Bill Belichick took a flamethrower to Jerod Mayo’s critique of the New England Patriots, but he conveniently omitted one important detail.
Belichick’s comments on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday afternoon stemmed from Mayo calling the Patriots “a soft football team across the board.” The legendary head coach threw a haymaker while defending the defenders who used to play for him.
“I’m kind of hurt for those guys, to call them soft, they’re not soft,” Belichick told McAfee.
The Patriots have many of the same defensive players as last year when they ranked No. 1 in rushing yards allowed per attempt, Belichick said. He rattled off names like Anfernee Jennings, Jahlani Tavai, Kyle Duggar, Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Deatrich Wise, Davon Godchaux, Keion White, among others, who remain in Foxboro, Mass.
“They were the best team in the league last year against the run,” Belichick said.
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What Belichick failed to mention, though, is that New England is without defensive tackle Christian Barmore and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. Bentley led the Patriots in tackles each of the last three seasons and Barmore was one of the league’s better defensive tackles against the run. The absences of those players have proven impactful, and Belichick likely knows that as well as anyone.
“It’s a lot of the same players, and in some cases, I would say more,” Belichick said.
Belichick’s reference to statistics and returning players paints the picture that the biggest difference is coaching. It served as a victory lap of sorts for Belichick and a well-deserved response given how the Patriots spoke about Belichick’s tenure last offseason.
Mayo tried to backtrack on his “soft football team” label. During his media appearances Monday, Mayo said the Patriots are “playing soft” rather than a soft football team. But it proved too late, too late even before Belichick compounded things in his own way.
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Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports Images
