What did Drake Maye learn today?

[ViperGTS]

That isn't remotely what he said. Among other things, he said:

Let me also point out that I don't grade on a curve. I grade all NFL quarterbacks the same, and each play the same. I don't factor in the level of defense. The Texans are certainly good, especially up front, and fast, but they were not hitting on all cylinders in the secondary (they were down starting safety Jimmie Ward and outside corner Kamari Lassiter). I also do not factor in the age and experience of the QB. If you want to do that, that's fine. It's just something I'm not capable of. I try to grade against NFL average.

The good news?

Maye made plays, many more than the norm for a Patriots quarterback dating back to 2021, Mac Jones' rookie year. Maye's 11 plus plays (he got a half-point boost each for his touchdowns to Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas) were tied for the second-highest in a game since 2021 (Mac Jones had 12 in the 2023 season opener against the Eagles).

Jones did that on 60 dropbacks. By plus-play percentage, Maye's debut ranked 7th since 2021. Jacoby Brissett's performance against the Bengals actually ranked at the top. The others were four from Jones' rookie season and 2022 against the Ravens.

Speaking of Brissett, Maye produced my highest-graded Patriots QB game since Week 2. So as far as the decision to go with Maye because he gave the team the best chance to win this week, that would back that up.

Maye was also very good against the blitz: 6 of 10, 113 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT - rating of 99.2.

Maye also started to settle down more in the final 20 minutes of the game. Before the final drive of the third quarter, Maye was +3.5/-14 for me, so he was +6.5/-3 after that. So that good be a positive indicator going into the Jaguars game.

Bottom line: Maye is a playmaker and came in and made plays immediately. He also handled adversity well, and settled down.

Thats the standard speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He also said Jones had. the 3rd worst rating of any QB in his estimation last week. Then I listen to Callahan, Perry, and others and they paint a more normal picture. Again if you listened to Bedard, you wouldn't think Maye did very well at all.

 

[ViperGTS]

If some of you all would stop trying to put Maye in Canton as the second Patriots GOAT QB already, the rest of us wouldn’t be constantly reminded you need to hear about his flaws so you’ll stop claiming he’s perfect when he’s clearly not.

Stop trying to polish his knob so enthusiastically.

I'm not nor will I ever do that. When the person who is constantly ****ting on him, has Milton as his profile pic and had QB1 under it...that tends to get a reaction.

I guess the problem is I watch a lot of NFL games outside of the Patriots. Between Red Zone and normal games I consume a ton. I saw every rookie QB play live so far this season or good chunks of them. I saw Caleb Williams in his first two games have ZERO idea of what he was looking at. I'm not sure he still does but it's getting better. Ditto for Daniels.

I saw Maye in his first NFL game make reads left to right or right to left and make the correct decision. Does he have to work on accuracy, damn right he does. Does he have to work on starting games on an even keel? Yep. If he doesn't do any of that I will start railing against him.

 

[KCSVEN]

I'm not nor will I ever do that. When the person who is constantly ****ting on him, has Milton as his profile pic and had QB1 under it...that tends to get a reaction.

I guess the problem is I watch a lot of NFL games outside of the Patriots. Between Red Zone and normal games I consume a ton. I saw every rookie QB play live so far this season or good chunks of them. I saw Caleb Williams in his first two games have ZERO idea of what he was looking at. I'm not sure he still does but it's getting better. Ditto for Daniels.

I saw Maye in his first NFL game make reads left to right or right to left and make the correct decision. Does he have to work on accuracy, damn right he does. Does he have to work on starting games on an even keel? Yep. If he doesn't do any of that I will start railing against him.

I think you kind of nailed it. If Maye has 2-3 turnovers per game and accuracy issues the rest of the way, we will all agree that's not good.

Using advanced analytics:
-He was the best of all the first-round picks in college avoiding negative plays.
-Over their full careers Maye and Wiliams were by far most accurate than any other QB's in the draft.
-All the tape on him I watched he was very accurate so 1 game could be nerves or adrenaline and can look past that based on his history.

With all the above the expectation is those "bad" things will go away or be much less.

The positives, however, are not something that just "goes away" so we know he should be able to run well, has a strong arm, throws a great deep ball, make good reads, goes through progressions quickly and moves around the pocket. Qualities few QB's in the NFL have. I think it's hard to combine all those qualities in an NFL QB. Not many have all that.

There is a reason Josh Allen is regarded as a top QB despite having accuracy issues, and a history of bad picks.