Patriot Fans Finally Get To See More Of Maye
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FOXBOROUGH – More Drake Maye. More Drake Maye. Everyone happy now?
The number three draft pick from North Carolina finally got a chance to show everyone at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night what the future looks like. Maye played the entire second and third quarters of a Patriot 14-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in preseason game number two. Unlike last week in the rain where Maye played only one series, this game showcased him and the fans now have a lot more to chat about and visualize.
Experts do, too, as they were just as eager to see Maye under more authentic game situations. Granted, the Eagles played very few starters, and the few that did play were mostly when Jacoby Brissett was in at quarterback. Maye was presented with some interesting situations, and everyone now has something to think about.
The most telling element you can glean from this game is that Maye outplayed Brissett by a mile. The numbers show it, and your eyes know it. Brissett looks like he is “in between” mechanically and in concert with his receivers, but Maye looked comfortable, in charge, calm and cool and totally in control.
Maye finished with 6 of 11 passing for 47 yards, no passing touchdowns or picks. His rating was 65.3. That rating is a little misleading in that he did not play that bad a game. It’s just that his time in there didn’t feature any huge gainers or any sort of consistent rhythm. For comparison, Brissett was 3 of 7 passing for 17 yards, and end zone interception, and a rating of 10.7.
What Maye did do was run the offense the way it was supposed to be run, or rather the way he was told to run it. Maye made zero foolish throws, had some close calls on some misfires, and generally looked like he knew what he was doing. The fans seemed to want more and more of Maye, and head coach Jerod Mayo obliged.
What Maye did not do was mostly anything spectacular. No laser throws into tight coverage, no long bombs, no sustained rhythm, just more or less running a baseline offense the best he could. His best throw of the night was probably a left seam throw to Javon Baker in the second quarter, hitting Baker just when he made his in cut. Later in that drive (which ended with a 51-yard field goal by Joey Slye), on third and 8 at the Eagles 33, Maye found Baker on a deep left sideline pass where the ball was laid in there but Baker could not complete the leaping grab. Baker will someday need to make catches like those and secure the catch, but the throw, despite being slightly high, was laid in there nicely.
The only real negative for Maye was that he was sacked for an 8-yard loss on his final play of the third quarter. This was a play which was more on the offensive line not making a switch rather than May doing something foolish. Most of the time Maye was able to get rid of the ball when he had no play, avoiding both injury and a possible pick.
Maye did register a touchdown, just that it was rushing and not passing.
Just prior to the end of the first half, Maye led the Patriots on an 8-play, 49-yard drive which ended with Maye running it in from four yards out. Maye set it up with a nice screen pass to JaMichael Hasty for 23 yards to set up first and goal at the 7. Three plays later, Maye took the snap at the 4, playfaked to Hasty and then took off to the right as his blocking was allowed to set up nicely. Maye ran it in untouched.
There was a report this week which said something like “Beware if Maye abandons the pocket and scrambles to his right!” On this occasion, it was the right thing to do.
Everyone out there is going to scream for Maye to start the season opener against Cincinnati. And this writer still asks everyone for due prudence in this area. What Maye did Thursday night was not against the varsity Eagles defense, and the Patriot offensive line is still very much a work in progress. You have Brissett here for a reason, and you don’t want Maye to suddenly become the next Mac Jones.
The Patriots wrap up the preseason a week from Sunday at Washington, then make their final cuts and get ready for the regular season. Whatever Mayo has in mind for the Patriots, it still makes more sense to sit Maye this season rather than put him in there and have him get killed. It is nice to see a glimpse of what Maye can do and will someday do, but Brissett must start the season as the number one quarterback.
Of course, don’t expect everyone to like that decision. Maye did well Thursday night, no doubt about it. But Maye must be treated like a marathon and not a sprint.
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Felger and Curran already jumped in with the “Did Maye overtake Brissett” stick. Maye showed signs of his talent that certainly should excite the fans wanting more. And he did. But reality…. reality today is a pre-season game is not even a close measure to a regular season NFL game. Pre-season is against mostly backups where theres no game planning to exploit a rookie QB like there would be vs a CINCY in Sept etc. As well, it’s well reported that almost daily Brisset is in much more control of this AVP offense than Maye. He knows that offense as… Read more »