R1/3: Drake Maye QB UNC (1st Start this week)
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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I saw Tom Brady make that throw many times. I never once saw Cam Newton, Mac Jones, or Bailey Zappe make that throw.
They each made plenty of good throws, but I don't think any of them ever made that one. Deep ball, middle of the field, with both zip and touch, into a tight window, after having to move around in the pocket.
They each made plenty of good throws, but I don't think any of them ever made that one. Deep ball, middle of the field, with both zip and touch, into a tight window, after having to move around in the pocket.
Yup. This is why I’m willing to be patient with Maye. We haven’t had a QB with the tools to make that throw in 5 years. There are tons of growing pains coming but you can see the upside.
100%. Plus, there's a mobility with Maye that we haven't seen in a much longer time. The tools are absolutely there.
That was my take as well. He was much lighter on his feet than I was expecting.
The balancing act of wanting to get him the reps he needs to develop vs. not rushing him into a situation with a bad OL that may give him long term bad habits is a tough one. There are many examples of bringing along slowly and too much too soon. I do know this, I already like watching him play.
I just think it's ridiculous that he's not getting reps with the 1s in practice or pre-season games. Mayo said yesterday that there's a big gap between the starting OL and the 2nd and 3rd team OLs in terms of knowing their assignments, so why would you exclusively play your 3rd overall pick QB behind that crew? I think Maye deserves a fair chance to challenge for the starting job and I don't feel he's getting one. I don't see how you can accurately gauge his readiness if you surround him with admittedly below par talent.
He's largely been behind the 1 OL unit, hasn't he? They 2nd has come in later in games.
First series was the 1's. The other 2nd Q. series was a mix, Lowe/Sow/Leverett/Robinson/Wallace. Seems like that group was pretty successful. Not sure about the 3rd Q. I think on the touchdown drive they had 6 rookies on the field, Maye, Polk, Baker, Bell, Robinson, and Wallace, which is pretty cool.
Yeah, he's now shown enough to me that he should be getting reps with the 1st unit. He is a terrific athlete, has a cannon, but also has touch. Obviously raw and needs a ton of growth, but it's hard to not be excited about his potential.
The pocket awareness, nice smooth shift to his left, the effortlessly throws it 50 yards in the air. Beautiful.
Only the first series was with the 1's and he's repping with the 2s exclusively in practice, which I just don't understand.
He’s been repping exclusively with the 2’s in practice. A lot of the practice reports for Maye have been littered with “Mafi was sending him grounders for snaps” caveats.
If it’s truly a competition, as Mayo says it is, then Maye needs practice reps with the 1’s.
If it’s truly a competition, as Mayo says it is, then Maye needs practice reps with the 1’s.
I'm pretty sure I saw a report/tweet this morning that Maye was going to start getting some time with the 1's.
Maybe you saw it in the Drake Maye thread? http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/r1-3-drake-maye-qb-unc.42497/post-6288720
Let's not lose the forest for the trees. He's not getting run with the 1s because he's not going to be the starter for the first several games of the season, if at all. We all already know this, accepted it, and acknowledge it's probably the best thing for his growth. This has a real chance of a David Carr "ruin his career before it starts" type of offensive line. Keep him stapled to the bench.
100% this. I know a lot of people here want to start the Maye era right away, but even a few games on the bench are really valuable. Let him soak in being a pro without the added pressure of starting. I don't know what the travel schedule in college looks like, but it's probably different from the NFL, and he's never really experienced it. Two home games then a long week to only have to go to DC for the preseason is nothing. Let him learn/experience being a pro off the field first.
Also, to add to the Carr thing, if a month in and the line is hot garbage not only do you not want him getting killed, but that's how a QB gets happy feet and/or bails too quick. I don't want him in a position to learn bad habits because I want a lost season to be slightly more interesting. We should all want to be building this guy up for the next 15 years, not for a bridge year
I think the earliest you might want to consider starting Maye would be Week 5 against the Dolphins.
But it probably makes way more sense to wait until Week 11 when he could start his career against the Rams, Dolphins and Colts, none of whom are expected to be top tier Ds. Then a Bye week to regroup. Then finish with a less than fearsome final 4 games of ARI, BUF, LAC, and BUF again.
But it probably makes way more sense to wait until Week 11 when he could start his career against the Rams, Dolphins and Colts, none of whom are expected to be top tier Ds. Then a Bye week to regroup. Then finish with a less than fearsome final 4 games of ARI, BUF, LAC, and BUF again.
The offensive line problem is a weird complicating factor. On the one hand, you want the OL to be able to protect the new franchise QB, and until they get it together, you may not want him out there. On the other, Maye shows signs of being the kind of QB who makes his OL better because he has a good sense of the pocket and can move around in it. (Just as Mac made his OL worse).
On the TD play, at least, all drafted rookies were on the field (well except for Dial).
So practicing and playing behind an even worse OL is what's best for his development?
If you're at his stage of development, the answer doesn't seem as obvious as you seem to think. Maye himself noted that he was more comfortable in the game situation than in practice, because they're making him eat his vegetables in practice (no running, taking away deep routes, etc). You might be able to make the case that maintaining good footwork, making quick reads, sliding around in the pocket, etc. while playing with the 2's will make playing with the 1's that much easier. Those are his priorities right now, and the lousy OL doesn't seem to be interfering with his ability to develop relationships with the new receivers.
He had a nice game last week. It was a relief and a pleasure to see a QB in a Pats uni with pro arm talent who has some pocket awareness, mobility, and pretty good judgment as to when to throw the ball away. But two quarters of a preseason game doesn't mean he's ready, or even close.
Maye could start week 1 and be more ready and competent than any QB the Pats have had since 2019.
Maye is going to be good. He has it. I maintain my view that the Pats hit the lottery at #3. Get him in there ASAP and let him play.
O’Sullivan’s Maye breakdown from Thursday’s game:
View: https://youtu.be/oFHdSW_4yR0?si=I3dkRiL-0vo_s1RN
View: https://youtu.be/oFHdSW_4yR0?si=I3dkRiL-0vo_s1RN
Practicing behind a bad line isn't much of a problem with a red jersey. They can also bend the rules around the play (continue play after *sack*, etc).
Putting a guy in too early and giving him happy feet for his career is notoriously a bad thing, however.
His pocket awareness is really good there. We never saw that out of Mac. Positive signals in this game.
I really enjoy watching his breakdowns. Especially as someone like me who really doesn't understand all the route nuances in the NFL. He does a great job explaining them.
He also shows that Baker has a lot to work on, Polk's routes with a couple of exceptions are really good and Maye's internal clock is still a bit sped up sometimes. All of that will come with reps and time. Definitely reason to be excited about Maye going forward though.
Mayo on Brisset's interception: “It was just forcing the play,” Mayo said. “We had other guys open on that play. It was just a poor play, it was a terrible play. And we can’t have those, especially when you have guaranteed points on the board.”
And on the QB competition: “We always talk about competition, and that’s at all spots. So even if Drake beats out Jacoby [Brissett], I mean, he earned that role,” Mayo said after Thursday’s game. “And we don’t really take [the offensive line] into consideration when he’s ready to go, and if he’s better than Jacoby, then he’ll play; he’ll start.”
Sounds to me like opening night Maye isn't off the table.
https://www.patspulpit.com/2024/8/16/24221742/patriots-quarterback-competition-maye-brissett-eagles-nfl-preseason
And on the QB competition: “We always talk about competition, and that’s at all spots. So even if Drake beats out Jacoby [Brissett], I mean, he earned that role,” Mayo said after Thursday’s game. “And we don’t really take [the offensive line] into consideration when he’s ready to go, and if he’s better than Jacoby, then he’ll play; he’ll start.”
Sounds to me like opening night Maye isn't off the table.
https://www.patspulpit.com/2024/8/16/24221742/patriots-quarterback-competition-maye-brissett-eagles-nfl-preseason
QBs don't take hits in practice, so other than maybe working center exchanges, no major difference. Especially with a line in flux. In-game they used a mixed line, some of those guys are going to start game 1, some (like Wallace and maybe Robinson) are going to start longer term. Also based on how they split the 1s and 2s... he's working with Polk, Baker and the other long-term WRs instead of the vets like Reagor/Osborn who are probably not going to be here next year.
OL in a blender today, so hard to parse out 1’s and 2’s but Maye did not rep with Andrews. Bedard thought Maye had a good day and Brissett struggled.
View: https://twitter.com/gregabedard/status/1825218511448441207?s=46&t=23orJRFkAhpzRtm4p3-oEw
View: https://twitter.com/gregabedard/status/1825218511448441207?s=46&t=23orJRFkAhpzRtm4p3-oEw
Another solid performance from Maye. Especially in only the limited live reps he has had. Continued improvement. Especially with his footwork and pocket awareness.
I shudder to say this but I was trying to think of who he reminded me of when he set up in the pocket and looked over the reads:
Peyton Manning. And no. I am not ready to say he will come close to that level(although he does have a dimension Peyton didn't have), but it was nice to see, especially after the mess of Mac in the pocket.
I shudder to say this but I was trying to think of who he reminded me of when he set up in the pocket and looked over the reads:
Peyton Manning. And no. I am not ready to say he will come close to that level(although he does have a dimension Peyton didn't have), but it was nice to see, especially after the mess of Mac in the pocket.
This is funny. Obviously he's not Manning, but his mannerisms in the pocket are very Manning like.
He has a few Favre/Rodgers-isms too. Funny thing is I don't see much at all of Josh Allen, to whom he was compared often leading up to the draft. He looks like a little leaguer on the sidelines. It's going to be a fun ride with him, success or not. Talent is clearly there.
His run up the middle and refusal to slide was a pure Josh Allen play, but other than that, I didn't see much of that spirit. I agree he has a little bit of Peyton in him the way he hops around in the pocket looking for an outlet, and that's a good thing.
He looks very effortless, both running and passing. When running, it almost looks like he is gliding and not going all out, but he picks up the yards. Throwing, he doesn't have to crane back and heave the deep ball, it almost looked like he just kind of flicked the deep ball that overthrew Osborn out there.
Orlovsky is so full of it. Maye did that all the time in college. He hasn't completely changed as a player in 3 months of organized team activities. Dude can't just admit his pre draft analysis ("he's so raw he needs to sit at least two years") was off base.
It's often awkward when these analysts are involved in the media both pre-draft and post draft. The Kipers and McShays of the world can give their opinion and move on, sometimes we remember, sometimes we don't.
But they don't have to immediately start analyzing them as a pro, go on TV, and try to weave some story about how a player developed so much overnight (or immediately admit their analysis was wrong).
Simmons and Sal mentioned it today, unsure whenever it came up on Hard Knocks, but the Giants offering their 1, 2, and 3 in both 24 and 25 for the Maye pick is… a lot.