TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Press Conference Transcript 1/18
Drake Maye Post-Game: 'Not Satisfied' After Divisional Win, Praises Defense, Boutte, and Vrabel
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Here’s what Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say following Sunday’s Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans:
On his thoughts on getting the job done and how much of a battle it was for him against their defense, and then to see his defense do what it did:
“Yeah, we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew this was a great football team going in here. Happy for the guys. Man, this is one to enjoy. It was tough. Battled the elements. Props to our defense. They played great. We made enough plays on offense, but we cleaned some stuff up, and we knew they were going to be a good defense. And like I said, our defense helped us out all night, and special teams was huge as well. So just proud of the guys. We can enjoy this one, and we’re back on the road.”
On the touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte and the play he made, did he even see it? Or it’s just a matter of him leading him and knowing he was going to make a play:
“He keeps on making them. He keeps on making plays, making me look good. I’m proud to be able to give him some throws to make a play on it. I think, one-handed catch, there’s not much else to say about it. It’s pretty sweet. We kind of looked… It was kind of the same type of throw as my first one to him, and he made an even better catch this time. So just props to Kayshon for keep on playing. It was huge for us tonight. That receiver room just keeps on doing good things, a good job in the running game. I think I could have had some chances more downfield and made some better throws. But, hey, you can’t beat too hard on myself and move on to the next one.”
On as the fourth quarter started, what was he thinking, whether it was about using the clock or getting some more points and the fact it had been obviously a pretty tough game up to there and what was going through his mind? And also if he had any thoughts on Bo Nix and his unfortunate injury:
“Yeah, there’s just ups and downs with the game. I think just our mentality on offense is go down and score. There’s no mentality. I think when it becomes a two-possession game late in the fourth quarter, it kind of becomes a different deal. At the end, just proud of the offensive line for being able to run it when they know we’re going to run it that second to last drive. Then I botched the last third down, I missed the throw. But really just proud of the guys for running it. It was hard in this league to run it when they know you’re going to run it. Those guys were huge. Fourth quarter, that’s when crunch time is. The snow picked up a little bit. It was pretty sweet. Just the fans in the stadium, the atmosphere was pretty cool. There at the end, when we’re in victory formation, that’s always the stuff I remember. It’s pretty sweet.”
“Yeah, Bo, man. I trained with Bo before the pre-draft and got to know him well, him and his family, and his wife. First off, they’re just great people, great Christians. Really enjoyed being around, Bo Nix and his family. Obviously, the news is just heartbreaking for what a player he is, the guy he is, and just know… Praying for Bo. I know he’s going to bounce back. He’s a great player in this league, and look forward to matching up with him. We had one in college, and he got the best of me. I know he’ll bounce back, but I know they got a good team, and it should be a tough one next week.”
On the fact Mike Vrabel said the guys are excited about the win, but not satisfied and if that’s how he would also describe the mentality among the team, and what does that mean to not be satisfied:
“Yeah, I think not satisfied means we’re back on the road, back on the road in the AFC Championship game. I mean, that kind of speaks for itself. So I’m just trying to enjoy these, enjoy these playoff wins. I think in the regular season, when you come up with wins, you feel like you can play better, you kind of have this down mentality, and just know that we made enough plays tonight. Obviously, I wish I had some plays back, but that’s part of it. That’s part of playing good teams in the playoffs. And proud of these guys for how we played. It keeps on being a defense picking us up when we need it to, and special teams was huge. And so, like I said, just back on the road, and we got a tough opponent.”
On the fact there were eight turnovers total in the game between both teams, and how much of that does he think was the elements, how much was the caliber of the defense, and what did he attribute it to:
“Yeah, I think a credit to their defense. We knew they were going to be good, and they lived up to the hype and all the statistics and all the ball hunting that we saw on film. They ball hunt, and on the edge, they’re tough. I got to do a better job stepping up, and got to hit some guys downfield when we had our chances. But like I said, we made enough plays. We scored 21, and our defense helped out with seven. So we did what we had to do in the game, and the elements were a little tough. I got to be better with the football when I’m taking off from running. And from there, just know that the football is the prized possession. When we don’t turn the ball over and put our defense in bad spots, I like our chances.
On the fact he’s played two playoff games, his team’s got two wins, so he knows what it takes to win in the playoffs now, and how much tougher was this game than the first game, and how much tougher does he expect it to get:
“Yeah, it’s going to keep on getting tougher. We keep on playing great defenses with great quarterbacks and teams that deserve to be here. And that’s what we feel like we deserve to be here. We got times where we know we’re going to have to be at our best in critical moments. It’s going to come down the end. It’s going to come down to making plays when you have them. I got to just keep on giving our guys a chance to make plays. I like our chances with those guys in the locker room. It’s fun to be with those guys. It’s just fun to show up here. I’m just glad the season keeps on going. So hopefully it goes for a good while longer.”
On the fact Coach Vrabel gets a lot of credit for establishing what’s here, starting going back to where he was hired, but talk about what he’s meant for him personally, and what has he done for Drake Maye to make him a better player:
“Yeah, I think he challenges me. He challenges me really every day, every day in practice, every day… Every time I come back from the sideline, from a drive, he’s always got something to say. It’s not like… It’s something that’s usually meaningful, and that’s worth something. So just trying to listen to him, absorb as much as I can. I know he’s played in some big games like this, so it’s cool when you can see his emotion on his face when he’s not even playing, he’s coaching, and how much he cares for us, how much he cares for each of us personally. I think he just pushes me to be the best I can be. One of the best things about coach is he coaches hard, but he also cares about us a lot. I think that goes a long way. Coach Vrabel, he’s constant now. It’s hard when I’m sitting right here where the man is with the camera on team meetings, he’s got a sarcasm that I haven’t really figured out 100% yet. He’s got a little tough sarcasm where I want to laugh, but you don’t really want to. But no, I think he’s a big dude, too. I respect somebody looking me in the eye and he’s always got something to say, and I think it’s always something that is either funny or helps the team and helps us win.”
On the weather, there was that drive where he had the touchdown past the Stef [Stefon Diggs], and in that drive, it looked like he had a better grip on the ball and if something changed with the weather that enabled him to do that throughout the game, because things seemed to be better after that:
“Yeah, I think when the snowflakes stop, I think it’s a little easier to throw the football. You got a little better grip. But really, I think C.J. [Stroud] would probably say the same. We both had some throws that, it was tough. It was tough to get a grip on it. I think it’s tough in warmups because you kind of get a feel where the ball didn’t touch the ground and the guys are just passing it around with each other. But I think the biggest thing is get back there with snow and just having a good grip on it and letting it rip. But I think, like I said, the weather is no excuse, but there’s definitely times where the ball rolls around on the ground with the center before the snap and it gets a little wet. So it’s definitely tough, but I feel we made enough throws.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
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