Bill Belichick: I Feel Bad for Patriots Defensive Players After Mayo's 'Soft' Remarks

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo didn't hold back when discussing his team's 32-16 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, calling the group a "soft football team across the board."

"I felt like we just went out there and played soft," he told reporters. "We're playing soft at the moment. Now in saying that, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? One hundred percent. But that comes through hard work and getting better each and every day."

On Monday, former head coach and ESPN analyst Bill Belichick said he felt bad for the team's defensive players in particular during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show:

While Belichick may simply have some sympathy for his former players, it's hard not to see those comments as a dig at his successor.

His remarks also left out some key context. The current defensive unit isn't a carbon copy of the 2023 unit at the moment—edge-rusher Matthew Judon was traded to the Atlanta Falcons this summer, defensive tackle Christian Barmore is out indefinitely due to blood clots, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley is out for the season with a torn pectoral and safety Jabrill Peppers is on the commissioner's exempt list after being arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class "B" substance.

Mayo's comments were in regard to his team's toughness, a measure he said is determined by how a team defends the run, runs the ball and covers kickoffs. Thus far under his watch, the Patriots are allowing 136.1 yards per game on the ground (tied 21st in the NFL) and are rushing for 111 yards per contest (22nd). The team also gave up a punt return for a touchdown against the Jaguars.

The result has been a 1-6 start to the season, putting the Patriots on pace to finish with a worse mark than the 4-13 record they had under Belichick last year during his final season on the job.

The Patriots have plenty to clean up from both a coaching and execution standpoint, in other words, though a number of Mayo's players agreed with his assessment of the team.

"He said it well and we got to look in the mirror and understand what he's saying," linebacker Jahlani Tavai told reporters. "If we're OK being soft, then some people will fall off, and the rest of us who want to prove that wrong will step up and make sure this doesn't happen."

"That wasn't what we want to be at all," tight end Hunter Henry added of Sunday's performance. "That was not the identity we want to be."