FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Quick thoughts and notes on the New England Patriots and the NFL:
1. Maye’s development: Bill Parcells’ succinct answers to reporters’ questions are something many in New England enjoyed during his tenure as head coach of the Patriots from 1993-96. But it’s something Parcells said during his last stint as head coach of the Cowboys from 2003-06, and it’s time to revisit it now that Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has announced that veteran Jacoby Brissett will start at quarterback in place of rookie Drake Maye.
Parcells had kept undrafted quarterback Tony Romo on Dallas’ roster in 2003, and it later became clear that Romo had the potential to develop into something bigger. At one point, Parcells was asked, “What do you have to lose by bringing Romo in?”
To which he replied, “You can lose the quarterback if he’s not ready. That’s one of the problems with young quarterbacks who are selected with high expectations or are forced into situations where they can’t succeed.”
Of course, no two situations are the same, but the Patriots are following Parcells’ plan with Maye – at least for now.
“There are two ways of looking at it. Of course I want to play, I have the competitive spirit in me. At the same time, I understand the situation. Jacoby was on offense all training camp and played with the ones… I feel like I gave it my all. I don’t regret coming back.” – QB Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/WETP1EVuL4
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) 29 August 2024
Some, including Tom Brady, agree. Others believe that young quarterbacks learn best by playing right from the start.
Now that the Patriots have declared their intentions, the question is how Maye will be prepared behind the scenes for the call, whenever it comes.
“I lived that life,” former ESPN analyst Matt Hasselbeck said of his 1999 season with the Packers. “Mike McCarthy was the quarterback coach and he mentally beat me up every day.”
“The night before games, I would lead the quarterback meeting and go over the game plan with Brett Favre to keep Brett’s attention and develop myself in case I had to play because I wasn’t getting reps during the week. It was, ‘You’re going to be the teacher here. Stand up in front of the class and show Brett Favre the X Dagger Y Shallow Cross.’ I can’t stress enough how much that helped me.”
Such an approach is an integral part of the Packers’ culture. Eliot Wolf, who was in his first year as the Patriots’ executive vice president of personnel, saw it as a child when his father, Ron, was the team’s general manager in the 1990s.
Pro Football Hall of Fame member Kurt Warner, who shares some of his insights into Maye’s game in his “QB Confidential” report, had a similar experience with the Rams in 1998 when he learned from Trent Green.
“The most important thing you can do in that position is get as many mental reps as you can. Whenever Trent did something on offense, I would ask him, ‘Why?’ I was lucky that he was very open with me,” he said. “I watched the play as Trent executed it and said, ‘OK, this is what I would have done.'”
In New England, Brissett and Maye have lockers next to each other and have vowed to have a similar dynamic.
“He came to me and said, ‘Whatever you need, I’m here for you.’ And it’s the same with him – whatever he needs from me, I’ll do it,” Brissett explained.
Maye shared his perspective, saying, “I’m here to help Jacoby and keep the spirits up in the quarterback room. Nothing’s going to change. I’m still rooting for him. … He’s been in the NFL for almost 10 years and I’m in my first year, it’s a learning experience. I’m peppering him with questions.”
Warner also found leading the scout team offense invaluable.
“I competed and the beauty of it was that I had to compete against our best defense every day. It wasn’t set up for us to succeed, we were actually set up for failure. That helped me hone my skills,” he said.
Former Patriots backup quarterback Jim Miller, who played nine years in the NFL, said it will be crucial for Maye to acquire the mentality of a starter, something Maye himself referenced Thursday when he admitted he was “just one snap away.” As a backup, that can be difficult.
“The best thing for him is to prepare properly, and then the coaches can assess how much of the game strategy he absorbs. You’ll see that on the field by how he practices – ‘Okay, he understands this concept, he understands that,'” said Miller, who now works as a host on Sirius XM NFL Radio.
“I think at some point in the season the math will show that the young guy is ready and we’ll use him. The only thing that would put him in the lineup sooner would be if Jacoby Brissett loses the ball a lot. Coaches can deal with those kinds of mistakes from a rookie. They can’t deal with a veteran who makes a whole bunch of turnovers.”
Hasselbeck believes that the best-case scenario for Maye is for the Patriots to win games while continuing to develop him behind the scenes.
“But if I were Drake Maye, I’d be playing now. Chances are your starting player will get injured and you’ll have to go,” he said. “And once you go, you’ll probably never get out again.”
2. Onwenus gesture: Offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, who signed a three-year, $57 million contract in the offseason, fulfilled a long-held dream and bought a new home in Michigan for his parents and three siblings.
“We all grew up together and as the last born, I was the last one in the house,” he explained. “That was the only thing I wanted to do (after the contract).”
As for his fifth year with the team, Onwenu acknowledged that he was absent from the first few weeks of the voluntary offseason program in the spring due to personal reasons and that he could have started training camp stronger.
“I think I came in in a pretty good place. I probably didn’t do as much as I wanted to all summer, but I’m not ashamed of my performance or anything. I still felt like I could do what I do,” he said.
“I settled in a week before. I wanted to run a lot. When I started I had maybe four days off, but once I got going and started running it was good. So I think I could have done a few things better, but it’s a long year.”
3. OL targeted: The Patriots received offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs (Broncos), guard Zach Thomas (Rams), defensive tackle Eric Johnson II (Colts) and linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Chiefs) on waivers last week. To protect themselves in case the two teams ahead of them in waiver priority claim those players, the Patriots also filed “backup” claims on three other offensive linemen and one defensive lineman, according to league sources. This reflects that the front office viewed the offensive line and defensive line as top priorities after training camp – which seemed obvious.
4. Disclaimer: The Patriots weren’t the only team to stake claims on Jacobs and Johnson. The Cardinals also tried to sign Jacobs, and the Bengals claimed Johnson, according to league sources. Having the No. 3 priority on the table — based on last season’s 4-13 record — proved beneficial to the team. The Broncos also planned to sign Jacobs to their practice squad if he cleared waivers.
5. Align: After three days off as required by the collective bargaining agreement, the Patriots are scheduled to return to practice on Monday, and the health of the offensive line will be a top story. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (oblique) has been out since Aug. 21, while starting left guard Sidy Sow (ankle) has been out since the final game of the season on Aug. 25. Chukwuma Okorafor was at left tackle and free agent Nick Leverett was at left guard, further testing the team’s depth.
“I think it would be naive of us to think after the first game – where no one had really played four quarters of football – that the guys wouldn’t need to rotate at times,” Mayo said.
6. Mayo and Mazzulla: Mayo met Joe Mazzulla when he was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, and the two have stayed in touch since then. Their connection has grown, which was evident when Mazzulla attended the team’s Wednesday practice, holding a practice script. Mayo said he appreciated their conversations about Xs and Os and how to manage people, and called Mazzulla — who won a championship in his second year as the Celtics’ head coach — a great resource.
7. They said it: “I’ve never played in a game where it was about proving people wrong. I just want to prove myself right. I love the locker room, I love the team and I’m a huge fan of this game. I hope when people watch me play, they say, ‘This guy really loves what he does.’ I think when I stop loving this, I know my time has come.” – Brissett, reflecting on his nine-year NFL career (read more here)
8. AVP and JBJ: Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt keeps a guitar in his office. He told the crowd at the Patriots’ opening night on Wednesday night that one of the most memorable moments he’s experienced since arriving was when Jon Bon Jovi, visiting the team as a guest of owner Robert Kraft, knocked on his office door. He did what most music fans would do in that moment – he presented the guitar to Bon Jovi, one of his favorite musicians, who signed it for him.
9. Scouting Hunter: There were 31 scouts and management staff in attendance for Colorado’s 31-26 victory over North Dakota State on Thursday night, representing 18 different teams, and the Patriots were one of them, according to the school. Given the team’s ongoing search for a No. 1 receiver, this could be a preview of how thorough the Patriots will be in their evaluation of dynamic Colorado pass-catcher Travis Hunter, who is ranked as the No. 9 prospect in ESPN analyst Field Yates’ rankings.
10. Did you know?: Of the 28 new players on the Patriots’ 53-man roster, 10 are rookies. This includes all eight 2024 draft picks, rookie free agent safety Dell Pettus and linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who was claimed off waivers.
