The New England Patriots are off to an undefeated 3-0 start. They're doing so with a high-powered offense and a dominant defense.

That defense has looked so good in no small part thanks to the linebackers. Former linebacker and current linebacker coach Jerod Mayo has been extremely impressed with the group according to Henry McKenna of PatriotsWire.com.

“These guys are totally different than I was as a player,” Mayo said on a conference call on Tuesday. “I was your classic inside linebacker. When you look at all of our linebackers, they’re able to do a lot of different things. Any time you’re able to have guys who can put their hand in the dirt, who can blitz from off the ball, who can cover from off the ball, it’s always beneficial to the coaching staff.”

As mentioned before, Mayo himself was a linebacker for the Patriots – and a really good one at that.

However, he seems to realize that the game has evolved, and with it, so have the players. Mayo was the bruising linebacker. He could stop the run and bring down any ball carrier. However, he wasn't a hybrid.

Mayo wasn't going to blitz from anywhere and get to the quarterback often. He wasn't going to be able to cover nearly anyone. Basically, he had his role and played it very well. Today, a lot of linebackers can fill almost any role.

That's what seems to impress him the most. New England's linebacker corps boasts Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts (as well as others). It's no secret why Mayo would be thoroughly impressed with this unit.

Don't be surprised if they continue to prove him right, and the dominance doesn't stop.