Patriots News 6-2, Drake Maye’s Progression Steady
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Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for June 2. The Patriots have upcoming OTAs scheduled for June 3-4 and June 6-7. The team’s mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 11-13.
There isn’t much tape on the Patriots’ offense yet, but what has been clear through the first few OTAs open to the media is that QB Drake Maye has been making steady progress.
We’ll have much more to say about that below, but Maye’s improvement daily is encouraging news. Once the pads come on late next month, we’ll have a better idea of his progression, but seeing all of the rookies getting some good reps is good.
Javon Baker: The Patriot rookie wide receiver set tongues wagging immediately after he was drafted, stating that he “makes people in wheelchairs stand up.” That was an instant classic. But now he’s beginning to back up his words with actions and even getting QB Jacoby Brissett to be impressed.
Baker had a couple of highlight reel grabs on Wednesday’s practice session. “Oh, man, he made a couple of plays today,” Brissett said to NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire.
“He’s getting better. Obviously, he is somebody that we are looking forward to seeing what he can become. …Good route runner, good hands, can go up and make plays like he did today. We’re looking forward to seeing the more he can do.”
Baker made a nice grab in double coverage for a touchdown, and then Brissett launched a 50/50 ball deep down the sideline, and Baker went up and ripped it away from cornerback Marco Wilson while having the body control to toe-tap along the sideline to ensure it was complete.
Yes, it is (was) May, but that is just what the team needs from him.
Alex Van Pelt: The Patriots’ new offensive coordinator has put in his dues and will be running the offense this season. Chris Price of the Boston Globe wrote an excellent article on Van Pelt this past week. He’s been in the NFL as a player and a coach for nearly 30 years and has an outstanding reputation.
In his four years with the Browns, Van Pelt had nine (9) starting quarterbacks: Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Jacoby Brissett, DeShaun Watson, Jeff Driskel, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Joe Flacco.
Last season, with five starting QBs, Van Pelt had the offense scoring 23.3 points per game. Which was good for 10th in the league. Not too shabby at all.
His offensive philosophy is based on the West Coast system due to his relationship with Paul Hackett. He mixes it with the Green Bay system he ran with Mike McCarthy, as well as some of the Bills’ “K-Gun” offense he ran as a player and as a starting QB in 2001.
Drake Maye has been impressed with his new offensive coordinator. “He understands it,” Maye said. “He played the position and coached a lot of quarterbacks, so he understands it.
“That’s the best thing you want to see from a coach. He knows it’s going to be a growing side, a mental side to it. So he’s understanding, but also, if you’re not doing a great job, he’s going to tell you. It’s been awesome so far.”
Tyquan Thornton: We’ve been hearing that Thornton has beefed up a bit this offseason. But that was just a part of his issues. His route-running and the ability to stay healthy and on the field are what has held him back. This is the fish or cut bait time for the speedy wide receiver.
Thornton got off to a good start this season, which he has done before, but he started the last two seasons on IR. But he was arguably the best WR on the field for the one session. An interesting side note for Thorntbe deeon: he was working as a gunner along with Brendan Schooler.
Keion White: I’ve been saying all spring that White has been almost forgotten as an edge player entering his second season. So, it was nice to hear head coach Jerod Mayo give White some props. (more below)
If White has a big second-year jump, the Patriots’ edge will be deep and versatile.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: This past week, we discussed the latest news from Foxboro in our PatsFans.com podcast.
Derek Havens and I had a very informative interview with @Patscap, aka Miguel Benzan, who has no peers when it comes to the Patriots’ salary cap. It was great to catch up with our old friend and hear some great tidbits from the master.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t in is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed the game with how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots OTAs thus far have had Jacoby Brissett taking first reps with the offense, followed by Bailey Zappe and then Drake Maye. So far, is the definitive word. The coaches want Maye to earn the starter reps, which is good. But now is the time (Mandatory minicamp) to get Maye more reps as the #2 QB.
Zappe has many fans in Patriots Nation, and several of them are actively campaigning for him to be the starter this season. Ah…to put it politically correct, heck no. I was thinking about a more descriptive four-letter word. Well, you get the idea.
The coaches and front office knew what Zappe has to offer and brought in three quarterbacks this year. An established veteran in Brissett who has much more upside, the third overall pick (Maye) who is the quarterback of the future, and a late-round pick in Joe Milton who while raw, has some intriguing skills.
Zappe’s numbers were almost across the board to be inferior to the player he replaced, Mac Jones. Completion percentage, TD percentage, Interception percentage, Passing Success percentage, Yards per attempt, Yards per game, and Passer rating.
The Patriots made an investment in Maye, so how much longer will he lose reps to Bailey Zappe? They need to get him the work to prepare him (sooner or later) to become the starting quarterback. Bert Breer of SI said that things are going great with the rookie.
“I’ve heard it’s going great,” said Breer. Honestly, that’s from multiple people today. There are people who’ve been there every day. They say the progress has been incremental. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s making these huge leaps, but day over day, they’re seeing really good progress.”
“You see the arm talent. What they’re really trying to do right now, this guy has… I mean, what they found since they got him in the building is he has almost no footwork training. So, what he was doing in college was without having much training at all when it comes to tying his feet to how he throws, the play call. So, they’ve been working through that.”
Breer mentioned that the coaches are throwing different looks at him and so far, he’s passing the tests.
There was reportedly one series during the open session of OTAs when the Patriots’ defense took away his first two reads. Maye then spotted an open play on a slant midfield, where the receiver slipped through the coverage and took off. That led to some frustration from Jabril Peppers, who apparently wasn’t pleased as he spoke to his fellow defensive backs about the play.
“Then there’s not panic and I think that’s another thing that can help him get on the field,” said Breer. “It’s like what you want to be sure of when you’re a coach is that he’s not going to go out there and kind of look like he’s all over the place. What they’re seeing right now is a kid who does not panic, who isn’t forcing the ball when the picture gets jumbled on him, because that’s what’s going to happen with all young quarterbacks.”
“Again, it doesn’t mean he’s ready to start, but what they’re seeing is a kid who is learning and who is applying what he’s learning onto the field, which is the first step towards becoming a better quarterback.”
The Patriots are taking a slow approach with Maye, not wanting to put too much on his plate, but he needs to build some chemistry, not just with fellow rookies Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and Jaheim Bell but also with the veterans.
Maye had a WOW type of play when he rolled out to his left, keeping his eyes downfield, and launched a no-look pass to Bell. While impressive, I’m sure Mayo told him to limit those in the future… but still.
We’ll see how things progress when training camp begins.
Kay Adams interviewed Eliot Wolf this week on her “Up and Adams” podcast. And there were some really interesting tidbits in there. All of it was transcribed by PatsFans.com’s Ian Logue.
KA: And it’s been 20 years. It’s not like it just happened over a couple of months there. 20 years since you started your NFL journey. When I say that to you, if I were to give you sort of like a Polaroid camera and say, take a snapshot of your most proud moment or day or pick. Green Bay, Cleveland, Boston. What, are you putting in a frame?
EW: “Yeah, I would say, you know, winning the Super Bowl with the Packers in 2010 is number one. Number two would be, you know, having the opportunity to present my dad in the Hall of Fame, which was 2015, I believe. And then, you know, the Krafts and coach Mayo and everyone giving me the opportunity here with the Patriots to try to turn this thing around and get us going in the right direction.”
KA: I would love that. I want to talk a little bit about Green Bay. Of course, a few years after your dad, we’re talking about your dad. But you get to Green Bay, you spend 14 seasons there under Ted Thompson, and you’re there learning, absorbing. They run things a little bit differently. How would you say that that experience formed or shaped your philosophy when approaching this new team and this Patriots roster?
EW: “Yeah, that’s a good question. So I would say a couple things. Number one, growing up in the system in Green Bay was kind of my dad’s system. I never worked for my dad, but that was the system that was in place there and then kind of moving to another sort of, not to say opposite system, but a lot of different things in New England. And being able to just kind of take and shape our new system, moving forward with the best aspects of both of those schemes and systems is something that I think will be really advantageous to us.”
KA: Well, the big thing is when does Drake Maye start? So let’s just put this as a, let’s, you know, let’s sit in the group therapy session. You’re here. It’s you and it’s Mr. Mayo, coach, who makes the decision on when he gets out there?
EW: “I think those will be some important conversations for us to have. Right now, it’s Jacoby Brissett. He’s taken the first reps, and we’re excited about what he’s shown not only off the field but also on the field with his throwing ability. And then Drake Maye, let’s be honest, we’ve had him for three weeks now. There’s a long way to go for all of our rookies and all of our players as we adapt to this new scheme that coach [Alex] Van Pelt is implementing offensively. And so we’ll have those conversations as they arise. I’m sure it’s going to be a collaborative approach as it’s been so far with, with really all the big decisions that we’ve made, and, you know, they’re all four of the quarterbacks we have on the roster right now are working hard and ready to go.”
KA: But when it comes to developing a quarterback, what is the Eliot Wolf philosophy?
EW: “Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s a specific Eliot Wolf philosophy. I think every person and player is different. So I think you have to be true to what you’re seeing and listen to the coaches and really understand who’s ready, who’s not ready. And again, like I said, in this particular situation, Drake’s been with us for about three weeks. And so we’ll kind of see how it goes here. You know, maybe he’ll be ready, maybe he won’t.”
KA: Yeah, and coach Mayo said that OC Alex Van Pelt is the lead guy in Drake’s development. I’ve heard great things about him. You were a part of bringing him to New England. You spent six years with him in Green Bay when he was Aaron Rodgers quarterback coach. So what is it about this guy that people need to know, rivals need to know, your own fan base needs to know that gets the best out of whoever, like you’re saying the quarterback might be?
EW: I would say, and again, this is something that’s important to myself and Jerod as well. And that’s why, you know, including Van Pelt and DeMarcus Covington, our defense coordinator, Jeremy Springer, our special teams coordinator, all of us really care about developing people and care about being good teammates, and that’s really one thing that coach Van Pelt has brought with him from Cleveland and some of his other stops. You know, the very first, you know, again, it’s voluntary during OTAs, but the very first meeting they had offensively, it was really just the ‘Who are you?’ session. Like, get to know everybody in the room, get to know everybody, what they’re about, what’s their ‘why,’ and, you know, him being able to develop those relationships with the players and obviously his vast offensive knowledge from all the stops that he’s had, those are some things that are going to mesh well and really try to get the best out of the players that we have.
KA: Elliott, you’ve had some great defenses. I’m thinking about the 2010 packers number two ranked defense, Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, two years in Cleveland, you mentioned with the Haslams, but also with Miles Garrett, who’s terrifying, you know, good defenses. I’ve talked a lot about your defense this offseason because it’s completely slept on. Like egregiously, irresponsibly slept on. This team had injuries, Judon and Gonzalez last year, two absolute stars. When they’re out there, how does this group stack up to other defenses you’ve been around in your career?
EW: “Yeah, I would just say I think one of the most impressive things about our defense last year was the fact that they never quit. I mean, our offense was very notably struggling, struggled to put up points, and the defense just came out every week, and they were absolute warriors, taking on the run, taking on the pass, and even mentally with losing some of our better players throughout the season. They just kind of showed up every week and did their thing. We had some guys really step up into bigger roles, and I’m really excited for what the future holds. My one regret so far from this offseason, particularly with the draft, is, you know, we only, we had eight draft picks. We only drafted one defensive player. And so I apologize to coach Covington about that. But, you know, obviously he wanted what’s best for the team, too. So that really, that’s one regret that I’ve had so far. But we’ll see how it goes. We feel good about the guys we do have in here.”
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“Keion’s doing a good job for us and I would say also, Keion’s kinda taking that step forward as far as being a leader. Not as much vocally, but you see him actually leading the groups and working well.
“His versatility — he’s always been a strong guy, but I would say he’s even stronger now. He’s doing a good job and he’s here each and every day. And in the meeting rooms he’s actually kinda talking and leading those conversations, which I think is important. We always talk about that year two jump — that’s the biggest jump you can have.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, on Keion White when he was asked who has been a pleasant surprise this spring.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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