Jerod Mayo, Coaching Staff Most Concerning Aspect Of Patriots’ Loss

FOXBORO, Mass. — The roster is bad and the product on the field is ugly. There’s no question. Injuries have piled up for the New England Patriots, too. Those are impossible to overlook despite the fact every team is forced to deal with them.

But the 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday proved more than that. It proved the Patriots are not a well-coached team.

New England’s offense was gifted advantageous field position after an interception and blocked punt. The Patriots turned those into just seven points after being hindered by penalties. Meanwhile, the Dolphins had a punt blocked, a botched snap on a field goal halt an attempt and a bad third-down snap which took them out of field goal range.

It’s difficult to believe the Patriots lost to third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley despite all those things going their way, but it’s true. A well-coached team would not have blown that opportunity.

Jerod Mayo’s coaching staff was the most concerning aspect of the Week 5 defeat that dropped the Patriots to 1-4 on the campaign.

The group took 12 penalties for 105 yards. That lack of discipline and execution falls back on coaching. The offensive game plan, specifically, was questionable. New England threw the ball 34 times compared to 19 runs. The Patriots, who Mayo confirmed to be a run-first team after their Week 1 win, got away from their strengths.

“Look, there are definitely things that I have to do better as a head coach,” Mayo said. “I would say the staff, they’re still – they’re getting on the same page, and once again, like I said earlier, it’s about getting better every week, and that goes to communication between the staff and then obviously I have to do a better job as a whole.”

The Patriots had a legitimate chance to win in crunch time. They advanced to Miami’s 12-yard line with 1:08 left in regulation. New England did so following an 11-yard rush by Rhamondre Stevenson and 10-yard run by Antonio Gibson. Those two runs helped the Patriots boost their average to 7.9 yards (!) per rush, which was a franchise record.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and the Patriots then proceeded to throw the ball on four consecutive plays, including an overturned touchdown by Ja’Lynn Polk. Why? The Patriots needed 12 yards and had all three timeouts. Why not run the ball, especially considering the offensive line’s well-documented struggles in pass protection? New England concluded with 4.1 yards per pass attempt. Their rushing average was nearly double.

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It was perplexing at best and game-costing at worst.

“There were a bunch of conversations about that,” Mayo said when asked if they considered running the ball from the 12-yard line. “We ended up throwing the ball. That’s what we decided to do, and ultimately it’s my decision. I would say we averaged over seven yards a carry, I’m not sure, so that definitely was part of the discussion. We just didn’t finish it up.”

It wasn’t the only such mindboggling decision, though. There also was the end of the first half.

The Patriots started a drive from their own 5-yard line with 1:43 left in the first half. Stevenson took a handoff for eight yards on the first snap, which helped New England run the clock down to 1:09. Rather than run the clock out, though, the Patriots threw two consecutive incompletions. Why? Did Van Pelt and company really think they would get themselves into field goal range with a minute remaining? New England then punted on fourth-and-2 with 55 seconds left.

The Dolphins were in prime position to add points and cut their deficit. They had first-and-10 at the New England 28-yard line with 42 seconds before the half. A more competent offense would have tacked on a few more yards and converted at least a field goal. Instead, Miami threw three incompletions and failed to execute the special teams snap.

Fortunately for Mayo and company, they didn’t give up any points like they did during a nearly identical situation against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. That was the good news. The bad news is that Mayo, who has stressed the importance of not repeating mistakes, didn’t learn from his own. Or at the very least he didn’t step in and alter the plan.

In a season that’s going nowhere fast, the Patriots need signs of optimism for the future. Thus far, Mayo’s coaching staff has not been one of them.