Patriots training report: Drake Maye works with starting O-line originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – After watching a practice with no padding or physical contact for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon, you hope you have something to hold on to when he leaves.
So what do you have?
Current practice snaps from center David Andrews to rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
Intrepid Snap chronicler Phil Perry said the following during our quick and dirty practice wrap just moments after the above-mentioned snapshots were taken.
“At the end of practice, Drake Maye took a couple of snaps of David Andrews,” our man Phil said. “Mike Onwenu, Sidy Sow, (Chukwuma) Okarafor, Vederian Lowe – the same ‘starter offensive line’ we’ve seen out there for weeks (and that was it back then).
“This is the first time Drake Maye has taken snaps behind that line in a practice situation. He took a lot of hits in the first preseason game of the year, but this is the first time I’ve seen David Andrews snap a football to Drake Maye.”
Quick and dirty practice recap from Saturday. Patriots work 90 minutes in full gear, juggle OL personnel. Milder practice. Maye gets a few late reps at half speed with the first OL pic.twitter.com/it0T6gCIv7
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) 17 August 2024
Ascension Day????? Stay tuned, says Perry.
“That said, these were not competitive workouts for me. But we said they need to give (Maye) more one-reps, which are technically one-reps.”
After Maye’s highly competent performance Thursday night in place of starter Jacoby Brissett, Friday was spent bemoaning Maye’s slow development so far this summer, including only six reps in the preseason opener and spending most of his time on the field with backups on the offensive line.
The depth of the offensive line was a problem, which head coach Jerod Mayo pointed out after the warm-up game against the Eagles.
“I would say there’s a dramatic drop off in performance, not really physically, but just in terms of what you have to do between the front row and the second and third guys,” Mayo said. “They have to get better as a whole, as a unit. They just have to get better, and that comes from the football games. We have another preseason game soon. We’re going to play. Football is the only way you get better at football.”
Mayo added that the quarterback competition is still ongoing, saying, “We have three days of training camp left and it’s our job as coaches to judge that. The competition is not over. They’re still going to go out there and have to show something not only to themselves and their coaches, but to their teammates. So it’s definitely still a competition.”
The most important thing Mayo wants to see from Maye is speed.
“First of all, it’s about the whole operation,” he said. “I think it’s got to be faster. I think he’s got to get guys in the huddle quicker, get them out of the huddle quicker, get to the line and just get to the point. I think that’s definitely one thing he needs to work on, and I think he’s doing that. Like I said, we’ve got three days of camp left, and that’s going to be my focus for him.”
On Sunday, the team will likely be back on the gas and fully geared up for next week’s final preseason game in Washington. It will be interesting to see if Maye gets more than just a cameo on the first team offensive line.
A few more comments on this …
— The offensive line juggled a lot with players playing positions they’ve never played before. Onwenu in particular was out as a tackle for a number of snaps.
When asked about the move afterward, he said: “We just got a few guys out,” Onwenu said. “So, I mean, we’re all kind of doing repetitions and just preparing for the worst.”
When asked how things are going on a day-to-day basis with the line, Onwenu said: “Every day has been good. Some days we’ve fallen behind, but every day is a day to try new things, get better and compete.”
The reasons for the group’s mistakes often become clear when they disperse their energies after training, he said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy to fix, but it’s more about our technique or our individual (mistake) that happens than about us being beaten by our opponent.”
— The team completed about 40 minutes of special teams, stretching and positional drills before splitting into 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods for the remainder of practice.
Brissett, whose play in practice has slipped since last Sunday, was inaccurate on several throws. The best throw of the day came from Maye, with a perfectly placed 35-yard bike route to running back Kevin Harris down the right sideline.
Joe Milton, who played only a limited role in the 11-on-11, was caught on a shot and had to go into double coverage in the red zone.
— Tight end Austin Hooper left practice midway through due to an injury of undetermined severity. Hunter Henry is also unable to practice, so the depth at tight end will be tested.
