The Drake Maye Report: Protection issues slow quarterback’s good start against Eagles Originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – Drake Maye had just finished his first joint training as a professional.
In his final season with the full team, three of four games ended in sacks as Eagles defenders quickly penetrated the Patriots backfield. He was sacked a total of eight times during the session and attempted only seven clean passes in those 11-on-11 situations.
Nevertheless, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled when asked about his assessment of the experience.
“I think it was fun,” Maye said. “The team enjoyed putting on the gear and going against another team. That’s the best part about going against someone else, putting on the same color jerseys and going for it. The best part about training together is watching the film and learning from it. Lots of different angles.”
The Eagles pushed both the Patriots’ first and second teams offenses to their limits on Tuesday. Let’s get into the details of both units in our Day 14 edition of the Drake Maye Report…
The Rep report
After a half-dozen 7-on-7 snaps for both quarterbacks, Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye had numerous 11-on-11 reps available.
Brissett and the first-team offense made a whopping 45 appearances, by far their busiest day of camp, while Maye made 26 appearances.
As they had done throughout training camp, the Patriots gave Brissett all of the first-team duties. That was no surprise.
The real takeaway when it comes to the volume of both passers? Splitting the workload on Tuesday could enable Maye to handle the early part of Thursday’s preseason game after Brissett had nearly twice as much to do in joint practice.
Utilizing the numbers
Let’s start with Jacoby Brissett’s day. He completed 10 of 20 plays, recorded seven sacks and threw two interceptions. It was a difficult day for the entire unit.
Brissett’s first dropback was a sack of young defensive tackle Jalen Carter. His next dropback very well could have been a sack, as Brandon Graham came at him unimpeded as he rolled out for a bootleg throw.
Carter made a run a few plays later, and edge rusher Josh Sweat sacked Brissett on a stunt while working with Chukwuma Okorafor and Mike Onwenu on the right side of the line. Two plays later, Onwenu was assessed a false start penalty.
Brissett started the day on target, and his first catch of the day was actually one of his best throws in practice, an over-the-shoulder toss to Austin Hooper in the back of the end zone. But the ball slipped out of Hooper’s hand and was caught – the first of two throws by the veteran tight end in practice.
Brissett later found Hooper for a touchdown, but he made attempts to Hooper and Tyquan Thornton in the middle of practice that would have been ruled as failures. The quarterback was later picked off by rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who intercepted a pass attempt intended for KJ Osborn.
Brissett’s best part of the practice was probably the two-minute period. He got things going with completions to Hooper and Douglas. After taking a sack from Bryce Huff, he found Jalen Reagor far down the sideline for a long catch-and-run that pushed the Patriots into Eagles territory. Brissett then showed his high football IQ by snapping the football quickly and catching Philly in the middle of a substitution, drawing a flag on the defense and creating five free yards.
Another sack by Huff, a pressure by Sweat, a drop by Hooper and a pass defense by Kelee Ringo forced the drive to a halt at the Philly 10-yard line.
On a positive note for the first-team offense, Hooper got a pass interference penalty on Ringo and the running game showed some encouraging signs. Although they stopped four runs, they also seemed to get good gains from a “power” call with a pulling guard and an extra lineman (backup guard Michael Jordan) on the field. They also had what appeared to be a downhill “duo” call with double coverages at the line of scrimmage that created some space.
Rhamondre Stevenson also got a big lead on an inside run, slipping behind strong blocks from Sidy Sow and David Andrews. Okorafor contributed to a big run by sending linebacker Zack Baun to the ground on the first attempt.
The Patriots seemed to rely more on the prone position on Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see how often they resort to the wide zone runs they tried to perfect in the spring and early in training camp. But since the strength of their line is in the middle — with Onwenu, Andrews and Sow leading the way — their personnel may be more suited to a downhill attack.
Maye, on the other hand, managed 4 of 7 hits and eight sacks in competition phases.
Match of the day
Maye’s best play during the 11-on-11 phases wasn’t exactly spectacular enough. But it looked like it was set up for a good win.
Immediately after receiving the snap, Maye threw down the line of scrimmage and found fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk for a small wide receiver screen. Thanks to a nice block from Javon Baker, Polk looked ready for a first down and then some.
The highlight shot of the day for the No. 3 pick, however, came on the 7-on-7 play he continues to thrive in. Maye threw the ball deep along the right sideline to Baker and found the fourth-round rookie for a dive near the perimeter.
Baker deserves credit for his excellent route. Baker had the Eagles defender on his back, yet still left Maye plenty of space between himself and the sideline, allowing the pass to float away from the middle of the field while also keeping Baker in the field of play.
The Patriots’ social media team recognized the connection and included it in its montage from Tuesday’s work here.
Why he is ready
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we will highlight the aspects of the rookie’s performance that suggest he will rise to the top of New England’s quarterback hierarchy sooner rather than later.
Here are a few things worth mentioning.
First, Maye has made his first nine shots in competitive practice, six of which were 7-on-7 shots—not surprising, given that he excelled in those phases throughout training camp—which begs the question: Should the Patriots have him work more with the first-team offensive line in practice?
Maye hasn’t been perfect in these 7-on-7 sessions, but he seems to consistently evolve from a sufficiently accurate and in-rhythm passer in these moments to someone who is a little less determined when trying to find his receivers behind the second-team offensive line. If he had the opportunity to play with better linemen who more consistently create clean pockets, would his 11-on-11 periods be more like his 7-on-7 periods?
🔊 Patriots Talk: Patriots have big problems on offense in practice against Philly | Listen and subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Second, Maye’s attitude throughout the camp was commendable.
Maybe it’s just the expectation of a rookie at his position. But there have been plenty of practices during (or after) which he could have shown signs of frustration. Tuesday was no exception. But neither during practice nor afterward with a microphone in his face did he show signs of annoyance at not being able to consistently make a shot without a Philly defender in his face.
This approach will serve him well as he moves into a leadership role within the organization, as he will inevitably find himself in situations (whenever he is on the field for important plays) where he is let down by his teammates, and he will want to handle it as professionally as possible.
It seems that he is already on his way in this regard.
Why patience is a virtue
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we will highlight the aspects of the rookie’s performance that suggest he is not quite ready to be at the top of the quarterback rankings.
Although the offensive line was scrutinized immediately after Tuesday’s work, Maye will find things he can improve when he rewatches practice.
On his first snap of the 11-on-11 game, tight end Jaheim Bell moved from the backfield to a more end-of-the-line alignment. But Maye grabbed the ball before Bell was ready, resulting in a penalty. That’s a small detail that falls under the purview of the rookie quarterback.
Maye also dropped a snap from Atonio Mafi – that center-to-quarterback turnover has been a problem all camp for a lineman unaccustomed to playing center and a quarterback unaccustomed to being under the center position – and was sacked in a confusing manner on the very next play.
With a linebacker positioned across the “A-gap” – between center and guard – Maye grabbed the football, and none of the linemen closest to the blitzer picked it up. Maye was not hit, but Baun put his hand on Maye’s shoulder pad to “sack” him, ending the play before it had even begun.
Was Maye’s job to provide protection? Was it the center’s? Either way, it was the kind of overblown reputation the Patriots probably want to all but dispel before handing the soon-to-be 22-year-old the keys to the offense.
