Patriots shouldn't think twice about benching the offensive playmaker

When Bill Belichick was at the helm of the New England Patriots, Rhamondre Stevenson would have been very familiar with the bench. He might also have needed a pillow and blanket for his extended stay there.

Jerod Mayo didn't go that route when it came to Stevenson's costly fumble issues, but he should take Belichick's lead.

Mayo appears to be leaning in that direction after the first-year head coach said subbing Stevenson on Wednesday and giving Antonio Gibson more reps in Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins was a possible option.

That certainly wouldn't be an easy decision for Mayo. The Patriots paid Stevenson this offseason – a four-year, $36 million contract extension with $17 million guaranteed – as a workhorse and New England is focusing its offense on Stevenson's strong ground game skills.

Keeping Stevenson on the sideline would take a playmaker off the field for a Patriots offense that desperately needed him. On paper, it's the wrong move. But it's the right message for Mayo to send.

Mayo and his coaching staff have been preaching fundamentals since the new regime took power and have already given Stevenson too much leeway. It's understandable that they offered him a second chance after his fumble in the season-opening win over the Bengals, in which he was New England's leading offensive player with 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

When Stevenson made another mistake – this time at the goal line – in an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks, it should have rung alarm bells. But Stevenson maintained his normal playing time and then coughed up the ball against the New York Jets and again last week against the San Francisco 49ers.

Four fumbles in four games. Inexcusable. Belichick would never have endured that.

In some ways, Mayo is trying to be the opposite of Belichick and serve as a more prototypical player-coach. This has its advantages and in this case disadvantages.

He showed his inexperience and made a misstep by not going after Stevenson sooner. By not disciplining Stevenson, whether benching him for a series, a quarter or even a half, he inadvertently rewarded Stevenson for not keeping the ball in his hands.

Mayo's job this season is not only to improve New England's performance on the field, but also to establish a new culture within the confines of One Patriot Place after 24 years of Belichick's reign.

Mayo could have sided with Stevenson and shown that repeated mistakes will not be tolerated in a team that has to do the little things right to have a chance in games. Instead, Mayo looked like a pushover when he conceded a goal to one of the team's best players.

The right decision is still open to Mayo, even if it comes a few weeks late. Just four weeks into the campaign, it feels like a lost season for the Patriots, so giving Stevenson some time on the pine wouldn't dramatically change their trajectory.

The Patriots also already seem like an undisciplined bunch, with outbursts on the field and players shaming their teammates in the media. It's up to Mayo to change that. He can only solve one problem at a time and he can start by showing his team that if they don't protect the football, they won't see the field.