Patriots News 8-18, Judon Traded, Maye Shows Progress
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Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for August 18. The team had a busy and tumultuous week. First came the long (89-play) joint practice with the Eagles, during which Philly abused the Patriots’ offensive line.
The team’s news of trading Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in return for a third-round draft pick compounded matters. The preseason game with Philly finished off the big week with an up-and-down performance, where Drake Maye showed some of his physical prowess.
In a rebuilding season under a new regime, Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo, et al., the team identified and prioritized resigning its own core players.
Surprisingly, right or wrong, Judon wasn’t among them. The player with 28.5 sacks during the 2021-2022 seasons had an injury-shortened 2023 season, where he played in only four games and added four sacks.
A leader both on and off the field, he was the most recognizable and best player in an otherwise awful season in 2023. Jerod Mayo said, “We’ve gone years without having a premier rusher — Chandler Jones, the Judons of the world — but we were able to manufacture a pass rush through our stunts and games and our game planning,” and would rely on a number of players to accomplish their goal in 2024, Judon was a “Force Multiplier” who elevated those around him (see Uche,Josh).
The writer/journalist side of me understands the reasoning behind the team’s decision to trade him, namely:
At 32 years old, he would unlikely be around when the rebuild is done, and the team is ready to compete again. After Judon’s animated sideline discussions with Mayo, Wolf, and Matt Groh, the team was concerned he’d be a distraction to the many younger players. Finally, the team wants to bring along their younger players. The compensation is good: a third-round draft pick that will help in the rebuilding progress that will continue next year.
However, the fan in me really wanted to see Judon remain and retire as a Patriot. With a team that will rely heavily on its defense in 2024 until the offense gets untracked, having already lost Christian Barmore for an extended period, they are losing arguably their two most impactful players on defense.
Of course, hindsight being 20/20, wouldn’t it have served the Patriots better if they didn’t see Judon being with the team in 2024, to have traded him prior to the draft, to get additional draft capital this year?
It was a very good trade for the Falcons, who haven’t had a double-digit sack pass rusher since 2015. They are built to win now, having added QBs Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix this offseason. Having added Judon and Justin Simmons on defense should please the new head coach, Raheem Morris.
A win-win trade? Perhaps. But it doesn’t really feel like it right now.
Matthew Judon: The now-former Patriots edge rusher didn’t seem too enamored with the trade to the Falcons despite the fact that he’ll be playing for a divisional crown this season, something the Patriots will not.
“Anyone ever fail a physical because of a broken heart? -rod wave,” Judon wrote in a post on X.
Despite the trade, the Falcons have not made a contract offer, so Judon is still in the same boat contractually. This will be an interesting development to watch.
Eliot Wolf: The Patriots vice president of player personnel (defacto GM), spoke about the Judon trade during halftime of the Patriots -Eagles game. In speaking with Scott Zolak and the McCourty twins, he said: “These decisions are never easy for us.
“With Matthew, who’s a core guy, one of our better players. … I think Matthew is probably the one that said it best: There’s football, and then there’s the business of football, and sometimes it’s difficult to adjust to each thing.
“But we wish him the best; he was a good player for us. I know he’s gonna do good things in Atlanta, and we have some guys that are capable of filling the mantle for him.”
Nick Siriani: The Eagles head coach seems to be a fan of joint practices and especially with Jerod Mayo and the Patriots. In his post-game press conference, he was asked about the joint practice and his thoughts on it.
I thought it was really good. Again, Coach Mayo and his staff are unbelievable hosts. We got good work in, good clean work in where you don’t have to blow the whistle all the time with different fights or anything like that. And it was physical. It was a physical practice. It was a physical practice.
“So, man, I was really pleased, and I would love to do this again. I said that to Coach Mayo after the game. I said let’s do this again next year. I don’t believe we play the NFC-AFC East next year.
“I said to him, let’s do this again next year because that was really good work, and so I’m a big believer in the joint practices because you can really get good work against different teams, different schemes, different players, and so you’re not going against the same person all the time. 89 plays is a good chunk of work.”
Jerod Mayo: During his post-game press conference, Mayo was asked about the play of the offensive line and the following answer for it.
“There were definitely some ups and some downs. I would say there’s a dramatic drop-off, not really physically, but just knowing what to do between the first line and the second and third guys.
“They have to get better as a whole, as a unit. They just have to get better, and that comes from playing football games. We have another preseason game coming up. We’re going to play. That’s the only way you’re going to get better at football is by playing football.
Drake Maye: The rookie quarterback played the second and third quarters and was asked what he’ll be looking at on the game tape to improve his overall performance.
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity. I think there are definitely things I can clean up. I had some good things and some bad plays: dropped snaps – inexcusable from me.
“Other than that, sometimes I felt I was scrambling when I could sit in there, hang on, and try to make a throw. So, there are definitely a lot of things to learn from. It was good to get out there and get some tape to learn from. Other than that, the guys fought, played hard. You can look at a lot of things, but the one thing you can’t question is our effort and that really starts it all.”
Drake Maye II: The Patriot QB was also asked about the touchdown he scored when there were six rookies on the field for the Patriots.
“It was an awesome moment. We spent a lot of time here, in the rookie meetings in the spring, it was just us. It was definitely cool having those guys out there.
“I think the first thing I did was chest bump JP (Ja’Lynn Polk). So it was cool to get there with guys in the same spot, going through the same things. It was a fun time for us and a moment I’ll never forget.”
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek Havens and I discussed and broke down the Eagles game. Please check it out. We looked at the latest breaking news, especially the trade of Matthew Judon
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 and Eagles finished their joint practice, preseason game on Thursday evening, won by Philly 14-13. And while the final score isn’t as important as getting a good look at players trying to make the roster, how the game ended was a microcosm of the sloppiness that has plagued the offense.
QB Bailey Zappe came in to run the two-minute drill with the opportunity to win the game. But a bad snap rolled on the field and eluded Zappe. The Eagles recovered and then got into victory formation to end things.
Other than David Andrews, the backup centers and QBs have far too many bad connections. This is one of several things that need to be cleaned up before the season opener with Cincinnati.
Jacoby Brissett had another rough game, throwing a bad interception in the red zone with an opportunity to put points on the board. Brissett had plenty of time but tried to force a pass to TE Austin Hooper. Avonte Maddox reacted quickly in tight coverage, stepping in front of Hooper for an interception and returning it 50+ yards to near midfield.
Jerod Mayo surprisingly called Brissett out on the throw saying, “It was just forcing the play. We had other guys open on that play. It was a poor play,” said Mayo.
“It was a terrible play. We can’t have those, especially when you have guaranteed points on the board. It turns from a, ‘All right, we got a field goal already pretty much secure,’ to now really being a seven-point play by turning the ball over. So, it is just a poor play overall. And I think if you asked Jacoby, he would say the same thing.”
Brissett finished 3-7 for 17 yards with the interception. He’s not filling the coaches with optimism after last week’s 0-3 outing.
Meanwhile, Drake Maye, after playing just six snaps last week, got an extended look, playing 22 snaps and leading the Patriots on two scoring drives in the first half. While he wasn’t great, he went 6-11 for 47 yards, and he showed great poise in the pocket and the ability to go through his progressions and make plays. His third-down conversion to Javon Baker was an excellent example of that.
Maye also showcased his athletic ability in the red zone. He scored a rushing touchdown on a zone read; when the Philly DE played the run inside, he kept the ball and scampered for an easy touchdown.
Coupled with Brissett’s struggles, Maye’s good evening has the head coach saying the QB competition is real. “We have three more days of training camp practices, and it’s our job as coaches to evaluate, and the competition isn’t over. They’re still going to go out there, and they have to show not only themselves and the coaches but also their teammates. So it’s definitely still a competition.”
More to this competition below.
The offensive line wasn’t as bad as Tuesday, but it was still a problem. They began the game with the same starting lineup as last week. LT Vederian Lowe, LG Sidy Sow, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Chuks Okorafor.
That unit played with Brissett and then Maye’s first series. Then, the coaches substituted rookies Layden Robinson as the right guard and Caedan Wallace as the right tackle.
Lowe remains a crapshoot at LT. Speed rushers can dominate against him due to his slow, leaden feet. But then he got help from the backfield when Kevin Harris engaged with a good chip block; Lowe set up too far outside, allowing the Eagles’ edge rusher (Nolan Smith) an easy path inside, resulting in a sack.
Will the team continue to roll with Lowe, move another player into the spot, try to swing a trade before cutdown, or scour the waiver wire on cutdown day? Their lack of pass protection could be a factor in Brissett’s struggles.
Maye is more mobile and has the athleticism to move around the pocket better. The team has said it wants to take things slowly with Maye, but if he continues to progress, he could leapfrog Brissett. Which is why it is imperative to settle the tackle position regardless.
The Patriots had bad snaps three times during Thursday’s game. That is inexcusable. Mayo called those out on Friday as well.
“Yeah. So we had three quarterback center exchanges. You can sit here and say whose fault it is, but it’s both of theirs,” said Mayo.
“It’s a problem between the quarterback and the center. And we definitely have to get better at that. I mean, that’s part of the preseason is to make sure that we’re good on our quarterback center exchange. You have to get used to taking snaps from other people outside of David Andrews, and we just have to do a better job and rep that more. But that was one of the more disappointing things, to know how many times the ball was on the ground.”
With Judon being traded, the Patriots will be forced to rely on a number of pass rushers to get the job done. And, yes, Philly’s backups were on the field, but it doesn’t completely negate the pass rush’s job against Kenny Pickett.
Defensive ends Keion White, Deatrich Wise, linebacker Josh Uche, and cornerback Isaiah Bolden had first-half sacks of Pickett. OLB Oshane “OX” Ximines had a fourth-quarter sack against Will Grier.
They maintained good pressure on the Eagles’ QBs all game long.
Raekwon McMillan was flying all over the field on Thursday night, notching nine tackles and getting some nice kudos from his coach. “Yeah, I would just say tone-setter,” said Mayo.
“He went out there on special teams and defense and made a bunch of plays. He was coming down the hill. We talk about block destruction. He was flying around, and I love to see it. I know what he’s been through the last couple of years, and it was good to see him out there playing good ball.”
After being an Achilles Heel for the past few years, the Patriots’ Special Teams are having a pretty good preseason. David Wallis had another big return in the kicking game, returning a kickoff 53 yards and setting up a field goal. Wallis saw a crease in the coverage and raced to the outside. However, he later misjudged a punt and muffed it, nearly losing it in the process.
Bryce Barringer had an excellent outing, booming one punt 63 yards that rolled out of bounds at the one-yard line. Overall, he averaged 50.5 yards on his six punts, with one touchback.
The kicker competition remains intriguing. Joey Slye hit two field goals from 51 and 45 yards, while Chad Ryland kicked an extra point. It will be worth watching if Ryland gets field goal duty next Sunday in Washington.
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It’s not going to be one person. It’s hard to sit here and say one person can replace Matthew Judon, both on the field and off the field. But I think we have a good group ready to go and step into those shoes.”
“You guys know how I feel about Judon,” Mayo added. “And obviously, he’s moving on. I felt like it was a win-win for both parties, and I wish him nothing but the best. I always tell the guys these are long-term relationships, and nothing’s changed.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo after he was asked about Ja’Lynn Polk and the amount of reps he was getting in the Panthers game.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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There must be more to the Judon matter than is published. But based on the info we have, I don’t like the trade. Why? Cause it’s really hard to get impact players. And Judon is or was just that. To me, the pats are starved for some momentum. With Baremore out, letting Judon go where so many 3rd rounders don’t ‘pan out’, is an error. Even if it’s only for one season. I’m sure there’s more than we know, so I’ll trust the pats brass here.