The Patriots have an identity, and Jerod Mayo isn't trying to hide it.
New England turned Sunday afternoon's trip to Cincinnati into a rockfight. The visitors thrived in the trenches, running all over the Bengals while putting consistent pressure on star quarterback Joe Burrow. The Week 1 affair wasn't the least bit pretty, but the Patriots achieved the most important goal: a win.
Appearing on "The Greg Hill Show" one day after his first head-coaching win, Mayo was asked about his effective game plan at Paycor Stadium. The confident former linebacker pointed out how he told the media days before the Bengals matchup that the Patriots planned to run the ball, and he wasn't worried about tipping his hand.
"I think sometimes it gets overblown," Mayo said on WEEI. "'Oh, they know the scheme.' Look, we're going to run the ball all year. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Listen so I never have to answer this again. We will always, always offensively be a run-first team, and you gotta stop it. And if you do, then we have other answers after that. It's not a secret."
So, the Seahawks have a pretty good idea of what will be coming their way Sunday when they roll into Gillette Stadium. But as Mayo stressed Monday, information is only so valuable. The Week 2 showdown, and every other game for that matter, will boil down to execution and fundamentals.
The Patriots won that battle last weekend, and they will be a tough out again Sunday if they follow suit.
