Remember that sunny Friday afternoon in April when Drake Maye made his first appearance after the NFL Draft at Gillette Stadium?
He was “thrilled.”
He was “pumped up”.
Correction: He was “super pumped.”
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo, who was in his first year with the Patriots, was cautious. Possibly even super measuredif there is such a thing.
“I don’t think a lot of newbies are ready to just jump in and start playing,” Mayo said, as if to cool things down during Maye’s introductory flyover.
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From that day forward, it was a matter of faith that veteran Jacoby Brissett would be New England’s quarterback until Maye was… “ready.” Wasn’t that exactly why the Patriots brought Brissett back? He would take over as quarterback at “the start of the season,” and then, say, four weeks later, there would be that carefully planned passing of the torch to the former Patriots quarterback who has turned 98.5 years old. Sports Hub analyst Scott Zolak yells, “The future is now!!!” as Maye trots onto the field for the first drive of his first start.
Drake Maye will one day be the best quarterback in football.
Mark. My. Words.
— PatsUnite (@PatsUnite) 20 August 2024
And yet, as the Patriots prepare for their final preseason game Sunday night against the Washington Commanders, the new top story of the summer revolves around the identity of the best quarterback for New England’s season opener on Sept. 8 in Cincinnati.
It should come as no surprise that we’re having a healthy debate about the Patriots’ quarterback situation—during the preseason!—because, to paraphrase the old mortgage commercial that used to be broadcast on sports talk radio stations everywhere, it was the biggest no-brainer in the history of the world.
It’s just that no one wanted to believe it. For example, let’s say someone had asked you in June if there would be a “quarterback controversy” in the Pats’ second preseason game if Brissett underwhelmed and Maye showed signs that he might be ready for the tough job of being an NFL starting quarterback.
OK, “quarterback controversy” is overstating it. But the fact is that Brissett didn’t shine (3 of 17 for 17 yards on three series) in the Patriots’ 14-13 loss to the Eagles on a drizzly night at Gillette Stadium. And the fact is that Maye actually got playing time and acted like a real NFL quarterback. He led the Patriots to a touchdown drive, and, OK, eight plays for 49 yards and a 4-yard keeper in the end zone isn’t exactly high-pressure stuff. And let’s put aside who was on the field for the Eagles, and let’s put aside what New England’s offensive line will look like, and let’s put aside how many pass receivers there are, and let’s put aside… oh, forget it.
What we can address is what Mayo said on Monday about quarterback. When asked who the Patriots’ quarterback will be in the season opener, he replied, “We don’t know right now. We have one more preseason game and then a week after that. When I know, I’ll let you know.”
For experienced, long-time Patriots fans, it’s once again a case of déjà vu. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last, that the Patriots have invested a lot of money in a quarterback in the NFL Draft and then followed up with a decree from the head coach that the new guy is just a rookie, still has a lot to learn, that someone else is actually the starting quarterback, and so on.
The most recent case is also the most obvious. The Patriots selected Alabama’s Mac Jones with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, a decision that was met with an avalanche of comments about Jones’ intelligence, his work ethic (“First guy in the locker room, last to leave,” one said), his toughness, his…
“Cam is our quarterback,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of veteran Cam Newton. “Whenever Jarrett (Stidham) or Mac are ready to compete, we’ll see how it goes. But right now, Mac has a lot to learn. I know he can’t wait to get going and get going.”
Jones started all 17 games for the Patriots in 2021.
Older Patriots fans may remember all the drama, speculation, and pros and cons that went on leading up to the 1993 NFL Draft. The Patriots had the first pick. Would they select Washington State’s Drew Bledsoe or Notre Dame’s Rick Mirer?
The Patriots were coming off a 2-14 season in 1992 and had four starting quarterbacks – Hugh Millen, Zolak, Tommy Hodson and left-hander Jeff Carlson. And interest in the Patriots was at an all-time low, drawing fewer than 35,000 fans to four of their home games, including 19,429 friends and family for a 6-0 loss to the Colts on Dec. 6. Management hoped that a shiny new quarterback would boost season ticket sales.
The Patriots chose Bledsoe. The team’s sales department immediately took out a newspaper ad asking “WHY ARE THESE MEN SMILING?” Under the headline were photos of two men: on the left, new Patriots coach Bill Parcells and an unidentified Patriots fan holding a handful of tickets. The ad continued: “Hint: They both got what they wanted on NFL Draft Day! Coach Bill Parcells recruited the new Patriots he wanted through Sunday’s NFL Draft. The fan on the right bought the best available 1993 season tickets over the phone. Now they’re both smiling!”
What can we learn from this ad? Well, first of all, it provides archaeological evidence that there was indeed a time when Bill Parcells was not only allowed to shop for groceries, but was encouraged to do so. More important to this discussion, it shows that the Patriots built a season ticket campaign around their new Wazzu quarterback.
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So what happened?
“He’ll play when he’s ready,” Parcells snorted, referring to Bledsoe. “I promise you I’m not throwing him to the wolves. He was the best pure passer in this draft. He’s young… he has a chance to be a good veteran quarterback at 23, 24. Right now his role is going to be to learn our system.”
Parcells kept his word and didn’t throw Bledsoe to the wolves. Instead, he threw him to the Bills, Lions, Seahawks, Jets, Cardinals, Dolphins, Steelers, Bengals, Browns and Colts. The rookie played in 13 games and started 12 times.
Parcells also sent Bledsoe into one of the most pivotal seasons in Patriots history. The Pats had a record of just 5-11 in 1993, but won their final four games, including a thrilling 33-27 overtime game in the season finale in which Bledsoe paired with Michael Timpson to score the winning touchdown. With rumors circulating that owner James Orthwein might take the Patriots to St. Louis, this was seen as a possible “last hurrah,” to paraphrase Edwin O’Connor’s famous novel.
When Parcells made the comment that Bledsoe shouldn’t be “thrown to the wolves,” it was just a statement. When Belichick made the comment that “Cam is our quarterback,” it was just a statement.
And when Mayo made the comment that he didn’t think many rookies were ready to just go ahead and play, he just wanted to say that.
Oh, and I’ll add more: In 1971, after the Patriots selected Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett with the first pick in the NFL Draft, coach John Mazur said, “We believe Jim Plunkett is the Joe Namath of the future, but remember that sometimes you can ruin a young quarterback if you try to take him too quickly.”
It was just a remark, in this case absurd. Plunkett not only started all 14 games for the Patriots in 1971, he played every down in every game.
Don’t be surprised if Maye starts quarterbacking the Patriots against the Bengals in a few weeks.
(Photo: Jaiden Tripi / Getty Images)
