FOXBOROUGH — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft did not address his team’s performance or that of coach Jerrod Mayo at a fan event at Gillette Stadium on Friday.
Kraft met with fans at the Patriots pro shop when he unveiled this year’s version of the Nike Air Force 1 sneaker. But he didn’t have much to say to reporters who were hoping to hear from Kraft about the Patriots’ six-game losing streak and mounting criticism of their rookie coach.
Kraft told fans that the Patriots hope to start getting “some W’s on the field” soon.
WBZ-TV’s Levan Reed asked him what he had to say to Patriots fans about the ups and downs of a 1-6 season, the worst since the Krafts bought the team in 1994.
“It was incredible to shake hands with all these people who were here all night. They love the team and it puts a huge responsibility on us to work hard to achieve the best we can and also have a franchise that people love,” Kraft said before walking off without answering any further questions. “We are proud of our brand.”
Kraft doesn’t discuss Jerrod Mayo’s description of the Patriots as “soft.”
After Sunday’s 32-16 loss to the Jaguars in London, coach Jerrod Mayo called the Patriots a “soft football team.” He tried to clarify on Monday that he meant they were playing it cool, but the message remained very clear.
While there were mixed reactions to this comment in the Patriots locker room, most players were receptive to the comment. But there was no opportunity to get Kraft’s thoughts on the suspension Friday morning, and he did not mention Mayo in his quick conversation with the media.
The Patriots held a team meeting on Thursday
The Patriots held a team meeting on Thursday, where injured captain Jawaun Bentley addressed the team. While Kraft did not address the topic Friday morning, Mayo did so in his press conference with reporters.
The message of this meeting was that everyone should focus more on the team rather than their own personal stats, which includes taking care of themselves away from the building.
“That’s always the message, especially when you’re sitting here with our record now,” Mayo told reporters on Friday. “We’ve got to figure out ways to go out there and get better. We’ve got a good team coming in, we’ve got to have good energy and we’ve all got to be on the same page in all three phases.”
Catch the Patriots-Jets game this Sunday on WBZ-TV – your New England Patriots flagship station. Coverage begins Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), then tune in to TV38 after the game for complete Patriots 5th quarter reaction and analysis!
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