TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Press Conference 8/11

Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say following Tuesday’s joint Patriots / Colts joint practice.

On how did he thought his day went and the offense against the Colts defense:

“Yeah, I think I was proud of the guys for, first of all, the effort. I think, first off, seeing somebody new for the first time and seeing some different things, I thought we did some good things. I think we got to finish off better, I’m speaking on my part, in the 2-minute drill. But you know, I really think it’s— we challenge our guys to be— try to be consistent throughout the day, and I think they responded to that. I think we got some things to work on. I know it’s a good defense over there and they do some good stuff. So I’m looking forward to watching the tape, but proud of the guys and the energy. And like sometimes even when we lacked it, sometimes I think the guys kind of brought it back.”

On how he’s learned to use these to his advantage to get ready here in his third year now with the joint practices:

“Yeah, I think it’s great. Because you don’t really scout these joint practices, you take a mini look at them and kind of an idea of what the defensive coordinator does, but really it’s just going out there and kind of feeling what I see and trying to make some plays. So I think that’s one of the coolest things about joint practice. You get to see somebody else and don’t really scout them, and game plan them really hard. So it’s good for you to kind of see and react and try to get your guys going.”

On the red zone interception if that was third down, if he remembers:

“That was first, second, I believe it may have been second down. So I got to protect the football. We were second and maybe 13. We had a false start and you’ve got 25 seconds left and we got no timeouts trying to score a touchdown. So I gave a shot to the end zone and got to give our guys a chance.

On seeing and reacting. How he felt he did in that realm today and what he liked about the decisions he made:

“Yeah, I think we made some big plays down the field. I think we picked up some third downs, the first rack of third downs. Thought we could have done a better job. And speaking on my part to make some throws, but I think we had some big plays. I think we were consistent in the run game. We got a hat on a hat, and it didn’t really feel like we had some free hitters to the football in my group. So I thought the guys up front did a great job in the pocket. I felt pretty good all day. So, and then from there, just continue to build on it.”

On if he learned anything about his offense today:

“I think you just learn about who’s kind of stepping up to the occasion. I think a lot of the guys responded today and I think a lot of different guys made plays. A lot of guys in the red zone were making plays. And I think you just see time and time again when we can use everybody, how hard it is on defense.”

On Hunter Henry and his contract extension, and what it means to have him around here for a few more years:

“Man, it’s a blessing to play with Hunter. He was one of my veterans, the first guy who reached out to me when I got drafted, when I got drafted. So it just the guys like Hunter are some of the best teammates I’ll be around in my career. And I’m just not taking that for granted and trying to pick his brain and how many stories he has back with Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers and just using that and just kind of continuing to build the friendship. He’s got a great family. He’s a great dude, a great person. I’m glad every time I go out in the field with Hunt. So it’s a pleasure.”

On the fact we’ve seen him and Romeo [Doubs] hit on some plays the last couple of days and how he you feels like that chemistry is growing with him:

“Yeah, I think he’s continuing to catch kind of a stride in kind of how we do things and how we want it to look and the details. And he’s just continuing to get better and better. So I’m looking forward to seeing him go. And I think he’s been a great addition, and looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

On Jared [Wilson] and company, how was communication up front:

“Yeah, communication has been great since Jared took over. I think him learning from Garrett [Bradbury] last year Garrett was one of the best at it. Just being on our P’s and Q’s up front and me and him talking and him seeing things and getting out the calls. I thought he was great today, and it’s just gonna get better and better as the year goes on with him kind of playing the first time this offense at center.”

On the fact he has a deep group of receivers, the two tight ends, the two backs, and how much easier life is for him when he has such a diverse group of weapons:

“Yeah, our room’s great. I think our skill position room is great, and we got a lot of depth and a lot of guys that really want to get in there and make plays. So I think that’s the best thing about it. It’s competitive in there. You got guys that making plays all across the board. So it’s my job to get them the ball, and they’re better runners than I am, so get them the football and let them do their thing.”

On how it was to go up against different fronts, different coverages, and how it was for him 2 weeks into practice and trying to get acclimated to seeing something different:

“Yeah, it’s a great kind of mix-up for us, kind of seeing our defense and our defense does some great stuff, but seeing somebody else and seeing what they do and how they try to exploit our problems and kind of what their deal is on defense, what they like to do on third down or 2-minute when we’re kind of trying to score. So little things like that, you get to kind of see some overriding themes in defensive football that you can kind of compare to our defense and just football in general. So kind of mix-matching that and seeing what they do. And I think it was great for us to get a new look, and I thought we responded well.”

On the amount of weapons that this group has, and if there are challenges in that as well as the quarterback and trying to make sure everybody’s happy, everybody’s engaged, everybody’s getting football, in addition to obviously all the positives of the different groups he can put out there:

“I think it’s the best thing for that is winning. I think nobody really tries to complain when you win games. And I think nobody’s really that prideful in this sport about personal stats or achievements when we’re winning games. So that’s our job as a team and come together and try to win games. So that’s the biggest thing that Coach is preaching. And we’re trying to be second voices of him and knowing that protect the football team and do things the right way. But no, I think my job isn’t to try to make everybody happy. I think my job is to have the offense move up and down the field and score points.”

On the fact we’ve seen him spend a ton of time on fundamentals, whether it’s release, arm position and if he obsesses over it:

“I think you have to at our position. How many different little things, a little extra power on the throw, a little extra torque in the ground, or arm angles, and trying to mix up arm angles. I think you have to go back and see, maybe, ‘What could I have done?’ Or, ‘Why was this ball a little right? Why was it a little high?’ I think you have to in our sport. Some of the kind of biggest things that are with my position as well is you’re not always going to be in a stationary spot. So being able to be on the move and still get your arm in the right spot and watching the individual drill and watching little things and just trying to see, ‘Hey, maybe why was I too much on the front foot?’ or little things like that.”

On since April of 2024, how much his fundamentals have changed:

“Yeah, I think my throwing has been pretty similar. I think I may be shortening it a little bit from college, but really just trying to get more torque and use more legs, and I think, Lord willing, my arm’s never really given me problems having to ice it or do much. So maybe as I get older, it may do that, but you know, right now I’m able to gunsling it and just trying to be as accurate as I can.”

On the fact coach said he won’t play on Thursday, and how much does this prepare him today for what’s to come with the Eagles next week?

“We had to have a good practice. We had to have a good practice and show coach we can get work in throughout the week. And I think we’ll have that same deal with Philadelphia coming. So looking forward to coming out here and having a couple of days with them. So I think it’s on us to be players that have played in this league and know what it’s like to handle practice the right way. And I feel like we did that.”

(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.)

About Ian Logue

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.

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