Patriots captain addresses Jerod Mayo 'soft' controversy

Longtime New England Patriots center and team captain David Andrews underwent season-ending shoulder surgery earlier in October but heard how first-year head coach Jerod Mayo referred to the team as "soft" coming off this past Sunday's 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Andrews addressed what's become a controversial topic via the latest edition of his "The Quick Snap" podcast. 

"If you’re a player it should p--- you off, right? And that’s good," Andrews said, as shared by Mark Daniels of MassLive. "It p----- me off and I’m not even playing. Going back to being coached hard, like, alright, now go out there and prove it. Go out there and take that. ...I understand both sides of the fence, but he’s the head coach and I don’t think he told a lie." 

NESN's Keagan Stiefel noted that multiple active Patriots players have insisted this week they had no problem with the comment that Mayo attempted to clarify on Monday. Nevertheless, former Patriots coach Bill Belichick clearly took issue with Mayo's original statement and even suggested that the 38-year-old could lose members of the locker room. Retired tight end Christian Fauria later said Mayo was in danger of players "tuning [him] out," and it's now believed Patriots owner Robert Kraft could make a coaching change if this season becomes "a complete dumpster fire" for his 1-6 team. 

However, Andrews thinks his healthy teammates should view the "soft" comment as a challenge to "change how [they are] viewed" beginning with this coming Sunday's home game against the 2-5 New York Jets. 

"As a player," Andrews added, "I’d be taking that and be like, 'OK, watch this. Watch what I’m about to do.' You’ve got to take ownership. Own everything you do. Own the good, bad and ugly…Hopefully, we’ll try to do that this week."

Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich confirmed on Wednesday that Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a new hamstring issue to go along with the injuries to both of his knees and the low ankle sprain that previously hobbled the 40-year-old quarterback. Despite that update, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots as seven-point underdogs for Sunday's divisional showdown. 

There's now little question that Mayo's troops understand he's taking plenty of hits amid the club's six-game losing streak. How they respond could ultimately determine if Mayo holds onto his job.