He’s only in his second season, but reigning defensive rookie of the year Jerod Mayo is clearly one of the budding leaders on New England young, re-tooled defense. In many ways that responsibility comes with being a middle linebacker, comes with being a top-10 draft pick and comes even quicker when a team turns over its roster on defense from one year to the next.

In that role as a defensive leader and spokesman, Mayo was asked to respond to the comments of one of his former teammates in the wake of Sunday night’s loss at Indy and the apparent message sent by Bill Belichick to his defense when he decided to go for the fourth-and-two rather than punt the ball away.

ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi, barely months removed from the Patriots locker room, said his blood would be boiling were he still a member of the New England defense.

“To be honest I have the ultimate respect for Tedy and everything he’s done for this organization, but he’s not in this locker room at this point in time,” Mayo said Thursday morning at Gillette Stadium. “So he doesn’t know the feelings that this defense or that this team has. We still have our confidence. We still have our swagger and we’re going to go out on Sunday and show the…media, I guess.”

Mayo said there was “never any doubt” in the defense’s collective mind that Belichick still has confidence in the unit, even if the coach’s Sunday night decision may have indicated otherwise. While many have postured in recent days that this could be a rallying cry for the unit to build upon moving forward, Mayo downplayed that angle when asked if he’d felt the need to address his teammates.

“Not really,” Mayo said. “Everybody was disappointed, especially the day after the game. It was a rough couple days for everybody but we’re over it now and we’re on to the Jets.”

While he isn’t yet inclined to address his unit, he does think it has something to prove.

“Of course. Any time you give up 35 points in a game you try to come back strong the next game. Hopefully we can get that done this week.”

Mayo has always been more about actions than words and says he will proceed as such at this seemingly tough time in the season.

“I try to lead by example. I’m not really a rah-rah guy or anything like that. I try to lead by example and hopefully the guys will follow.”

But if they don’t, and even if it doesn’t come as natural to him as it might for some other players, then Mayo has no problem voicing his opinions.

“I mean if something needs to be said, I’ll say it. I was the same way in college, same way in high school But false excitement and things like that is not the kind of person that I am. I’m a genuine person and guys that know me know that’s the way I am.”

Are you confident in the defense moving forward? Will Mayo and the group rally after Sunday’s disappointing finish? Let us know with a comment below?

Much has been made both in New York and throughout the football world this week of reports that Jets coach Rex Ryan shed some tears in a meeting with his team on Monday.

As such a reporter asked Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday if he’d ever cried in front of his team. Belichick took a light-hearted approach to his answer.

“I’ve coached 35 years, so I’ve probably covered most all the bases,” Belichick said, bringing somewhat rare laughter to the Gillette Stadium media workroom. “I think I even swore once too.”

Belichick may have covered all the bases in this three-plus decades on the sidelines, but Ryan has gone from bravado-driven bully to a teary-eyed basket case in just a few weeks. I guess that’s just how powerful winning and losing can be in the NFL. A 3-0 record is a world-beating comedy. While 4-5 is a tear-jerking tragedy.

Both teams are coming off, in football terms, a tragedy heading into their Sunday afternoon matchup in Foxborough. Maybe both Belichick and Ryan will share a good cry together at midfield during their postgame handshake on Sunday night! I bet that would make Dick Vermeil proud!

More likely is that only one will be in the mood to cry at that point.

What do you think of a coach crying in front of his team? Honest emotion or signs of pure instability? Let us know with a comment below!

Patriots Football Weekly’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fred Kirsch offers his "Kirsch Words" blog which features in-game commentary during the Patriots away game against the Indianapolis Colts beginning at 7:30pm ET. Read his commentary and notes as he blogs before, during and after the game.
 

IN INDY'S GRILL - Team PFW plus BLowe spent the night before the Patriots-Colts game at the Weber Grill restaurant in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS - Here in an unseasonably warm midwest (highs have been in the 60s this weekend), Paul, Andy, BLowe, and I went to our favorite Indy eatery, the Weber Grill restaurant in the heart of downtown.

Before we got here, however, a quick story from the voyage from Gillette. Our newest PR guy, Aaron Salkin (good guy, and very good at his job), has become something of a bad-luck charm for us in terms of our transportation. During our preseason game with Washington, he was part of our bus convey when it broke down (see previous Hits the Road entry), and was with us when our bus stalled (before starting back up miraculously) from the hotel to the game in New York in Week 2.

Then, yesterday afternoon, on the way to Green Airport, the lead bus in our convoy experienced trouble and wouldn’t go faster than 35 MPH. So, the whole convoy pulls over and guess who gets bumped to the back bus … Team PFW and friends. BB and about two dozen other coaches and players piled into our bus while we jumped on board with the marketing department’s guests. The delay set us back about a half hour, but we made it to Indy in plenty of time to get to our reservation at Weber … but not before we jokingly threatened to leave Salkin on the side of the road.

BREW-HAHA - Erik's Fat Tire at the Team PFW table at Weber Grill on Saturday night.

Once at Weber, though, we were happy. Paul, Andy, and I got burgers, while BLowe ordered a brisket spread. I also enjoyed my first Fat Tire, which came in a decorative can (insert Andy joke here about liking it in the can). When was the last time you went to a nice restaurant and they served you a beer in a can????

Paul had his usual Miller Light because, let’s be honest, he has a permanent fat tire around his midsection. He was recognized, though, by a fan who stopped by our table to say hello to Paul. To which Paul  replied, after the guy left, “Now I know what it feels like to be BLowe.”

Brandon Tate’s rookie season has once again been cut short due to a knee injury. After missing the first six weeks on NFI while recovering from a knee injury that ended his college career, the third-round wideout has been placed on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in just his second NFL game, last week’s win over Miami.

New England filled Tate’s roster spot by signing practice squader Isaiah Stanback. Stanback spent the early part of his pro career in Dallas transitioning from college QB to NFL wide receiver and returner. When he signed with the Patriots practice squad in September he was used primarily as a quarterback. Bill Belichick has said a number of times that Stanback, despite not being on the roster, has been the team’s No. 3 QB all season.

But in recent weeks Stanback has taken more reps at wide receiver and returning kicks. So his call-up gives New England depth at the positions Tate filled – WR and KR – but also on the depth chart behind Tom Brady. I get it and think it’s a smart move if Stanback can actually contribute as a pass catcher and game-ready returner.

My only question is this – what’s wrong with Terrence Nunn? Why is he consistently passed over for a promotion? He seemed to have a great training camp and good preseason. He should be up to speed in the offense thanks to his summer work and practice squad reps. He seems to have some value on special teams, at least in terms of covering kicks.

Is it simply that other guys provide more versatility? Has his development in the offense not been quick enough? I admit, I’m a big Nunn fan based on his past story and his showing this summer. I’m biased, but I’d like to see him get his chance to shine at some point. But he keeps getting passed over.

What do you think about the move and are you still concerned with the Patriots depth at WR? Let us know with a comment below!