FOXBORO — Forget lofty expectations, it's now a necessity.
The New England Patriots need Jerod Mayo. Not just Jerod Mayo, the promising rookie either.
This defense is aging by the snap. That point was mercilessly driven home by the Miami Dolphins, of all teams, 38-13, here yesterday.
Yesterday's effort, pretty on paper with a team-best eight solo tackles, just won't do, not for this group and not without Tom Brady there to make amends for the misses.
If one play summed up Mayo's shortcoming so far, it was a second-and-1 dive play in the second quarter.
Ricky Williams ran right at the first-round pick out of Tennessee, who was unblocked.
A Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis or Al Wilson - Pro-Bowl middle linebackers - steps up and pins Williams for a loss. Mayo filled the hole, a half-step behind, and drilled Williams ... for a two-yard gain and a first down.
Mayo, selected with the 10th pick overall, has to be better. The Patriots are counting on him.
The rookie's seven other hits came on gains of 9, 15, 4, 33, 0, 7 and 12 yards. Is this a positive stat? Absolutely not.
It's been well-chronicled that Mayo rarely leaves the field. In special packages, short-yardage, nickel or dime, it is Tedy Bruschi who leaves the field, not the rookie.
Intelligence, check.
Athleticism, check.
Toughness, check.
Production?
You have to wonder right now.
"He's a hard-hitting physical presence," said Miami guard Justin Smiley, who spent much of his day neutralizing either Mayo or Bruschi. "He plays the game right. He goes sideline to sideline. He's a good football player."
Again, New England needs the 6-1, 242-pounder to be special.
If that wasn't obvious yesterday, with the Dolphins eviscerating all four Pats linebackers most of the afternoon, it never will be.
Smiley offered no complex explanations for an 0-2 Dolphin team which was limited to 121 combined rushing yards the first two games. He was kind to the vets like Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas. The five-year pro called the victory like "David vs. Goliath."
But when asked if the Pats' front seven still qualified as Goliath, Smiley's silence spoke volumes.
"There are some great players over there. They're still a great team, we just got on them a little bit and were able to capitalize," he said, trying to be politically correct.
In truth, Thomas has one impact play so far, last week's 20-yard sack of Brett Favre.
Vrabel's three-sack opener has been followed by a pair of truly indifferent efforts.
And Bruschi ... well, despite his unquestioned heart, he plays the game now like a post-stroke, 35-year-old.
Obviously, coach Bill Belichick and vice president for player personnel Scott Pioli, who rarely invest anything in rookie linebackers, understand this.
Why else would they have gone after Mayo in the first and Shawn Crable, who must be banged up with three straight inactives, in the third round last April?
It's too bad they didn't make the move a year ago, though. With a healthy Tom Brady and Randy Moss rolling up passing records, Mayo's immediate impact wouldn't have mattered.
Matt Cassel stands at the helm now. And Moss has delivered back-to-back Oakland Era efforts. New England hits the bye at 2-1, something few might have envisioned, especially not absorbing a thumping like this.
When the Pats return to action Oct. 5 in San Francisco, every third-down conversion, every 6-yard gain will move this team one step closer to defeat or maybe even disaster.
Mayo's margin for error has evaporated.
Sorry, kid, but it's time to be a man, preferably Superman.
Hector Longo is an Eagle-Tribune sportswriter. E-mail him at hlongo@eagletribune.com.
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