Sidelined defensive tackle Christian Barmore remains committed to Patriots

“One thing about the idle mind, you sit at home all the time, it’s just trouble. For a young player like that, it’s an opportunity for him to learn about the game of football as a whole and not just what a defensive tackle does.

Mayo, who found himself on injured reserve several times during his playing career, said watching from the sidelines and breaking down film helped him in his transition to coaching.

Barmore is on the non-football injury list, which is a different designation than injured reserve, but both men know what it feels like to be unable to play.

“It really stinks having to go on IR, but you can still be a productive teammate,” Mayo said. “So even when I got injured, I think you know the story of how I started learning how to break down film and do all these things. I look back on it almost as a blessing.

“But when you’re in IR, you’re in the storm. It’s pretty hard to see what God has planned for you.

Mayo said Barmore was responsible for producing a weekly music video called “Funny Friday.” It lasts between 30 seconds and a minute and aims to make your teammates laugh.

Defensive end Keion White missed eight games of his 2021 season at Georgia Tech due to an ankle injury. He said a prolonged absence can take a toll on a player’s mind. The camaraderie of a team can help, he said.

“A lot of times when you have injuries like that, just being disconnected can make you get into your own head,” White said. “So just him being there and still feeling like he’s part of the team is something good.”

‘We just support him,’ linebacker Anfernee Jennings added. “We are with him in what he is going through and we expect him to make a speedy recovery.”

Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins said Barmore’s teammates are drawn to his personality, calling the defensive lineman a “positive force” in the locker room.

“He’s a guy that everyone gravitates toward,” Wilkins said. “These guys — the outside backers, the D-line, anyone on the team — really like this guy because of his personality because they have a gravitational pull to him.”

Contribution by Mazzulla

One thing football has in common with other team sports like basketball or hockey is the importance of spacing, Mayo said.

“Most of these team sports are about space,” Mayo said. “So obviously you can look at football: 3×1 is obviously about space. But it’s the same thing in hockey. Sometimes I watch hockey, and they overload a team, and they have a guy here. Now, depending on who this guy is here, you have to make a defensive choice.

“Either you overtake this guy, but now you’re light here. Same thing in basketball. So there you have it, if you have Jayson Tatum here against someone who isn’t much of a scorer and we overload a team, you have to make a choice. We’re going to double Jayson Tatum and come up short here on the overload side, or we’re just going to try to play straight, and this guy now has a one-on-one.

Mayo said he and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla I’ve had a number of conversations about spacing and other topics over the years.

“Joe was great,” he said. “I think I told you, Joe and I, before he became head coach, we had a relationship. He participated in defensive meetings and we talked about philosophical things, philosophy. Team sports are team sports. It’s great.

Sow close to return

Mayo said offensive guard Sidy Sow responded well after returning to training this week. Sow missed the first three games with an ankle injury, but Mayo is hopeful he will play on Sunday.

“Sidy is doing great,” Mayo said. “It was close last week and hopefully we look forward to seeing him play here on Sunday.”

Sow also sounded an optimistic note when asked if he would be able to play.

“For now I think so, but I don’t make the final decisions,” he said. “So we’ll see, but I feel really good physically. No setbacks, so that’s good.

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Khari Thompson can be contacted at [email protected].