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How Drake Maye can take a page from Patriots legend Tom Brady’s book
"These are those moments as a young quarterback that you learn, 'I have to take complete ownership over everything when it comes to the offense.'"
Another week, another strong performance from Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye, who continued his progress toward becoming a franchise passer. But there was also yet another crushing interception — this latest one a game-sealing pick in Sunday’s 28-22 loss to the Rams.
Maye and wide receiver Demario Douglas, the intended target on the play, termed the missed connection a “miscommunication” after the game, with Douglas seeming to run his route deeper than Maye wanted him to. Of course, both media and fans alike have been quick to assign fault to either party for the miscue.
Former Patriots QB Brian Hoyer wouldn’t play the blame game on “The Quick Snap” podcast while recapping the game: “It’s both of their faults because they’re not on the same page at the most critical point of the game,” he said.
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But he and Patriots center David Andrews offered some constructive criticism about how Maye can ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Specifically, Hoyer and Andrews each recounted tales of watching ex-Pats QB Tom Brady prepare his teammates before each game for how to play in certain situations.
“Tom was constantly addressing the offense,” Hoyer said. “Not getting up in front of the room, but in those meetings, like Josh would say something and Tom would say, ‘Hey, wideouts on this route, this is what I’m thinking.'”
Andrews added that Brady would similarly speak his mind about how to call out defensive fronts or protections, which would sometimes lead to animated discussions between them — or even former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia.
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“Sometimes Tom would come and be like, ‘Hey, I know Dante’s telling you this, but I kind of like it like this,” the center explained. “And you’re walking this fine line. Like, do I want to get yelled at by Dante or Tom?”
The answer, Andrews generally decided, would be to take Brady’s side and take the wrath of Scarnecchia because the most important part was for the two players to be in sync on the field.
Though it will certainly take time for Maye to develop that chemistry with his team — him being a rookie with six career starts, after all — Hoyer said that demanding that level of detail from the offense will be the next step in Maye’s growth as a leader.
“This will be a learning moment for Drake, where now when these things come up in the meeting and there’s any type of gray area, you take charge,” he said. “‘Hey, Pop, on this play, if it’s Cover 2, I’m thinking I’m gonna hit you out of the bend, not deep.
“These are those moments as a young quarterback that you learn, ‘I have to take complete ownership over everything when it comes to the offense.'”
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Maye has already reportedly shown he’s becoming more comfortable taking on that leadership role as a rookie, even addressing the offense two weeks ago after a lackluster practice. Improving on Sunday’s game-ending mistake is just another step toward him fully claiming ownership of the offense.
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