Q. How do you feel about your first game?
BOYE MAFE: You know, it was the first one. Not everything was perfect, what you want it to be, but it was a good one to start.
We got the win. At the end of the day that's the main focus. Just happy to leave the game with a W and leave with a win and leave with stuff to work on to be ready for the next one.
But leaves a good taste in your mouth when you leave with a win.
Q. What will the Patriots offense challenge you most with?
BOYE MAFE: I mean, they have their identity. You know, it's a new team, new coach. They're creating their identity. Right now they're creating an identity in the run game, so that's where we're focused. Whatever it is, whatever their challenge, whatever they have we have to have a plan for to practice.
At the end of the day it's one of those things that you game plan, you figure out what they want to do and how they want to create it. We have our -- made our best efforts to defend that.
Q. How do you feel dropping into coverage as much as you did?
BOYE MAFE: I mean, yeah, you know, me and Mike gonna talk, but -- no, I'm kidding. I'm just messing around.
No, it was actually pretty good. You know, we've had off-season for it, camp, going into it, so we been talking about it and understanding it's another part of my game, something I have to grow in and something I have to become a player -- if you can do more the more valuable you are. I have to be able to learn and figure out how to do that part of my game.
Q. Guessing during the game you maybe don't see a lot of what's going on behind you. When you put the film on what watch the way the defensive backs were making tackles in the open field, how big is that for the defense?
BOYE MAFE: It's huge. It's huge, especially for a D-line man. We train ourselves running out of stacks. Once the ball is thrown downfield, getting out and chasing the ball downfield. When you're chasing downfield and seeing the plays being made, it's like a wow.
Soon as the catch, catch, tackle, catch tackle. That's a big thing for us is catch, tackles. So even if they catch the ball, going down and not getting a bunch of yards after the throw, that's big for us.
Q. Does this defense ask you to drop in coverage more than in the past?
BOYE MAFE: Yeah, I mean, it's one of the things -- it's a new defense, new scheme, new things. It's definitely asked me to play a different role and be a different player.
It's one thing I'm getting adjusted to and ready for.
Q. Did you do that in college, too?
BOYE MAFE: Small. Not a lot. In college I only really guarded running backs and tight ends. Nothing -- no receivers. So different world for me, but getting adjusted to it.
Q. What did you have to do to train differently for that or to prepare for that?
BOYE MAFE: Basically for me, the biggest thing is getting with the DB coaches and with the coaches understanding coverages and concepts and what they actually do, where my helps is, where I got to be.
Just having those conversations and really letting not just my coach but having other coaches help me along with that.
Q. I know you joke you're going to have to talk to Mike, but what do you appreciate about a new challenge?
BOYE MAFE: Just honestly for me, I believe -- I appreciate the faith they have in me. I appreciate the fact that they do believe in me as a player and believe I can do it.
For me it's a challenge and something that I have to step up to the plate and do.
Q. You were on the field a ton of plays the last game. Probably more snaps than they would usually have a guy in the rotation doing. How comfortable were you playing that much throughout a game?
BOYE MAFE: It's one of the things, like I said, it's the bell. We had some guys down right now, so for me, it's next-up mentality. Just being able to step up and be a person in that position, that's the biggest thing.
There is not necessarily one person on this defense that's bigger or more than anybody, so the thing about it is that we can use so many people in different ways.
At time that was what was asked of me and my team, so just step up to the plate and be that player for us.
Q. It seemed like the defense was light years faster in this game than what we saw last year. Did it feel like way on the field?
BOYE MAFE: Yeah, I mean, the we have been doing a lot. Countless reps from OTAs to now, to coming into a new system and learning it. We all took the awareness of knowing this is what we needed to do.
So honestly, I feel as if with all the reps we had, going into the game felt a lot better. That connection of spending the time with each other to understand how each other play, how to communicate and all that.
So I felt like it made it easier, the fact that we were able to go out there and play faster and just understand that you can trust the guy to your left and right. You do your job to 100%, they'll do their job to 100%, too.
Q. With this defense, how important is space awareness just in terms of understanding your space and protecting that space and going to different angles if you need to, towards the running back and things like that?
BOYE MAFE: Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day it's like in the simplest form there is the essence of you got your job. It's Top Gun. You never leave your wingman, right?
So in essence I have my job, and someone has -- let's say they have the next responsibility. If I can hold my end of the bargain down, set the edge, that I can trust in somebody else to clean it up. I don't necessarily have to make every play, but as a whole we make it so that somebody can walk in to make a play.
Q. You a Top Gun -- you like the movie?
BOYE MAFE: I mean, hey, I remember my coach used to teach me in college, he used to say that to us. Never leave your wingman. That's just always stuck with me.
Q. How do you feel about the pass rush in general in this game?
BOYE MAFE: I mean, we were -- we got a lot of hits on the quarterback. Not a lot of sacks, but I felt as if we were getting home. One of the things is it was the first go at it. It was the first time with live bullets.
It is exciting for sure, something we can build off and grow. It's never perfect, exactly what you want it to look like, but I feel like it's a good building block to start the season off.
Q. When you watch Rhamondre Stephensen on film, what stands out, if anything?
BOYE MAFE: He's a very patient runner, knows what he's doing, had a very successful first week. He's going to be building off that. We have to understand what we have to do as a defense and how to minimize his success.
At the end of the day you got to watch how he was being successful against Cincinnati and how are we going to attack and make sure it doesn't happen.
Q. How have you seen Derick Hall grow from his rookie season to now?
BOYE MAFE: He's grown tremendously. Definitely got a lot more comfortable. Definitely got to the point where -- and I love to see it. It's one of those things, especially being with here as he came into the league and now seen him transition into year two, his comfortability, confidence growing. He's becoming a player that he's going to be in the league for a while.
Q. Yeah? Kind of remind you of what you did year one to year two, that sort of comfort you felt?
BOYE MAFE: Yeah, I can definitely see the comfortability and how he's playing the game and how he's seeing it. He's starting to see a lot more than he did his rookie year. That's one thing I give him his kudos to, he definitely had to do some work in the off-season to get to that point.
Definitely see the comfortability in how he's playing and goes out there. He feels like he's ready to be out there and not like -- when you first get in the league it is deer in headlights. No way around it.
I feel like for me, especially my rookie year, I didn't know what was going on. I just knew a job. Now we're having conversations about things we see on the field and things we can take advantage of.
Definitely seeing that growth makes it very exciting.
Q. Back to the idea of dropping more; obviously you're not getting as many chances to rush the quarterback. The chances you do get, can those be more effective when the tackle doesn't know whether you're going forward or backwards?
BOYE MAFE: 100%. You know, it's one of those things. That's the thing about this defense, is that you never know who is going and who is not going. It gives you an advantage. It's one of those things that you have to use it to your advantage of maybe showing them a picture and making it look like this, but oh, then maybe they'll see I'm dropping and next thing I come in. Next time oh, he's going to rush off the edge and then I'm dropping back.
Definitely have to use that to your advantage. One of the things it's like how offenses disguise their plays. You see a formation or have a receiver that's close to the core, but next thing you know he's running to the flat. It's the give and take. How they disguise their plays, we disguise our calls.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports