Jerod Mayo relayed a really telling comment because the Patriots’ preseason wrapped up.
New England’s first-year head coach overtly hailed Drake Maye because the group’s top-performing quarterback of the summer season. The “revelation” wasn’t completely stunning, because the rookie signal-caller arrived in Foxboro, Mass., with a far higher ability set and expertise stage than his colleagues.
However when the Patriots kicked off their common season, Maye was holding a clipboard. He initially was designated because the backup to Jacoby Brissett, a revered veteran with a wealth of beginning expertise and a familiarity with the system run by new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Brissett kicked off his second stint in New England with a stunning win in Cincinnati, however the upset arguably had extra to do with the Bengals’ Week 1 ineptitude.
From there, the Patriots and their followers endured a brutal stretch of putrid offensive soccer. After an extra time dwelling loss to the Seattle Seahawks, New England was outscored 69-26 over its subsequent three video games. Brissett and firm operated so poorly that Maye’s projected promotion arrived earlier than anticipated, with the 22-year-old taking on behind heart in Week 6.
The North Carolina product instantly impressed. Certain, there have been hiccups alongside the way in which, however that’s to be anticipated from a first-year participant. The lowlights additionally had been outdone by flashes of franchise quarterback potential. Maye accounted for a mixed seven touchdowns with 748 complete passing yards and 197 speeding yards over his first 4 begins. Brissett didn’t eclipse 170 passing yards in any of his 5 begins, which solely featured a mixed two touchdowns.
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Sure, some hindsight most likely is required to say Mayo undoubtedly made the mistaken name about ready over a month to begin Maye. Nevertheless, there was writing on the wall in the summertime. Patriots coaches raved about how rapidly the No. 3 total decide progressed and picked up the offense. Gamers, in the meantime, clearly gravitated towards Maye from the get-go and had a notable pep of their step when he was behind heart. It didn’t take a soccer genius to know Maye’s huge ability set might enable Van Pelt to open up the playbook, whereas Brissett restricted the offense to ground-and-pound.
A de-facto redshirt yr was by no means going to be within the playing cards for Maye. Nice quarterbacks who took that path up to now — Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers — sat behind great-to-elite QBs earlier than they moved to the highest spot of the depth chart. It was solely a matter of time earlier than Maye usurped the extraordinarily restricted Brissett, and sadly for the Patriots, Mayo waited too lengthy and the season was misplaced by the point the change was made.
This isn’t to say the Patriots would have adopted a trajectory much like Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders if Maye was the man from Day 1. However the budding star most likely would have impressed confidence from the outset of the season and probably prevented a few of the early season distractions. Morale was extremely low in New England in September and into October, and gamers reacted accordingly.
Mayo has had a number of slip-ups since he took over for Invoice Belichick, and in his protection, he was compelled to play a tough hand. However not beginning Maye immediately was his largest mistake, and it might have been prevented fairly simply.
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