Does the NFL give rookie QBs a fair chance? Drake Maye answers
Mackenzie Salmon of Sports Seriously asks NFL Draft prospect Drake Maye if the NFL gives quarterbacks a chance to succeed.
Sport in Seriousness
Thinking out loud… and wondering if it sucks to live in a vacuum…
Friendly reminder: The New England Patriots have exactly ZERO players on the NFL’s top 100 list for 2024. The race back to respectability is not a sprint.
But could it be faster than a marathon? Maybe like a 1,500-meter steeplechase?
More: The New England Patriots are back: 5 takeaways from the preseason win against Carolina
For rookie quarterback Drake Maye, it could be an ultramarathon. Seven snaps on Thursday night against Carolina. Seven. It was part of the plan, said head coach Jerod Mayo after the game.
I get it – protect your assets, especially when playing behind a still-developing offensive line. But isn’t a preseason (practice) game meant for practice?
∎The whole thing about courting Brandon Aiyuk is this: That’s three top-notch wide receivers the Patriots have flirted with over the past year, and no long-term relationship has developed between them.
Even after they perfumed the pig (a $30 million offer for Aiyuk?), they didn’t even get together for a night out.
It’s like the chicken and the egg. These guys want to go to places where they know they can put up numbers and win. But for the Patriots to be an attractive destination again, they need to be better on offense. And to get there, they might need an elite receiver.
It’s time to make do with what you have or die. Train them. And what they currently have could bring exactly the results any prima donna would expect.
∎Not for nothing, but rookie receivers Javon Baker and Ja’Lynn Polk are at least two reasons why the Patriots finally have this WR thing under control. But offensive tackle? That’s another story.
∎One who should have been a Patriot years ago (selected in the third round of the 1980 draft by New England) – Defensive tackle Steve McMichael was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend. McMichael’s career will no doubt serve as a cautionary tale for future generations of athletes and football players.
McMichael was a classmate at the University of Texas and certainly had a HOF career, including his time with the Chicago Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl-winning defense – probably one of the best of all time. After 15 seasons in the NFL and another five seasons of wrestling in the old WWF and WCW, he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Syndrome) in 2021.
“Mongo” got his nickname from Alex Karras’ character in the movie “The Wild Wild West.” Tough as they come, headstrong. But certainly not stupid. That he survived his terrible illness long enough to see his emotional induction day is a testament to that toughness.
∎Last week’s Black Monday on Wall Street was a contradiction in human behavior. The stock market is going crazy and investors are being told to “stay the course.” But traders are selling because they are panicking, partly due to a “fear barometer.”
Can’t the markets ever “stay their course”? A fool is someone who does foolish things.
∎Need some schedule tidbits to mull over? How about Gonzaga vs. UConn (at Madison Square Garden) and Georgetown vs. Syracuse, both on Dec. 14? One of these Big East opponents could be a future conference opponent – the other wishes it was.
∎Ed Cooley missed out on some big players in the transfer portal for Georgetown, but was able to sign one from the NBA Global Academy and New Zealand for this year. Julius Halaifonua is 7’3″ and weighs 290 pounds. He also had interest from Kentucky, Ohio State and North Carolina.
∎One thing the Big(ger) East will have in 2024-25 is lots of size. Creighton (Ryan Kalkbrenner returns for his fifth season, 7-1), Providence, Georgetown, St. John’s, Marquette and Butler all have 7-footers on their roster, and every team has one (or more) players at least 6-10.
∎Congratulations to former Friar Ticket Gaines (Sweden), Nate Watson (Greece) and Noah Horchler (Greece), who have all signed European basketball contracts for next season. Watson and Horchler, who were part of the 2022 Sweet 16 PC team, will be teammates again at ASK Karditas.
∎Speaking of the Friars, athletic director Steve Napolillo announced last week that his department took in nearly $11 million last fiscal year (excluding NIL money) and that Providence Athletics generated $8.5 million in ticket sales for men’s and women’s basketball and hockey games, the latter amount breaking the school record for single-year ticket revenue.
∎And the Friars are expanding their athletic teams to include non-scholarship golf for men and women starting in 2025. Men’s golf is making a comeback after earlier surges in the 1930s; it was a club sport from 1947 to 1960 and a varsity sport again from 1960 to 2002, with two Big East team championships, six individual winners, 10 All-Americans and three New England titles.
∎ URI’s Tammi Reiss has a shiny recruiting trinket to show off – her bronze medal she won as an assistant coach of the U.S. 3×3 women’s Olympic basketball team. But can anyone explain why the U.S. 3×3 men’s team didn’t make it past the group stage?
Dr. James Naismith is not the only one who finds this surprising.
∎If Texas were its own country, it would rank sixth in the Olympic medal count. In gold medals alone, Texas would rank sixth. Don’t mess with Texas – someone should put that on a t-shirt or a bumper sticker or something.
∎We have our own problems (Washington Bridge, hello!). But if you look up the word “boondoggle” in the dictionary, you’ll find Paris, France, spending $1.5 billion to clean up its sewer system (which empties into the Seine) before the Olympics.
∎And some athletes got sick after swimming in the Seine. Wait, what? There’s another t-shirt idea: “I swam in the Seine at the Olympics and I survived.”
∎The Rhody men’s basketball team seemed to have a successful trip to the Bahamas this week, defeating two Canadian schools and a Bahamian team. But then again, even if it’s a bit expensive, when is a trip to the Bahamas NOT successful? Just as an aside.
∎My buddy “Big E” says Mrs. E called him a “handful” last week. His response? “Honey, that’s why you have two hands.”
∎Jarren Duran is a Most Valuable Player. Yes, he won the All-Star Game MVP, and no, he won’t win the American League MVP (here comes the judge). But his performance has carried the once-subpar Red Sox squad into the postseason.
By definition and conception in professional sports, that’s an MVP. That’s what they do.
∎X-Post of the Week I by @BetweenTheNums: “MLB players with at least 100 runs, 50 doubles, 15 triples, 15 HR, 70 RBI and 40 stolen bases over a span of 162 games (since RBI became official in 1920): Jarren Duran, Kiki Cuyler (1929-30), George Sisler (1920-21).”
∎Ceddanne Rafaela had a catch in center field last week that was extraordinarily reminiscent of Willie Mays’ all-time catch of Vic Wertz’s fly ball in 1954. I’m certainly not comparing a rookie outfielder to perhaps the best of all time. But this guy can play.
∎X-Post of the Week II, by @SoxNotes: “Ceddanne Rafaela is the first player since at least 1901 to play 60+ games as shortstop AND 60+ games in center field in the same season. He leads AL rookies in RBI, hits, runs and total bases and ranks 2nd in HR and steals.”
∎The Sox’s first win last week against Kansas City gave manager Alex Cora his 500th career win, the fourth-most in franchise history. His biggest win? The three-year, $21.75 million contract extension he received two weeks ago.
But seriously, the man can make porridge and make it appetizing.
∎The Red Sox are winning again since the trade deadline. They’re winning tiebreakers against teams they’re competing with for a wild card. But I see it, you see it, we all see it. They still need pitchers, especially in the bullpen. Going 8-6 or 9-5 every night is probably not sustainable.
Last month, the pitching team admitted double the number of home runs they have allowed in the first two months of the season. If this continues, there will be no postseason.
∎Hey, at least they’re not the Chicago White Sox — who last week tied the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the longest losing streak in American League history at 21 straight — before finally winning a game (against the A’s) for the first time in nearly a month. Wow.
∎The Newport Gulls competed again last week in the Fay Vincent Cup New England Collegiate Baseball League Championship series against the Sanford Mainers. After winning the Cup last season, the Gulls are seeking their eighth title in the league’s 23-year history.
∎And a familiar brand is back in the Little League World Series – Cranston Western softball competes in Greenville, NC after winning the New England regional title. In case you missed it, assistant coach Craig Stinson’s daughter is on the team. He was a catcher for Cranston Western’s LLWS boys team that won the national championship in 1996.
∎Gerry wrote in an email this week about the new college basketball scholarship limits that will take effect in 2025: “Every team that awards 15 basketball scholarships will now have five players who never play in a game instead of three. This increases the dissatisfaction factor, which is never a good thing in a team sport.”
Gerry, you’re right. But when you’re trying to rebuild your team, roster flexibility is key. And the two extra spots available actually create more opportunities for student-athletes, which is why the new rule was put in place. But like the extra dessert after dinner, too much of a good thing is not always good.
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