Patriots notes, quotes, and anecdotes: Wake up, it’s Game Day!

Aug 25, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo walks on the field before ether start of the game against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, happy Sunday, and welcome back into another edition of ‘Patriots notes, quotes, & anecdotes’. We’re back with another column hitting on all of the happenings surrounding the New England Patriots.

Here we go:

— Happy Game Day!

It’s been 240 days since the Patriots and owner Robert Kraft announced Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, the 15th in franchise history.

“After the first two weeks, it was all about football,” the new man in charge said on Friday of his adjustment into the head coach role. “It was all about X’s and O’s. It was all about scouting players. The draft process, the free agency process. So after the first couple weeks, it was all ball for me.”

All of the work he and his coaching staff have put in will now culminate in Mayo’s first time putting the headset on for a game that counts. He explained what Sunday’s, and specifically this Sunday, mean to him:

“It means… Sundays for me are just one of those times where you have a three-hour block of just — it’s all about football. And everything else really doesn’t matter. Often times we look at these guys as just football players, but they’re men, they’re fathers, they’re husbands, and all of those things. To me, it’s just one of those opportunities where nothing else matters. It’s a very special feeling… it’s a special day.”

It’ll be a tall task for sure, as the Patriots are headed to Ohio to take on the Bengals. Led by Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins on offense and Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, and Geno Stone on defense, Cincinnati has been a premiere team in the league for several years now.

“I had a conversation with [the Patriots] this morning about how we need to play the game,” Mayo said this week. “How we need to be fundamentally sound and be prepared for anything. This is a high-awareness game, and it’s always like that at the beginning part of the season.”

What exactly does high awareness mean?

“So, when I talk about awareness,” the coach explained, “the most important thing starts with down and distance. What’s the score in the game? Where is the quarterback? Who’s in the game? Where are the ‘Big Three’ on offense? Those are the big keys, in my opinion.”

That big three, of course, is Burrow, Chase, and Higgins.

With Chase currently in a contract dispute and Higgins dealing with a hamstring injury, perhaps there’s a chance New England pulls off an upset for the ages.

— Patriots name their 2024 captains, add a new wrinkle.

The Patriots named their captains this past Tuesday, appointing the following six vets as their leaders for the 2024 season:

— QB Jacoby Brissett
— C David Andrews
— DL Deatrich Wise Jr.
— LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
— S Jabrill Peppers
— LS Joe Cardona

A new twist will be added this year as the Pats captains will now wear the “C” patch on their jerseys, something New England never did under coach Bill Belichick.

“It’s a badge of honor, and I think when guys do the right thing, they should be recognized for those things,” said Mayo no his decision to switch this up. “It’s something as small as having the captain’s patch, [but] I think it’s important for those guys.”

— Tom Brady gives his thought on when Drake Maye should play.

Veteran Jacoby Brissett is not only a Patriots captain, but he was also named the team’s starting quarterback last week by Jerod Mayo — meaning that rookie signal caller Drake Maye (who the team selected with their No. 3 overall pick back in April) will have to wait his turn.

The latest to give their opinion on the matter is Patriots Hall of Famer, six-time Super Bowl champion, and FOX’s now-lead color commentator Tom Brady. Here’s what he told Colin Cowherd on Tuesday’s edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd:

“I’ve gone on record, in my opinion, that I think it’s best that young quarterbacks, or rookie quarterbacks, to kind of watch a veteran do it.”

“There’s so much that goes on,” he continued. “And quarterbacks need to process so much information so quickly, and I think if you can have someone — and I sat behind Drew Bledsoe my first year. What a great player he was, someone that I got to watch and learn from. Aaron Rodgers watched behind Brett Favre. Patrick Mahomes watched behind Alex Smith. So when you have a real pro in front of you, they can help with that learning curve even though that young quarterback isn’t necessarily going out there and losing confidence in what his abilities are.”

“Ultimately, those young players are going to get opportunities. The franchises need those young quarterbacks to come in and take a big step and lead that franchise on into the future. I just like to give them a little bit of time to acclimate themselves to the pro game, the pro schedule. It’s a big difference between college football and professional football.”

— Bill Belichick gives his take on the Patriots in 2024… and Drake Maye.

In one of his many, many media gigs for this upcoming season, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will be doing his own podcast for Underdog Fantasy.

Titled COACH with Bill Belichick, the 72-year-old will use the show to analyze the league as a whole throughout the course of the 2024 season. His co-host? former Patriots defensive (and offensive) coordinator Matt Patricia.

In their inaugural episode, Belichick and Patricia took a look at the Patriots’ outlook for 2024:

“They did re-sign a lot of the players that we had brought there and had there,” Belichick explained. “As they obviously like those guys.”

He continued: “[Kendrick] Bourne: a re-signing, [Mike] Onwenu: re-signing, [Rhamondre] Stevenson had a year to go they extended him, [Hunter] Henry was a re-signing and he’s been a solid leader for them. [Davon] Godchaux they did during training camp. [Christian] Barmore was an extension in the offseason, he doesn’t look like he’s going to play very much this year. [Jahlani] Tavai’s an extension, [Kyle] Dugger was a transition [tag] player and Josh Uche.”

“The guy that’s not on this list, of course, is Matt Judon,” the greatest coach of all-time said of o Matt Judon was traded down to Atlanta, and so that’ll provide an opportunity for Uche, Tavai, and Jennings to take that spot that, you know Judon would have had a lot of playing time at.

“You know a lot of guys came back, the additions were mainly draft choices.”

In a separate segment, alongside Patricia as well as former Patriots front office member Michael Lombari, Belichick gave his thoughts on New England’s No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye:

“You like his size and you like his arm, but I think his inexperience really showed up in the preseason,” he said. “I think he needs a lot of seasoning in terms of reading coverages, overall throwing mechanics, and consistency. Is he a big, fast athlete? Yeah, but I think it’s going to take more than that to be able to play quarterback in the National Football League.”

— Patriots vs. Bengals Prediction

Alright, a new segment here on quotes, notes, & anecdotes. Now that the regular season is here, we’ll give a score prediction at the end of each column:

Prediction: Bengals 21 – Patriots 13

Thanks for reading! We’ll talk to ya next week.

Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!

Mike Kadlick

Mike is a Patriots reporter with experience in radio, podcasting, and writing. Follow him on Twitter @mikekadlick.