Jerod Mayo Fires Back at Tedy Bruschi
Boston.com – At this time last year, Tedy Bruschi was a primary leader on the Patriots defense. This week, in an indirect way, he may have passed those duties along to Jerod Mayo, the second-year middle linebacker. On Monday as an ESPN analyst, Bruschi criticized Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth and 2 from his own 28 because, as a former defensive player, it would have irritated him. Speaking to reporters today, Mayo offered the strongest rebuke yet a Patriots player of the sentiment Bruschi, more than anyone, championed. “We looked at it as a challenge,” Mayo said. “People say that it was a lack of confidence in us but we looked at it as a challenge and we looked at it as coach having enough confidence in us to give us a short field. Unfortunately we were unable to step up to the challenge and get the job done.” When asked directly about Bruschi’s comments, Mayo was deferential to his former teammate but did not back down from challenging him. “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 so he doesn’t know the feeling that this defense or this team has. We still have our confidence, we still have our swagger and we’re gonna go out Sunday and show the media I guess.”
When sociologist Robert K. Merton published his landmark paper “The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action”, he popularized what we now commonly call The Law of Unintended Consequence. Typically we associate this theory with the negative effects of well intentioned social engineering. The Treaty of Versailles was meant to stick it to the Germans, and it did. To the point where they elected an insane, one-testicled Austrian wallpaper hanger who almost destroyed the world. Starving babies are a bad thing, so we give poor people with babies money which is good for them. So they have lots and lots of poor hungry babies, which is bad for us. But sometimes the unintended consequences are not negative. Sometimes they result in what has been called “serendipity” or “windfall” by the People in Charge of Calling Things Something. Some of our greatest inventions were discovered accidentally by people looking for something else, among them Teflon, Silly Putty, birth control pills and America.
Leave it to Bill Belichick to come up with a serendipitous unintended consequence of the 4th Downgate decision. In this case, the emergence of Jerod Mayo as supreme leader of the Pats defense. Granted, Mayo has been the defacto, on field leader since the moment last year when Belichick took the green dot off Mike Vrabel’s helmet and stuck it to the back of then-rookie Mayo’s. But this is the first example we have of him feeling comfortable enough to step up in front of the microphones, speak on behalf of his entire unit, and tell someone to go piss up a rope. In this case, the media in general and his former captain Tedy Bruschi in particular. Under any other circumstances, I’d go after anyone who had the temerity to call out Tedy, but in this case, I love it. Clearly, Mayo was paying attention last year because he learned from the best. And by “best” I mean Tedy himself. This is exactly the way Bruschi would’ve handled it if one of his former teammates, say, Ted Johnson, ripped a Belichick decision on TV and spoke for the Pats defense. He would’ve paid all due respect, then respectfully told the world no one speaks for his defense but him. Brilliant. It’s still killing me that the Pats lost the spot, the 1st down, the game and probably any chance at a bye in the playoffs. But they might have gained a great deal more.
Jerry Thornton | Random Thoughts | 11/20/09, 3:48 pm |
21 People have left comments on this post
anyone read simmons column today about belichick?
i have a headache after reading the first sentence, otherwise – great stuff Jerry (rolling eyes).
Jerry you are right as usual.
We should cancel welfare
Jerry way to keep it short and sweet. Glad i read the comments before the atricle and saved myself a week of reading
Its not Jerry’s fault you idiots read at a 3rd grade level.
que the “i’ll suck off jerry anytime” idiots
Simmons fucking pissed me off today, and I usually defend the guy. His whole schtick where he acts like he’s smarter than every NBA GM and every NFL coach is wearing very thin. But of course everyone loves to think they’re smarter than the guy with three rings.
Iroll, Read it and agreed with every single point he made, except I’m more willing to give the D the benefit of the doubt to bounce back… reading this helps.
Fuck Bill Simmons. Yea I like how he pretends to be the President of Boston sports when he lives in Los fucking Angeles. What a fraud. He’s so out of touch.
Belichick’s decision to go for it really wasn’t that bad of a call. Long term it is probably a bad thing for the Patriots that he can’t trust his defense, but I don’t think they had given any reason to do so.
Simmons argument was actually as valid as it gets. A) Why call a timeout there (therefore wasting a second timout IN THE SAME DRIVE) and give the Colts defense time to rest and set up. B) Why lineup with 5 wrs and 0 rbs, essentially limiting your offensive options to just a pass. C) The situation was identical to passing for a 2 pt. conversion, and the odds in those circumstances go against the offense. D) Driving 70 yards with just over a minute to play is a lot harder than driving 28 yards, no matter how you spin it. E) The Pats offense was struggling as is on that drive (as evident by calling 2 timeouts on one drive).
I’d go with Simmons’ argument here. Too much evidence backing up his claim.
The spot shouldnt bother you as much as the Maroney fumble or the endzone pick. If either of those don’t happen, you don’t have to grasp at straws to blame someone else for a loss.
Colts 35, Pats 34.
DirtyDawg, you can say “que the ‘this blog is too long!’ comments” everytime he writes an article. most people enjoy reading his longer columns because they are INSIGHTFUL. only the dumb fucks like you skip it because you have ADD. unfortunately, you’re also the person that comments on it. seriously what is the point in telling us you think it’s too long?
I thought it was the right call. After the play was disected this week online and on television and it was clear it was definitely a first down, it looked even more like an obviously correct call. The “4th and 2 gate” idiots have had it easy and not had to work hard to create copy for articles and tv. Back to work now sports geniuses.
Once again, dirtydawg needs the abridged version, along with stick figure drawings, to comprehend.
So did Dirtydog and others just say that it would take them “a week” to read two throwaway paragraphs on a local sports blog?
Do people not realize how utterly and completely ignorant they make themselves look?
Wow, 2 paragraphs. The nerve of Thornton not dumbing down his post so the idiots from Lynn wouldn’t get confused. Maybe next time put some more shiny pictures between all the big sentences.
Next time you feel like making the same point Dirtydog –> don’t.
Sorry for being so long winded.
F*ck Bill Simmons.
I have a copy of “The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action” in my bathroom but there are no pictures of chicks with tits in there. None.
Piratesalsa – Simmons is an IDIOT! And the fact you think he has valid arguements makes YOU an IDOIT as well…YOU probably live out in Los Angeles with him.
What evidence are you talking about? Because the game I watched there was 2:00 left to play – not just over a minute. Did you even watch the game or you believe everything your boy Simmons says?
what a fucking boring column, havent heard enough bout the 4th and 2 call tho, please, by all means, give me more…
Roscoe I may be dumb as fuck but at least i know the difference between 2 and 3. Eat my nuts jerkoff
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