FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Well…
That was fun.
Drake Maye ran for a touchdown, unleashed his cannon arm and led two scoring drives in a season-ending loss to the Eagles on Thursday. In spurts, this was the quarterback Patriots fans had been waiting for.
But that was not all.
Maye flashed an almost boring maturity that is common to every quarterback during their successful career. During his four drives, Maye managed to control pressure in the pocket. He made a few full-field progression reads and kept the drives alive by making smart decisions, including two throwaways that he threw away instead of forcing the ball into overhead coverage.
It’s far too early to say whether Maye can or will maintain that maturity in the regular season. Away too early.
Furthermore, a closer look at Thursday’s film shows that Maye still has a lot of room to improve, because of course he does. He’s a 21-year-old rookie. And he’s a rookie who, according to Jerod Mayo, still has a chance to make the starting lineup (though he’s well behind Jacoby Brissett based on training camp experience).
If Maye wants to start, he needs to avoid basic mistakes (a dropped snap), pick up more defensive cues before the snap, and play on time. The sack he took on his last play happened 3.1 seconds after he took the snap. That’s too long.
The same goes for the time it takes for Maye to get organized and break the huddle and then get to the line. Given time, he should be able to do it. And when he does, his talent and playmaking will shine, assuming he still makes enough sound decisions and deciphers the coverage well enough; like we saw a few times on Thursday night.
Aside from Maye, here are the Herald’s film observations from the Patriots’ final preseason game:
Bolt
DL Keion White
White was a little out of control on some of the drives, but there was no doubt who was the most dangerous defender on most of the Patriots’ defensive actions. He recorded a sack, a tackle and punished Eagles guards as an interior forward on third down.
OLB Anfernee Jennings
Jennings was the next man up after Matthew Judon left for Atlanta and recorded one hurry and one run stuff in nine defensive snaps.
Unexploded bombs
OG/C Liam Fornadel
The CFL alumnus, who recently moved up from guard to center, made two bad snaps, including the game-winning one.
OG Atonio Mafi
Mafi was not used until the fourth quarter and suffered one sack in 10 pass-blocking snaps. He also had problems last week against Carolina.
CB Marcellas Dial
Tough night. The sixth-round rookie allowed half a dozen catches in coverage.
Insulting notes
Drake Maye could still win the competition for the Patriots’ starting quarterback in Week 1
- Baker sometimes seems inexperienced as a receiver. He was forced out of bounds on a go ball, dropped a deep pass in the third quarter and was unable to break away on a slant.
- None of the other wideouts shined, except for Ja’Lynn Polk, who outsmarted two tacklers in the flat before gaining six yards in the first half. His game, however, is not built around evading tacklers, as can be seen by his second catch, which started in the opposite flat and yielded zero yards.
- Rookie tight end Jaheim Bell was roughly tackled as a run blocker. Not his strength.
- Up front, right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor made a comeback effort. He blocked Maye on a drive, then left the field with Onwenu, leaving only left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Sidy Sow for the rest of Maye’s possessions.
- The Patriots have serious problems with their offensive line. Only David Andrews (who lasted three series) can reliably provide consistent snaps, and the Patriots do not have a viable left tackle.
- Lowe allowed a sack and a QB hit, but it should be noted that running back Kevin Harris pushed Eagles rusher Nolan Smith inside during the sack, helping him escape.
- Please slide, Joe Milton.
Player statistics
- Broken tackles: Polk 2, Stevenson 2, Harris 2, RB Ja’Mycal Hasty 2, RB Terrell Jennings 2
- Departures: Baker, Jennings, TE La’Michael Pettway
- Allowed sacks: Lowe, Anderson, Mafi
- QB hits allowed: Lowe
- Hurry allowed: C Nick Leverett, OG Layden Robinson, OT Caedan Wallace, Anderson, Harris, Jennings
- Allowed running materials: Team 4, Onwenu
Defensive Notes
Player statistics
- Pass Breakups: CB Azizi Hearn
- Sacks: White, Wise, Uche, Ximines, Bolden
- QB Hit: DL Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
- Hurries: Team 2, Jennings, White, Wise, DL Mike Purcell, DL Armon Watts, OLB William Bradley-King
- Running witnesses: Jennings, McMillan, Team
- Missed tackles: LB Joe Giles-Harris 2, DL Trysten Hill, Dial, Elliss, Hearn
Special teams
- Veteran journeyman Joey Slye made the kicking competition neck and neck, kicking field goals of 51 and 45 yards and splitting kickoffs with Chad Ryland, who kicked an extra point.
- Here are your key special teams players, all of whom started in at least three of four units (kickoff, kick return, punt and punt return): Brenden Schooler, Christian Elliss, Raekwon McMillan, Jaylinn Hawkins, Isaiah Bolden, JaMycal Hasty and Oshane Ximines.
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