Patriots coach Jerod Mayo expanded on his decision to name Jacoby Brissett as the team's starting quarterback as the season opens this Sunday at Cincinnati. (AP photo)

Late last week, New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo came and went quickly in announcing Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting quarterback for the regular season that begins this Sunday at Cincinnati.

In fact, if you blinked, you missed him.

But Monday Mayo answered a plethora of questions about the decision.

“I mean, we had our process of talking to the coaches, the coordinators, Eliot [Wolf] as well,” Mayo said. “That was part of the process. But what I would say is ultimately, it was my decision to put who I think gives us the best chance to win football games.

“Hopefully, you guys got it last week: we’re 100% behind Jacoby. He can’t think about what’s in the rear-view mirror. He has to be ready to drive this thing forward. I made sure that he understood that he has the full support of not only his teammates, but also the organization for him to go out there and perform at the level that we know he can.”

Mayo did say recently that Maye outplayed Brissett. Yet Brissett won the job, and Mayo was asked how that might appear in the locker room.

“I don’t think I have to rectify that with the guys in the locker room, per se,” he said. “I would say it goes back to the full body of work. I would say at the end of training camp, I think anyone could see that Drake was playing at a very high level.

“Now, in saying that, we had to take everything into consideration, including the spring and the beginning part of training camp. So hopefully that kind of clears it up for you.”

Mayo said that Maye is the No. 2 QB behind Brissett, but the question was asked how the rookie can develop in this situation.

“For me, we talk about competition in training camp, but quite frankly, it’s competition each and every week,” Mayo said. “We’ll see how it goes. But once again, I don’t want Jacoby to feel like someone’s nipping at his heels. He’ll get the majority of the reps while at the same time continuing to develop Drake in other ways.

“Now, a lot of you guys, I guess the next question would be, ‘How do you do that?’ He will still participate in some of the team drills for the upcoming team. But I also think the show team reps are very important. They’ve always been important. Even when I was a rookie – I also was a top-10 pick, but even as a rookie, I was on those show teams. I think that’s another place where you can develop, as well as the other tools that we’ve talked about here over the summer.”

CAPTAINS NAMED

Mayo announced this season’s captains:

David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Brissett, safeby Jabrill Peppers, long snapper Joe Cardona, and defensive end Deatrich Wise, Jr..

“Look, they embody everything that we preach about each and every day, not only on the football field, but also off the football field,” Mayo said. “I’m very excited to have these guys, and I know they’re excited as well to lead this football team.”

They will also wear a ‘C’on their jerseys, something Mayo felt was important.

“It’s a badge of honor, and I think when guys do the right thing, they should be recognized for those things,” Mayo said. “It’s something as small as having the captain’s patch, I think it’s important for those guys.”