The Patriots may be coming off a 4-13 season. They don’t draw as many preseason crowds as they once did. They’ll have to sit at the NFL nerds’ table for all of 2024, meaning Sunday 1 p.m. games. That’s our cross to bear. But at least they’ll never sink so low that a girl who became famous for squirting snot on dicks has to ring the lighthouse bell.
-Unlike last week’s game against Carolina, Jerod Mayo gave the people (who had to brave Revelation-style thunderstorms to get to their seats) what they paid for.
–With all due respect to Jacoby Brissett, who we’ll get to, fans want Maye to be the Hootie of that Blowfish. And against the Eagles, he earned that reputation, with 22 snaps, 6 of 11 passing with a couple of drops, 47 yards, a rushing touchdown, and scores on his first two drives.
–But watching him in that live-fire drill went beyond the numbers. What struck you was how athletic he is, now that he has to face professional, testosterone-fueled rage monsters chasing him with evil intent—without the red jersey to protect him. He’s finally asserting his physical dominance over other men. He escapes some tackles. He breaks through others. He evades pressure. He escapes the pocket. Take his touchdown run, for example. In practice, it looks like an aborted play every time a QB tucks the ball and runs with it. Like no one is free, so he just took the coward’s path and picked up what he could get against 11 guys who aren’t allowed to touch him. But that was a zone read where they left No. 50 intentionally unblocked. Maye realized he was darting inside to stop the dive play, pulled the ball back and ran:
Perfect read. Perfect execution. And a QB who has the speed to get through the ball unchallenged. Josh McDaniels might have incorporated an element of that during Cam Newton’s season. I don’t know; I forgot about all of 2020. But now it’s a difficulty they can keep tackling, so defenses have to fight it for the first time.
–In the passing game, he was able to pull off his progressions impressively. Especially on downs where there was nothing available on the play side and he checked back and gained yards. Nothing was better than this throw to Javon Baker. Maye looked right first before going left for this high-low read where he checked the middle defender. As that guy came toward Ja’Lynn Polk, who sat down underneath, Maye already had the ball in the air when Baker made his in-cut:
And perhaps his best moment was on the third play in this video. A blitz that left the edge rusher free. Maye quickly turned his head, found Mitchell Wilcox, who let go, and got him the ball for 4 yards:
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A great throw, catch and run. That certainly wasn’t easy for Wilcox, because the “87” on the Patriots’ uniform weighs several tons.
–Maye’s most impressive throw of the night was obviously this one to Baker:
One of those experts on YouTube who analyze quarterback plays in minute detail could nitpick about Maye’s foot play, and he did seem to do a lot of crow hops on his dropback or whatever. But his talent with the arm is unmistakable. He showed it on some other deep balls, too. A couple go routes along the perimeter where you could have caught the ball but didn’t. At least Maye, who got a lot of reps against an NFL defense, proved he can produce. And I remind you again, he doesn’t turn 22 until the end of the month. That’s your headline from this game.
–As for Brissett, he really has nothing to prove. What he is has long been known. He is a competent, reliable and safe QB who can be trusted. Especially when it comes to ball security. (Mental note: Start working on a special script for NCIS: Ball Security.) That’s why you believe him when he said after the game that there was a misunderstanding between him and Austin Hooper:
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Brissett’s entire career has revolved around making good decisions with the ball, including throwing it away on 3rd down in the red zone when everyone was covered in the end zone and getting the 3 points. What concerns me more is that it’s mid-August and the Pats’ TE2 isn’t on the same side of the goal line as their QB1 on a crucial play.
–As for last week’s headliner, Joe Milton did some Joe Milton things:
He is and will always be a project. A collection of raw material that will likely be placed on the practice squad. And whose development will undoubtedly be measured in years, not months. But if you don’t enjoy watching him, then tackle football is simply not for you.
–The biggest risk this franchise has taken all year is the decision not to seriously look at the offensive tackle position. As my brother Jack said (and I’m pretty sure Brian Hoyer said last night too), the Pats’ left tackle isn’t on the roster yet. That they’re keeping salary cap space and waiting for an established veteran to break free. I hope he’s right. Because Vederian Lowe’s situation hasn’t improved since Vederian Lowe’s situation last year. They got him plenty of help on that sack in the form of a solid chip from Kevin Harris. And Lowe still got caught giving up his upside inside:
Fortunately, this was Mayes’ last snap of the game. Milton’s night also ended with a sack. Bailey Zappes ended with a botched snap by Liam Fornadel, who is in the running for most Lord of the rings Elfin name in Patriots history. But that wasn’t the only botched center swap of the night, proving that the O-line problems start at the tackles, but don’t end there. And keeping David Andrews healthy for 17 games is crucial
–They don’t give out game balls in the preseason because a Wilson football is worth more than a preseason game. But if they did, the Pats’ defensive line would share it. Three fourth-down stops against a team that has perfected the art of picking up on fourth down. One in particular was Mike Purcell, who appears to be securing a roster spot with Christian Barmore out indefinitely. And five sacks for the second week in a row. And all-around solid play from the front-7 that may help explain the other major personnel risk the front office just took:
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Without taking away from Deatrich Wise Jr.’s outstanding block, I find Keion White’s sack even more impressive. At the snap, the tackle went into complete reverse and White still stormed past him from the outside as if he was standing still. Combined with Josh Uche in his usual role as a rush specialist, it’s possible that the Patriots simply didn’t see the need to invest in a 32-year-old edge player. Hopefully, they were right.
–I’ll add Raekwon McMillan to the list of guys who seem to be earning a spot on the roster. Actually, I don’t know why they call him a “bubble dweller.” I thought he was solid last year. And last night he made 8 tackles, one of which was a TFL. I think he’ll carve out a role for himself in the rotation led by Ju’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai. Part of me is rooting for Steele Chambers simply because he has the name of a 70’s porn star.
–I forgot to mention it last week, but Bryce Baringer was on the cover of the media guide they put out at every workstation in the press box. That speaks volumes about the current state of things. But also about Baringer, who once again played his ass off with two passes of over 55 yards. Hopefully things improve enough that he’s no longer a cover model. Or our offensive MVP like he was as a rookie. But he’s certainly a weapon.
–Here’s your reminder that preseason is starting for everyone, so you need to make an effort:
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–To pick up where we started: Maye isn’t the QB1 yet. And that’s fine. But he’s proven he can play like one. And that’s all we can ask for at this point.
