Jerod Mayo Reveals Details Of ‘Good Meeting’ With Patriots Before Week 4

The New England Patriots are moving on from their ugly Week 3 loss to the New York Jets.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo kicked off his news conference Monday by explaining his message to the locker room in wake of last Thursday's 24-3 defeat at MetLife Stadium.

"This morning, I had a good meeting with the team," Mayo told reporters Monday at Gillette Stadium. "We recapped the last three games and level set on expectations. I just told those guys, like always, that we have to continue to get better. I tried to put some things into perspective. You have a team that's picked to win the Super Bowl, gets blown out the next week. Right now, it's about who can get better the quickest. That's what we have to do. We have to get back to the fundamentals. When we talk about tackling, running and being able to move the ball, and also takeaways are definitely a huge part of it.

"The guys are ready to work. They're excited. Today, it's all about NEP (New England Patriots). It has nothing to do with anyone else. It has everything to do with self-scout and working on things that continue to show up on a game-after-game basis."

Mayo later clarified what he meant by resetting "expectations" in Monday's meeting.

The Patriots aren't necessarily looking to reinvent the wheel before Week 4. But back-to-back losses surely are enough to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

"Maybe I've misspoke in saying resetting expectations, but just reminding them of what we said all the way back in the spring -- on what type of team that we want to be," Mayo added. "We went in on a short week and didn't perform the way we wanted to, but it was more of a reminder. I probably should have said it that way. A reminder of what we said we were and how we have to play winning football."

It's been a choppy season for the Patriots, who upset the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in Week 1 before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime at home in Week 2. Falling to the Jets on national TV in Week 3 definitely stings, but New England can't lick its wounds for too long. A difficult test against the San Francisco 49ers awaits this Sunday.