Bedard: Team thinks Maye has made a huge leap forward this offseason.

[Bill Lee]

I assume Maye is the real deal and will take another step forward this year. But I also am aware that a lot of fans on other teams think Maye was the schedule last year and don't believe he's one of the better real franchise quarterbacks yet. I've also seen Pats fans and Pats reporters feel incredulous that anyone could think that way about Maye. I think this is a prove it season, where Maye cements himself as a legit top 10 QB or he'll continue to be questioned, like Herbert.

Beating Seattle the first night of the season would go so far towards shutting up the "but the schedule!" crowd.

Sadly, I think it's so much easier for a strong defensive team (i.e. Seattle) to get off to a good start than it will be for us with lots of new parts on offense.

OTOH, they did just let Walker walk, so we have that going for us...

 

[sb1]

They will be centered on running the ball more efficiently and effectively that will take pressure of Drake having to do everything. As we all know running the ball allows the offense to control the time of possession and Drake can stay in play action..

I think the run game will be a massive improvement in 2026. Also Drake should do more of it by design.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

why would the Pats pump up their players

 

[Real fan 02]

I think the run game will be a massive improvement in 2026. Also Drake should do more of it by design.

100%.. I equate the 2004 season for us.. where the getting Dillon was immense for Brady.. he was always in play action due to Dillon getting 4,5 yards a clip..

 

[Real fan 02]

Beating Seattle the first night of the season would go so far towards shutting up the "but the schedule!" crowd.

Sadly, I think it's so much easier for a strong defensive team (i.e. Seattle) to get off to a good start than it will be for us with lots of new parts on offense.

OTOH, they did just let Walker walk, so we have that going for us...

Seattle's D took a big hit they lost some key guys on the defense.. I believe we go in and dominate.. on offense no Kenneth walker Jr.. Zach Charbenot is recovering from an ACL.. what Vrabel should do this time is double JSN with Marcus and a safety and let gonzo sit on routes to bring out the real Sam Darnold..

 

[Real fan 02]

Seems we're deep into the "one writer writes about what another writer writes" era, sigh.

I know right.. that time of year.. mundane so writers are looking for stories..

 

[Borg140]

Beating Seattle the first night of the season would go so far towards shutting up the "but the schedule!" crowd.

Sadly, I think it's so much easier for a strong defensive team (i.e. Seattle) to get off to a good start than it will be for us with lots of new parts on offense.

OTOH, they did just let Walker walk, so we have that going for us...

First game of the season is a good time to be playing them imo. Game could go either way.

 

[Borg140]

I bet Josh and Drake have sat down and went over the entire season, especially the playoffs. I am certain Drake knows his shortcomings better than anyone on this board. I expect his deficiencies from last year will be improved upon (not saying they turn to strengths) but I bet we will see a difference in his pocket awareness, internal clock and ball distribution towards the check down. He is still developing, its not the finished product, he hasn't hit his ceiling. He is a competitor (watch all the videos about him talking about growing up with his brothers and hating losing) and he is smart (watch how he wow'd Daboll prior to the draft interviewing with the Giants) so I fully expect to see him continue to grow and improve.

Not to compare Drake with Allen, but Maye is at the point Allen was before he figured out how to address weaknesses. This could be that same point for Maye where he pretty much has it figured out. I’m looking forward to seeing him in camp.

 

[Real fan 02]

I think the run game will be a massive improvement in 2026. Also Drake should do more of it by design.

While all the talk about Boutte.. many don't know Kyle Williams had 20 YPC in last season.. that's what you want to see in a deep threat.. and that is another factor that the team leaning on..

 

[BobDigital]

No one has any idea how Maye will look next season. Not me. Not you. Not Vrabel. Not Maye.

A step forward or back is possible. Just as is holding serve. Personally I think it is highly likely his cast will be much better so that will help. He didn't have a great cast last year and it showed in the playoffs. But we need to be fair. He also wilted a bit under the lights. It was a bit concerning cause 3 or 4 games he wasn't good, even considering his competition. Personally I think he did very well in the Houston game all things considered. The other 3 were meh to bad even when adjusting for his 10 being vastly outplayed by the other 11.

I don't need his stats to be better really. I need his choices to be better. Maye still has a number of weaknesses in his game.

1 His pocket awareness is suspect. He is at times late to buy space. A step forward or to the side would have made some forced fumbles not happen. Too many times he stood like a statue in a collapsing pocket that had an escape path and didn't take it before throwing. This was perhaps the best part of Brady's game. He was a master of pocket movement and knowing who was around him. It was rare late in his career to have a ball knocked out of his hand while in motion. This develops a bit over time, but right now it can be moved a whole grade up from a C- to a B- if he focuses on it this off season.

2 Sometimes his passes sail high. This to me is a mechanics issue. When he misses he misses high, not low. This is a problem and he needs to figure it out. Every QB misses and his miss rate is certainly really good, but it is better to miss more often and miss low than miss less often and miss high. A lot of picks came from these high misses.

3 Red zone progressions needs to be faster. Maye had issues in the red zone so far in his career, and it is not just his targets. When things compress they move fast and you need to make a choice. Too often when he succeeded in the red zone it was cause he dropped a beautiful pass in over the top. Sensational stuff. But those are hard and low probability. The guys who do well here deliver a lightning strike between defenders with anticipation. He doesn't do this well yet. Few guys do to be fair. But the great ones do. I think he has the processing speed to make it work. He just needs to work at it.

If he fixes these 3 things he is the best QB in the NFL right now.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Can we stop comparing this kid to the greatest QB of all time. That is a ridiculous bar to use. Drake was awesome last year, and I do expect him to be better this year. His biggest issue is he does not like to check the ball down, he was always looking to push the ball down the field. I think he looks at this as a negative. He needs to change that mindset, it is not a negative to take a checkdown and avoid a sack. Even throwing the ball away will be helpful. I appreciate how tough he is, and that he is always looking to make a play. This led to the highest yards per attempt in the NFL last year at 8.9 which is great, but it tends to lead to sacks as well. The next highest was Sam Darnold at 8.5 so maybe this stat is indicative of being a good team. It is a trade off of sorts, but I would take less sacks and a little less YPA. This is really important when playing very good defenses, which is all he saw in the playoffs.

According to Vrabel Maye follows the play and checkdowns as they are called, and he said this repeatedly last season. So if people have an issue with the checkdowns it's with MacDaniels.