Patriots about to make a BIG mistake?

[denverpatsfan]

They didn't sign Jacoby to hold a clipboard on the sideline. You won't see Maye starting weeks 1-4.

 

[dliverey44]

AVP said something today that I feel like alot of us are glossing over. He said that JB can have answers at the LOS. JB has seen everything over his long career. I feel like it would be beneficial for, in film review, Maye to say hey why did you do that there. Maye is physically better but QB is a very mental thing and I don't think Maye is there yet. Having said that I really want to see him Play but I don't think it would benefit us long term. Yes, he can learn things while on the field, but let him learn somethings without big guys trying to hit him.

Evan Lazar outlines a play that he thinks AVP is referring to. I imagine there are more examples.

 

[RobertWeathers]

They didn't sign Jacoby to hold a clipboard on the sideline. You won't see Maye starting weeks 1-4.

I wouldn't be putting any bets on that.

 

[Brick27]

the 180 the media pulled after the Eagles preseason game...

If you think this is something, just look at the media’s handling of politics

 

[XLIX]

If he starts games 1-6 he will get demolished lose his confidence and be a bust

If he is so fragile that a rough start to his career permanently makes him lose his confidence, then I don't want him here in the first place.

He's not the first high draft pick QB to inherit a crappy situation. I am not saying he should start September 8, but he should take over the starting role at some point this year.

 

[XLIX]

They didn't sign Jacoby to hold a clipboard on the sideline.

Well they didn't give him 1 year, $8 million to be our full time starter all season.

 

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

If you are going to play him at mid season why not use the first half of the season to get him experience so that by then he is better?

I just don’t want us to ruin him but I get your point too

 

[Ring 6]

I just don’t want us to ruin him but I get your point too

If playing would “ruin” him, he’s not the guy.

 

[Kasmir]

Sitting him this year could be a disaster if he ends up being a bust. We're likely to have the first pick in the next draft and we need to know by then if Maye is for real so we can pick another QB if he's not.

He should play enough so we can evaluate him vs NFL talent. Sit him if he's "not ready" and consider picking another QB next year who *is* ready.

If it turns out we picked the only 1st round QB who won't start this year (other than McCarthy who was going to until he got injured) then we have picked the most likely QB to bust.

 

[mgteich]

Maye starting 12 games, which I think as many as he has ever started, should be plenty for his rookie year, [games 5-16]

 

[mgteich]

If playing would “ruin” him, he’s not the guy.

I agree, but 12 games should be enough for a rookie [more than that is a very long season for a rookie].

 

[n1997y]

I agree with the OP, front office is building up Maye to be the starter. Probably for game 1.

It’s because they know the product will suck, and they need to sell tickets. This is their best chance. Short term interest over long term value.

Drake will get pummeled. Hopefully he won’t get hurt physically or mentally in some way that ruins his future development.

 

[PScottman]

and the goal is to win games?

Sure it is...the missing context is when? They're not going to win many this season regardless of who lines up at QB. Establishing the conditions to win consistently across multiple future campaigns is not just a slogan. It's part of every franchise's mandate - yes, play to win now at whatever level you can (i.e. in game decision making), but also while developing or maintaining (depending on circumstance) the basic foundational capabilities of the longer term components such that they both gain relevant experience, but don't get ruined and unavailable for those future campaigns.

The delicate dance is full of risk and predictions of an uncertain future and why many regimes end up failing and fired. They try to balance the necessary "give it your all week in and week out" while not destroying what potential exists to be better as more pieces are added later. All of us keyboard warriors think it's as simple as "do this" and "do that", but the variables and personalities, pressures and opportunities, timing and tempo are legion and wholly and fully outside the control of anyone. Oh, and everyone else is trying to do the same thing with the same uncontrollable future conditions.

No pressure.

 

[1960Pats]

Bledsoe started his rookie year, he turned out alright.

There are great examples on both sides of that, but one thing they all have in common is that they still needed to play to improve. Brady spent more than a year watching Bledsoe and assorted videos but it still took him time on the field.
Manning struggled for a year on the field from the start.

 

[1960Pats]

I agree with the OP, front office is building up Maye to be the starter. Probably for game 1.

It’s because they know the product will suck, and they need to sell tickets. This is their best chance. Short term interest over long term value.

Drake will get pummeled. Hopefully he won’t get hurt physically or mentally in some way that ruins his future development.

Maybe he'll learn how to avoid the rush instead of getting pummeled or the OL isn't a train wreck after all. We won't know the answer until we see it happen.

I'd be thrilled to be watching Maye instead of Brissett in game 1, but I don't think it'll happen.

 

[1960Pats]

Pick any game on the schedule. Maye will help you win that game more than Jacoby. Not sure what else there is to discuss.

Everyone here in NC would laugh at any suggestion is confidence could be ruined. He gets his butt kicked he's working harder, gets better, and pushes himself even more, that's his personality. Uber-competitor.

You can't ruin him and he's the better QB, this is not a hard choice unless you are playing for draft position.

Anyone touting the stats from the last game as some indication of anything meaningful are way off, watch the TAPE! Baker had 3 balls hit him in both hands. He could be 9 for 11 with 2 throwaways, for 127 yards and a running TD, make you feel better? Stats? Look at the tape!

Nix and Daniels are worse than Maye, yet they are starting for bad teams.

BINGO!

Put the best player in there and let him learn the pro game. He may surprise people.

 

[State]

If he starts games 1-6 he will get demolished lose his confidence and be a bust

That was seen Maye’s last year at UNC. As his supporting cast was much weaker, his production went down. He forced throws and showed frustration.

 

[KCSVEN]

That was seen Maye’s last year at UNC. As his supporting cast was much weaker, his production went down. He forced throws and showed frustration.

No he didn't, he got injured, balled thru it, didn't get frustrated, as multiple quotes from coaches attested, he was the exact opposite. You are looking at stats and making things up.

 

[Real fan 02]

They didn't sign Jacoby to hold a clipboard on the sideline. You won't see Maye starting weeks 1-4.

IF he does... in wich I'm hoping he doesn't the leash will be short.. if he starts throwing picks and we start looking like last seasons offense I can bet you the call will come from ownership to play Drake. AVPs is a smart guy he knows offense. He needs to realize Drake is tied to him.

 

[TommyD4207]

It's been a theory of mine for the last several seasons that the Patriots have an internal policy of telegraphing every big move they make by teasing it through the Boston sports media before it happens. This allows them to gauge fans initial response and then proceed to build popular momentum for any big move so that it's palatable to the fanbase by the time it happens. This way ownership takes minimal criticism and the all important bottom line remains unimpacted.
I'll leave historical examples of this behavior for another thread, because what I really want to talk about is the 180 the media pulled after the Eagles preseason game...

Every other article I've read out of Boston Media outlets (and sports radio) is favorably reciting the same talking points about Drake Maye's performance against the Eagles and his "progression" in the "competition" for QB 1. If you only read the media and didn't watch the game you'd think he must have had an exceptional outing.

REALITY: Maye went 6/11 throwing for 47 yards, with no TD's, no Int's, and took a sack. He averaged 4.3 yards per passing attempt and had a QB rating of... 65.3 He RAN the ball 4 times and scored a touchdown... This was in a preseason game where every defense is vanilla and no one is game-planning and to put it into perspective our more-than-likely starter put up a stat line reminiscent of Tim Tebow...

Drake Maye is going to start... He's going to start this season... And he'll probably start in the first four weeks of the season (potentially game 1). I say this just based on what the media and now Jerod Mayo have started to intimate, because I've seen this media about-face and blitz too many times in the last three years to expect anything but follow through...

I can't overstate how big a mistake this would be... This Rookie QB should be brought along as the final complimentary piece of an already seasoned offense, not asked to carry the worst offensive line and receiving group in the NFL mere months after battling the likes Campbell, Appalachian state, and Duke...

What do you think about him starting this season - or even game 1?

He's the #3 overall pick. If he doesn't start week 1, he's on bust alert. If he doesn't play at all, he's likely a bust. If he can't beat out Jacoby Brissett...as the #3 overall pick, then something is very, very wrong.