It’s Been Three Years Since Good Quarterback Play

By Steve Atkinson 

There’s no question that the Patriots have found a quarterback in Drake Maye. Maye is faster than Mac Jones, and we haven’t seen this caliber of quarterback play since Mac’s rookie season. Unfortunately, Mac Jones has been undermined by Belichick and Matt Patricia. In contrast, Drake Maye looks promising with a competent offensive coordinator in his rookie season. He will have a supportive offensive coordinator because the head coach is not an egomaniac. The Krafts do not want Maye to experience the same fate as Mac Jones in Jacksonville—a once-promising player now broken due to Belichick’s failure to provide adequate support.

Drake Maye Looks Like 2021 Mac Jones And Better

Maye can make plays and is quite athletic. He elevates the performance of those around him, as we’ve witnessed so far. Although he has thrown some bad interceptions and experienced a miscommunication on the last play of the loss to the Rams, he has also made promising contributions. Currently, Demario Douglas stands out as their best all-around receiver, and it’s encouraging to see Kendrick Bourne being more involved in the passing game. Maye’s leadership will resonate in the locker room and attract more help at receiver and on the offensive line.

We haven’t seen this good quarterback play since Mac’s rookie season.

Yeah, it was a two-high look, and Pop [DeMario Douglas]’s up the middle, and they’re pretty good up front rushing five. I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep, but at the end of the day, we just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing, I guess, got to just talk through more conversations. Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip. That’s about it.

If the Patriots do not surround Drake Maye with talent through the draft—something Bill failed to do for Mac—then Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo will likely be let go. While Mac had more talent during his rookie season than Maye does now, much of that free-agent class did not pan out, and Tuquan Thornton, a speedy draft pick in 2022, was released two years later. However, I believe the Patriots will do a better job of building around Maye this time.

Polk may need to mature a bit more, and we still have not seen Javon Baker in action. Hopefully, Polk can grow up this off-season and be a good receiver. The kid has an ego problem and is full of himself.

The Krafts are giving Mayo and Wolf a trial year. Even with three years of history, they like the direction the team is headed because they have a quarterback. This quarterback is supported by an offensive system with actual coaches, not a head coach solely focused on promoting his family and friends.

Covington, Mayo, and Wolf were all undermined by Belichick. Matt Groh was responsible for personnel decisions because he worked closely with Belichick’s father long ago. Now, Eliot Wolf, DeMarcus Covington, and Jerod Mayo are on a trial run this year.

The Patriots should get a few more wins this season, but because they have a quarterback, the Krafts think of it as something good moving forward, and the rest is up to Wolf and Mayo.