Head Coach Jerod Mayo 9/19: "We just have to be better"

Jerod Mayo (0:00)

Look, not good in any phase of the game. Felt like we had a good game, X and O's wise. We just didn't go out there and execute. And that's what it comes down to every Sunday. I told the guys, this is NFL football, this is what it is. And we just have to be better. So the guys will be off the next few days. Told them to get their minds right, get their bodies right, and then come back and be ready to work. Got a bonus Monday, got another good team that we're gonna go against next week. Just gotta be better.

SPEAKER_2 (0:27)

Jerod, you were one to your assessment of the offensive line in the preseason. How would you say they've grown since then, if at all, in reflect on their performance man?

Jerod Mayo (0:36)

Well, I thought the offensive line today had a hard time, had a hard time. There were times earlier in the game where the pockets looked pretty clean, but as the game wore on, similar to last week, it started falling apart as far as the protections. And it's not only knowing how to do it, it's also knowing what to do. And I would also say we had some injuries up front that the next man has to be ready to go.

SPEAKER_3 (0:55)

Jerod, is this a mental, physical breakdown to contribute both tonight?

Jerod Mayo (1:00)

Look, the first thing, I've got to look at myself in the mirror and make sure that I did everything I could to get the guys ready to go. And based on the score today, I need to do more. But going back to what I said earlier, just got to hit the reset button, it's NFL football, and we have to get better.

SPEAKER_4 (1:15)

Jerod, what made you make this decision to have Drake in the BNF?

Jerod Mayo (1:19)

I just thought it was an opportunity, a good opportunity for him to go out there with the 1s and put a few drives together. He moved the ball, we'll watch the film and evaluate.

SPEAKER_5 (1:29)

Did the performance of the offensive line give you any pause when it comes to putting Drake in that situation?

Jerod Mayo (1:35)

Well, like I said, in the second half, I felt like our offensive line, they just weren't blocking the way they did at earlier parts of the game. It definitely was something that I thought of personally, but at the same time, I thought it was too good of an opportunity for him to go out there and get some experience.

SPEAKER_3 (1:50)

Jerod, only ran the ball five times in the first half today. There was a lot of talk this week about getting the ball to playmakers.

SPEAKER_6 (1:56)

Was the offense too concerned about getting the ball to playmakers?

Jerod Mayo (1:59)

I wouldn't say that. We'll go back and look at the calls. What I will say is, some of those plays are called from the huddle, and then others, the quarterback has the ability to check run or pass. And look, I mean, what do we have, 100 yards in the first half? None of it was good, run, pass or anything.

SPEAKER_7 (2:15)

14 missed tackles?

Jerod Mayo (2:16)

Yeah, yeah, very uncharacteristic. And it's one of the things I'm very disappointed in as a defensive minded coach, especially the second level, we struggled all day as far as tackling. Once again, even when we hit them in the backfield, just the lack of fundamentals, the lack of discipline and the lack of just execution definitely continue to show up. But that was very uncharacteristic for us. But once again, you only get one opportunity to go out there and perform.

SPEAKER_3 (2:42)

Jerod, you told me you got sacked five times. You've been hit 25 times in the first three games. How concerned are you for him going out there?

Jerod Mayo (2:51)

Yeah, you always got, you know, the quarterback touches the ball every play. We have to do better up front. We have to, you know, whether it's through scheme or whatever, we got to reevaluate. The good thing is it's Thursday, so it's a mini bye week where we as coaches can also reset and look at things that we could do better.

SPEAKER_4 (3:08)

He gets up every time regardless of the grimace or not. What does that say to you?

Jerod Mayo (3:12)

It means a lot. It means a lot for a guy to, you know, continue to get up. Toughness is always a huge piece of the puzzle for a quarterback position, but we just got to do better as a team.