Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo made waves throughout the league for all the wrong reasons after his team fell to 1-6 after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said at the time. “I felt like we just went out there and played soft.
“We’re playing soft at the moment. When I say playing soft, it means stopping the run, being able to run the ball, and being able to cover kicks, which we weren’t able to do. Now in saying that, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? 100 percent. But that comes through hard work and getting better each and every day.”
One of the NFL’s top players heard Mayo’s message, and now he’s sending one of his own.
“Well, [expletive]. You know what I mean? He’s a player. So, he’s been around it. He played at the highest level. And, you know, if that’s how he feels that’s how he feels,” Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby said, according to Pro Football Talk.
“But, you know, I can’t speak for him. But, yeah, I would not take it lightly. You know what I mean? I would have a major issue if I was a player, especially another grown man calling you soft. I mean, those are fighting words.”
Crosby isn’t the first one to take exception to Mayo’s claim either. Legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick was also ruffled by it.
“I’m kinda hurt for those guys because to call them soft, they are not soft. They were the best team in the league last year against the run. I feel bad for the defensive players on that one,” Belichick said.
Everything seems to be trending the wrong way for Mayo, including public support. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s still the guy in charge next season.
