Patriots fans make it clear who's to blame for 2024 season, and it's not Jerod Mayo

An exhausting talking point that will continue through the end of the 2024 season surrounds who is to blame for the Patriots' rapid decline since Tom Brady left for the Bucs in 2020. While it seems fair to spread the fault around, including to Bill Belichick, fans have narrowed their focus to one person who has been pulling the strings far more in the years since than ever before.

It was evident during the Belichick and Brady era that team owner Robert Kraft had taken a backseat to football operations and allowed the iconic duo to do what they had to do to continue winning games. This was partly what led to six Lombardi trophies for Foxboro throughout those twenty years, even if it was far from perfect.

With both the head coach and quarterback gone and Kraft deciding his guy would take over the team, there is a lot of chatter suggesting that he is dabbling a bit too much in the day-to-day decisions and operations surrounding the team. It's a concern that grew during the offseason when it was reported Jonathan Kraft was looking to work more with the team, which his father vehemently denied.

However, there's even more belief that executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is running the show and forcing Mayo to do what he views best, whether he agrees or not.

It's a rumor that fans jumped on after hearing Mayo repeatedly backtrack statements he's made to the media since being named the head coach earlier this year, the most memorable of which was his "burn some cash" comment regarding how the Patriots planned to handle free agency.

Because they spent most of the offseason extending players and not signing the outside talent needed to improve the roster, all signs point to the presumed GM and his history of preferring to build a team through the draft instead.

Now that the Patriots have suffered another embarrassing loss this season, fans are taking to social media to point the finger at who is ruining their potential this year, even if there wasn't much optimism to begin with.

Patriots fans are not holding back their frustrations after another embarrassing loss this season

The latest loss to the 49ers left most Patriots fans feeling defeated after a season that began with a shocking win over the Bengals. It looked like there was more hope for a better season than anyone had predicted, only for that dream to fall apart one week later.

Besides the questionable playcalling that has many wondering if Alex Van Pelt is the right guy for the job already, the offseason decisions by Wolf and the seeming lack of urgency from Kraft to make a better team have come into focus again, which isn't a great look for the organization.

Their lack of spending in free agency is proving to be a massive issue through the first month of the season, something that many fans blame Kraft for.

On top of that, there's a growing narrative that Mayo is being used as almost a sacrificial lamb and that he's not able to make any real decisions regarding the roster, and it's actually Wolf doing that work.

At this point, it's all hearsay and nothing concrete suggests the contrary. However, it's not a portrayal of the team that higher-ups should want fans to believe if it isn't true, which might force them to make some big changes if they want to save what might be left of the season.

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