Patriots' Jerod Mayo Had Frank Response to Bill Belichick Criticism

This season was always going to be tough for Jerod Mayo, regardless of the on-field results. He is replacing Bill Belichick, considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history and the mind that drove the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. Those are impossible shoes to fill, and the job ended up even more difficult for Mayo thanks to Belichick's sudden fondness for speaking his mind in media appearances.

With the Patriots sitting at 1-6 and Mayo calling his team "soft" in postgame press conferences, Belichick finally weighed in on what his coaching pupil is doing with his former team on Tuesday. He was rather critical and didn't appear to pull many punches. On Wednesday, Mayo was asked about the criticism and offered a frank response that does echo of a Belichickian education.

"My main focus is the guys inside this building," he said to reporters.

Given Mayo also tossed out a true classic before that by saying the Patriots were "onto the Jets" with all the noise surrounding the organization, he clearly learned something from his years spent on Belichick's staff. There isn't much he can do about what people outside the building are saying, so it's best to ignore it. Even when it's Bill Belichick.

The next opportunity for New England to quiet the noise will come on Sunday against the Jets.