Times are changing in professional sports and social media is rapidly intertwining itself with the players.

The NFL has seen its fair share of ups and downs with various social media platforms and it can sometimes be a detriment to players’ careers. When it comes to the New England Patriots — social media is very seldom used in a negative fashion.

Patriots linebacker coach Jerod Mayo has found a way utilize it as an inspirational and positive platform for his players.

“I read a lot,” Mayo told reporters during a conference call on Tuesday. “Sometimes people need those nuggets. I don’t like to post about just things, material things. I just like to drop little nuggets of wisdom, and I’m hopeful, honestly, that my linebackers see those posts. It definitely helps motivate me.

“You know, the season is long. Sometimes you need those words of encouragement. It’s definitely an up-and-down season, even though we’re sitting here at 8-1. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and realize that, and some of those quotes helps with that.”

While many coaches try to prevent players from overly using social media, Mayo found a unique and effective approach.

“I think it’s by a player-by-player basis,” Mayo continued. “I remember when I first came into the league, you think about the room. It was Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi — guys who had flip phones. They had flip phones for the longest time. They still had Blackberries in their pockets. So they weren’t even really thinking about social media, so when you would go in the locker room, I would say that just the overall vibe, you were in there playing cards and things like that.

“Now, the younger generation, they’re checking their social media and things like that. But I think the players around here do a good job, when they’re in the building, of really focusing on football. But if I had to say something that’s changed, I’m sure when they’re on their phones, they’re checking that stuff. As far as how it kind of affects them — what people say on social media and things like that — I really don’t think they take much into that. You know, everyone isn’t a Patriots fan, so I think they realize that.”