Jerod Mayo grabs rookie award

Jerod Mayo grabs rookie award
January 1
Boston Herald
"The Patriots broke from their norm by selecting a linebacker in the first round of the 2008 draft. The commonly held belief was that the club avoided selecting linebackers that high because Bill Belichick’s defensive system is too complicated to learn quickly.

Mayo proved otherwise.

Taken with the 10th overall pick in April, Mayo not only got a handle on the defense, but he thrived in it, leading the team with 137 tackles from his all-important position at inside linebacker.

Yesterday, his reward was being named the near-unanimous Associated Press 2008 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

“It means a lot . . . it’s a great honor,” Mayo said during a conference call. “I look at it more as a team award, because I couldn’t have done it without (No.) 75 (Vince Wilfork) in front of me, or (No.) 93 (Richard Seymour) - none of those guys, those big guys in front of me, and the secondary keeping the ball in front of them. So I see it as a team award.”

The former University of Tennessee standout, who targeted the award as one of his goals, garnered 49-of-50 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of the media. Mayo is the second Patriot to win the award. Hall of Fame defensive back Mike Haynes earned the honor in 1976.

Yesterday, Mayo did admit the Patriots’ 3-4 two-gap system was a bit difficult to grasp.cw-2

“It was really tough, to be honest,” Mayo said. “There were a lot of hours after practice with coach (Matt) Patricia, the linebackers coach, and a lot of hours with (Tedy) Bruschi. I couldn’t have done it without those guys, spending extra time with me, on and off the field.”

Mayo didn’t know what to expect or how he’d be treated, especially coming to a team that had won three Super Bowls.

“Coming out of college, I had heard horror stories about coming in as a rookie - guys really wouldn’t help you,” Mayo said. “I came into the Patriots organization thinking the worst, that these guys weren’t going to help me, and they aren’t going to want me to play, but it was the exact opposite. When I first walked through the door, Bruschi was there, (Tom) Brady, they sat me down and welcomed me."
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