Here’s what Drake Maye had to say following the New England Patriots’ 48-18 win over the Commanders on Friday night:
On his thoughts about getting out there, it being Tom Brady night, and his thoughts on what he was able to accomplish tonight:
“Yeah, I think, shout out to the fans, that was a great turnout. I mean, that’s… It felt like a real game atmosphere. You get the same jitters going out there. Obviously, a big celebration for number 12. That’s a pretty cool statue they put out out there. I was able to listen a little bit of his speech. That was pretty cool. So just honoring him and what he’s done for his organization speaks for itself. But for the fans tonight, how about that? They showed out. I think what the guys did tonight, had everybody playing, playing hard, blocking, tackling, running around. I think just full four quarters, I thought we kept playing. I think we’re starting to build something, starting to build the identity. That’s what the coach is talking about, and I got to do my part of protecting the football.”
On the fact he’s been very complimentary of Efton Chism this spring and the work he did during the OTAs and what he saw from the sideline and his overall growth over the course of the summer:
“Yeah, he’s a baller. He loves coming up, asking me questions about routes and things. He loves talking football. He’s just a football player, and you saw it tonight, making plays. Glad he got in the end zone, and then almost should have got in the end zone again on the screen. He got chased down. But I think just blocking hard, doing all the right things, I think that is what we’re preaching in the offensive room. You keep doing things the right way and keep showing up. You’re going to get rewarded.”
On how disappointing it was to start with the fumble:
“Yeah, it was disappointing. I mean I was excited to get out there and TreVeyon [Henderson] takes it in the 100 yards. That was pretty sweet. But you got a little bit of drive going, third down. Just can’t do that. My first time out, definitely put a damper. I’m glad we responded well, that next drive. But at the same time, I’m glad it’s something I can control. But at the end of the day, you just can’t put the defense in that position when games matter and we’re in the season. I told those guys, ‘That’s on me. We got to get back out there.’ Glad I was able to get another series going.”
On the fact that during the preseason a priority is to avoid a big contact and staying in good condition, and the balance that comes with using his legs vs getting too much contact:
“I think when they play man or they’re down in the red zone and sitting back in zone and playing too high, I got to play football. That’s my natural instinct. Obviously, you wish you could have hit some more passes, but at the same time, I thought we were running the ball well all night. There’s an even balance of them accounting for me being able to run a little bit. I thought I got down on the first third-down scramble. Then in the red zone, like I said, I’m going to go out there and play football.”
On taking us through his reaction on the 100yd kickoff return by TreVeyon Henderson:
“Yeah, I think it’s different with the kickoff rule now. Teams are going to want to tackle and not get 35-yard line, so it’s going to be a chance for some returns. Man, it’s like a lightning bolt. I saw the crease and knew he was gone. So pretty cool. The first time he touched football, it’s a touchdown. Then credit the guys that were blocking up front. Special teams and all three phases. I think special teams got a chance to be big for us this year.”
On going back to the end of that first drive with plays like that where he’s trying to extend the play if he feels it’s more instinct, or if there’s deliberate thought on what he’s trying to do:
“It’s instinct. It was the first time I got hit since, shoot, back in the last week 17. So it’s instinctive, and I’m going to try to do my best and not get hit, but I’m going to do my part of standing there and delivering throws, and know what’s going to happen. But, yeah, I think it’s instinctive just playing football and obviously trying to get the ball in the other guy’s hands because they’re better runners than I am, but just keeping defense honest.”
On the fact that he mentioned the optimism he has with the group this year, and if it’s possible to get a sense for who and what this team is this early, and what’s driving that optimism:
“I think you just got to continue to work at it every day, every week. Learn from it, learn from the tape. That’s the biggest thing I see in these guys. They want to get better. They’re asking questions. It’s a lot of football talk around in the locker room. I think that’s just something you like seeing. I think the optimism for me is these guys, like I said in the previous one, we want to win. It starts with the head coach, the intensity. You see the guys up front, that’s the first offensive line group that was in with me, I was tossing and handing it off and just watching them kind of set the tone early up front. That gets me excited and gets me pumped up. You see guys talking trash until the whistle. That’s what you want. That’s what you want around the locker room. You want those guys. And it’s easy for me to get excited playing with guys like that beside me.”
On when he thinks about Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and TreVeyon Henderson, how would he describe how they complement each other:
“I think it’s tough on the defense. They all can make you miss. They can run over you. They can catch balls out of the backfield. So it’s going to be challenging for us on when to use them and how to use them and getting them the ball. So we got to get those guys open in space. They’re great football players. You see two of them in the kickoff return. I don’t know who they’re going to kick it to. Both of them had big ones tonight. Excited to have them beside me. I think the best thing about them, they’re smart. They’re good in pass pro. They’re good when running the football, that’s obvious. But routes and I think pass pro, they’re willing to block, that’s something you look for in a quarterback. Is he going up in the A gap like, ‘Man, I got to go do this.’ Those guys are like, ‘I’m going to protect the guy behind me.’ And that’s what, like I said, it’s pretty cool and fires me up.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
