Douglas addresses on-field outbursts vs. 49ers: ‘That’s horrible’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO — DeMario Douglas knows there were moments in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers when it looked like he was miffed he didn’t get the football.
He saw them on film. And he’s miffed at himself for carrying himself in that manner.
“That’s horrible,” he told NBC Sports Boston on Wednesday. “That’s horrible. The people who watch me, I don’t want anybody seeing that and thinking that’s OK. That’s not OK. That affects other people too.
“People can take it and run with it and think it’s something else. It’s not. That stuff can hurt the team. I’m not that person. I’m trying to help the team.”
Douglas explained that his frustration wasn’t solely based on him not being targeted. He finished the game with three catches on three targets for 13 yards.
He was irked, though, that his team struggled on third downs and couldn’t prolong drives, going just 5-for-16 on third down.
“It wasn’t solely about me getting the ball,” Douglas said. “It was about us executing. It was third down. Third down. We were getting off the field, and some of those were turning points. It wasn’t all about me getting the ball.”
Douglas said he apologized to teammates for making it clear he was frustrated on the field.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Jacoby (Brissett). Some of the other receivers. I know that’s not OK. I just told them, like, ‘My bad, boys. That’s not how we’re supposed to carry ourselves.’
“If someone’s watching me and they feel like that’s OK, that’s not OK… I feel like we all should carry ourselves a certain way. We all got eyes on us. No matter what position we’re in. We all got eyes on us.”
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo was asked on Wednesday about his receivers exhibiting their frustrations during the game.
“Yeah, one thing I would say is, as a team, we don’t want to show or voice our frustrations on the field like that as visible to everyone,” Mayo said. “I will say, look, it’s good to have guys that want to go out there and make plays, guys that want to go out there and compete. It’s a natural human instinct to be frustrated when things aren’t going your way.
“Look, things aren’t going our way as a team right now, and am I frustrated? Absolutely. But I understand that we have a lot of work to do. It’s the first quarter of the season. Now, we’re going into the second quarter of the season, and hopefully we’re getting better.”
Douglas hopes for the same. And, if he is frustrated again at some point moving forward, he made it clear he doesn’t plan on showing it the way he did Sunday.
“That was on me,” he said. “I apologize to everybody who’s seen it, honestly.”
