Jerod Mayo has been hard at work trying to establish a new culture in New England, and through three games, the results have been mixed. After a rousing upset in Cincinnati in Week 1, the Patriots lost their home opener to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime, then laid a dud in Week 3 against the New York Jets on national television.
But despite that clunker, Mayo’s team is starting to build an identity as a hard-nosed group that can stay in games with an aggressive, physical defense. And while they enter Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers as double-digit underdogs, it appears they have the respect of their opponent in that regard.
“They’re an excellent, well-coached defense, very good fundamentals, very good schemes,” 49ers run game coordinator and offensive line coach Chris Foerster told reporters Thursday of the Patriots.
“Over the course of all the time that they’ve been there, they’ve …