Give the Patriots credit—they tried. They had a genuine plan for their quarterback situation going into the season, one that had #1 draft pick Drake Maye waiting in the wings for an extended stretch behind Jacoby Brissett until they were sure he would be ready to go and at least competent.
But trying isn’t the same as doing, and that plan is now out the window. Despite the fact that their problematic offensive line is likely to get Maye hurt, he’ll take the field on Sunday to make his debut as a starter against the Houston Texans, joining the rest of his teammates as they take their weekly dose of NFL abuse.
Things we know about the New England Patriots
The Patriots opened the season with a shocking win against Cincinnati, after which they went completely downhill. They’ve been tough occasionally on defense, but the offensive line is this team’s obvious Achilles heel.
Which is strange, because it hasn’t been that way all the time. The New England running game has been surprisingly powerful at times, even though OC Alex Van Pelt has muddied the water by constantly turning to an ineffective passing game in an effort to produce plays down the field.
Beyond that, one thing we know for sure is that the quarterback gets hit a lot in this offense. Constantly, in fact. Jacoby Brissett hasn’t taken a huge number of sacks, but he has taken a large number of big hits. That will happen to Maye, too, and there’s no way on earth that any rookie quarterback, regardless of how big, strong and well-prepared he is, can be ready for that.
Why they’re doing this to Drake Maye
Given that issue, what’s the logic in doing this? And why now? There are a couple of football arguments that can be made for the move, although it’s fair to say they’re at least somewhat specious.
One is that Maye came out of college with relatively few starts compared to the other rookie QBs who were drafted in the first round, which meant he’d need some work. It’s legitimate to ask how he’s going to get that work if he’s sitting on the sidelines running the scout team and getting relatively few snaps with the starters.
The other argument that’s really specious is the one that says Drake Maye will be better because he gets the ball out quicker. That may be true by the numbers, but all it takes is a healthy set of eyeballs to see that Brissett has been under duress as soon as the snap occurs. The linemen aren’t going to get a whole lot better in those first 1.5 seconds.
The real reason the Patriots are doing this is about social and public pressure. Owner Robert Kraft is a fairly needy soul with a big ego who likes to be liked a lot, and he’s taking a lot of heat now that Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams and even Bo Nix are starting to show out.
Moreover, there are the embarrassing half-empty stands that were inadvertently shown full-blown in New England’s first home game, and those stands represents concession and parking money that never makes it into the till. That will only get worse as we get closer to winter, and no one knows that better than Kraft.
What’s going to happen against the Texans
As noted earlier, Drake Maye will take hits against Houston, and some of them will be cringe-inducing. He’ll do this as plays are breaking down, with little or no idea how to defend himself, and that’s basically a plan to guarantee an injury scenario. We’ll be able to see how well he functions under duress, which could actually be useful if he’s still able to stand up at the end of the day.
Maye may also make some plays. These will be fun to watch, especially given how truly unwatchable this offense has been to watch. Those plays could be a lifeline for New England, but the same caveat applies—he actually has to be able to walk off the field healthy at the end of the day.
The nightmare scenario is obvious. What happens if he gets rolled up on by one of his bumbling offensive linemen? Or if he takes a brutal hit that sends him off into the concussion protocol? Both of those possibilities are more than possible, and if anything close to either one occurs, New England will discover what a true quarterback debacle looks like going forward.