices allow, so it could be an eventful Tuesday at Foxboro, Mass.