Over the last 20 years or so, New England Patriots fans have gotten used to flat, boring quotes from the head coach, the quarterback, and virtually every other player on the roster. These quotes were typically dictated by future Hall of Famer and current media maven Bill Belichick, who was the master of nothingness and empty words when it was time to fill up a presser.
Boy, how times have changed.
The new New England
Now the Pats feature miscreant linebackers going on epic bad-behavior hold-ins, not to mention a rookie head coach in Jerod Mayo who constantly contradicts his own messaging on a weekly basis. Owner Bob Kraft is well-known for his ability to throw a monkey wrench or three into the quote machine, and poor Eliot Wolf is just trying to keep his head above water as he goes about cleaning up the dumpster fire that is the New England roster.
And then there’s Drake Maye. During a quiet spring and summer in which Maye said all the right things and seemed determined to present himself as the Foxboro version of Andy of Mayberry, he seemingly cemented his reputation as an aw-shucks southern boy who was just trying to do his best and, you know, help the team win and all that.
Then Maye got on the field, and it turns out he’s not as bad as we were all led to believe. He played for nearly two full quarters against the Eagles in the Pats’ second preseason game, and he not only scored a touchdown but proved he could throw a few forward passes that hit their targets.
Jared Mayo's message on Drake Maye vs. Brissett
The North Carolina product quickly capitalized on his newfound success, and coach Mayo stated that the ongoing QB competition with veteran Jacoby Brissett “definitely isn’t over.” Mayo has played both sides against the middle while insisting that Brissett will be the guy when the Pats head on to Cincinnati for their opener against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
The subtext of Maye’s rather direct message isn’t hard to figure out. He was likely sick of being labeled a bust and a disappointment despite the fact that there was little direct evidence to support that theory, so once he got that evidence he decided to tell his critics that he was doing a little bit more than being spoon fed offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s version of the West Coast offense. Maye also threw one of the best deep balls you’ll ever see, but 4th-round draft pick Javon Baker couldn’t survive the ground as he nearly made an incredibly difficult catch.
Will Brissett get Mayo’s message?
There was another layer of messaging going on here, and that was directed at Jacoby Brissett. The former New England, Washington, and Cleveland QB was signed based on his ability to do ball security, and he threw a dreadful end-zone pick at the end of a drive that nearly became a pick-six.
Brissett also displayed one of his well-known flaws, which is slow processing speed, and that nearly became a second pick when he threw a bad pass after holding onto the ball for too long, then tried to make an ill-advised play rather than execute a simple throwaway.
Mayo clearly wasn’t happy, and he let his veteran QB know about it via his post-game quotes. He stopped short of throwing Brissett under the bus, but he echoed Maye’s comments, saying the offense “definitely took a step forward,” and he wasn’t talking about the veteran’s one-quarter cameo.
For Pats fans, all of this sudden public turmoil is refreshingly welcome after the endlessly buttoned-down Belichick years, and it’s good news for the team, too. Healthy competition will help get Maye under center sooner rather than later in the regular season, and that’s the end game here as New England tries to develop its latest new franchise quarterback.