The Patriots are turning the page to the regular season, with a matchup against the Bengals kicking off the real games a week from Sunday.
Before we move on to Cincinnati, let's take one last look at the preseason for rookie QB Drake Maye. Although our attention will turn to starter Jacoby Brissett starting next week, Maye is moving in the right direction. He's the Patriots most talented passer, but his development is a process, and Rome wasn't built in a day.
One area of Maye's college tape that was debated ad nauseam was his footwork, with some pundits feeling he was a candidate to redshirt his rookie season. From this perspective, Maye has improved enough to push for playing time as a rookie – we're no longer discussing redshirt seasons here. Maye should play and likely will play at some point in 2024.
However, that doesn't mean that Maye is a finished product. Former pro quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan reviewed the Patriots rookie's tape from last Sunday's preseason finale. Although he acknowledged there were good plays, O'Sullivan was still critical of Maye's pocket movement. In particular, the QB School guru pointed to Maye making matters worse for himself in the pocket by drifting into pressure, which was also something we discussed in After Further Review.
"The part that continues to make me nervous and maybe more nervous now offensively with what's around him, he has a weird trait with his pocket movement to make it more difficult than it has to be. I'm not sure being around a line that isn't a strength is going to help that," O'Sullivan said.
O'Sullivan has fair criticisms about Maye's pocket movement, which, again, we discussed earlier in the week on Patriots.com. That said, Maye has made strides with footwork. Let's discuss:
Under Center
The Patriots coaching staff has made it clear that playing from under center will be a major part of the offense under OC Alex Van Pelt, and that's something that's new to Maye, who did not play from under center at North Carolina.
In his 62 snaps in the preseason, Maye has been under center on 15 plays (24.2%). Last season, the Browns were under center on 33.4%. Furthermore, Maye has only attempted three of his 34 pass attempts from under center. There have been issues with under-center snaps and getting away from center to avoid getting his feet tangled, which might be why offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt hasn't run as much under center with Maye.
The logical question is, do the Patriots need to be an under-center heavy offense? Clearly, it's Van Pelt's preference. But shouldn't the coordinator build the offense around the quarterback? The short is yes. However, it's challenging to be a gun-centric operation without outside receivers who can win one-on-one consistently without being aided by scheme. It's also harder on the offensive line to run block unless the quarterback is involved in the run game.
When you major in under-center passing schemes, coordinators can use play-action to create openings for receivers to separate downfield. In the gun, the stress is on the receivers more to win their matchups, and they have to win quickly because the offensive line will mostly be in five-man protections, so the quarterback needs to get the ball out.
On a positive note, Maye has made strides in dropping back from under center to execute play-action schemes. For example, Maye's 29-yard connection to Ja'Lynn Polk was a dot. He throws from a great base here, with his feet apart in a powerful, athletic stance. He slides up in the pocket to avoid the edge pressure and delivers a beautiful pass.
If they can get that version of Maye from under center, he'll be able to execute the full playbook, which will get him on the field faster.
Shotgun
In the preseason finale, Maye's issues with drifting into pressure mostly came in the gun. However, there were still some really good reps.
The key for Maye is to cut down on wasted movement. In other words, know when a few steps up, to his left, or right will suffice instead of moving too much. Maye tended to drift from the center of the pocket, especially up into the line of scrimmage, too often last Sunday night.
Here's a good example of what we're looking for with Maye. Maye does well to step up in the pocket, helping out his tackles by allowing the edge rushers to drive by him in the pocket. Then, he resets in the center of the pocket and makes a strong throw to KJ Osborn – very clean.
Where the Patriots rookie runs into issues is when those subtle slides up in the pocket become wasted movement. Here, he gets himself into trouble. All he has to do here is replicate the same movement we saw in the Osborn play. Instead, he finds himself in the line of scrimmage and throws late over the middle from a wonky base.
New England needs more of the first example from Maye while coaching the second example out of him. The second clip is what we saw on his UNC tape that sparked many pundits to nitpick Maye's game during the draft process. The good news is there are clips where Maye has good footwork and fundamentals, but he needs to quiet down his feet to throw from a more firm base, which will make him a more consistent passer.
After further ado, let's empty the Patriots Unfiltered mailbag heading into the regular season:
Q: What is your opinion on the players the Patriots claimed off waivers? - Everyone
For those who don't know, the Patriots were awarded four players off waivers on Wednesday: LB Curtis Jacobs, OT Demontrey Jacobs, T/G Zachary Thomas, and DT Eric Johnson. Frankly, our expectations for waiver claims should be low. The likelihood that any of these players turn into starters is slim. Furthermore, the Pats needed to make four corresponding roster moves to free up roster space. They released WR Jalen Reagor, DT Trysten Hill, DB Isaiah Bolden, and G Michael Jordan.
As for the players themselves, Demontrey Jacobs and Eric Johnson are the most intriguing. Jacobs is a 6-6, 315-pound left tackle who graded out well in the preseason for Denver. He played a lot of second-half snaps vs. backups, but he allowed only two QB pressures on 54 pass-blocking snaps. Johnson plays with good power at the point of attack. He's a little undersized but has long arms and can absorb blocks.
Again, let's keep everything in perspective here. The Patriots see something in the guys they claimed, but it's not very often that waiver claims emerge as impact players.
Q: In what ways is the Patriots roster better than it was last year? In what ways is it worse than it was last year? - @Box_of_Joe
Let's start with the obvious: the Patriots are worse in the defensive front seven. You can't ignore that they traded Judon and likely lost Christian Barmore (blood clots) for the season. There are concerns about having three-down defenders who can provide early-down pass rush, stop the run, and get them off the field on third down. Along the offensive line, it's about the same as last year, which is to say shaky.
On a positive note, the Patriots upgraded at quarterback and wide receiver. The wide receiver room is more promising. Mainly, swapping JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker for Polk, Baker, and Osborn feels like an upgrade. At the very least, there's more upside there with the youth movement. Pop Douglas also has breakout potential, while Tyquan Thornton might finally put it all together. The receiver room still lacks an elite receiver (WR1), limiting the offense's ceiling. However, I'm more optimistic about this group than in recent years.
Q: Do you think Coach Mayo has done a good job so far? - Danny
First of all, I was impressed with the camp Mayo ran from a competitive standpoint. The Patriots were in pads as often as possible, he stuck to the "you get better at football by playing" mantra by playing starters in the preseason, and the Pats held physical, full-contact practices. Mayo wasn't a player-friendly softy this summer. Honestly, I was expecting him to run shorter sessions and go easy on the players. He did not, and that was good.
There are nitpicks about how he handled the quarterbacks reps-wise, while he probably would save himself some trouble by being more consistent with his remarks in press conferences. But the presser stuff is overblown unless it becomes a problem with the players. Like, no offense, but our opinions from the outside looking in mean nothing.
Overall, he gets a solid C+/B- so far. Now, the real test begins because the jury is still out about this staff's ability to prepare the team and devise game plans that win regular season games.
Q: What is the best offensive line combination for the Patriots? - Everybody
The worst thing you can do to an offensive lineman is play them out of position, especially when the overall talent level of the group is in question. Sometimes you're forced to play guys at their second-best spots, but if health permits, it's better to make everyone comfortable. The second worst thing you can do is put the line in a blender. Consistency and continuity, built up over time with practice reps, is key to success on the offensive line.
With that in mind, my starting offensive line for the Patriots would be the following, with the first name being the incumbent starter and the second name pushing the current starter:
- Right Tackle: Chuks Okorafor/Caedan Wallace
- Right Guard: Mike Onwenu
- Center: David Andrews
- Left Guard: Sidy Sow/Layden Robinson
- Left Tackle: Vederian Lowe
Based on watching every rep he has ever taken at right tackle, I feel strongly that the team is doing Onwenu a disservice by playing him out there. He might be the best right tackle on the roster, but that doesn't mean much. Big Mike is surviving at right tackle out of necessity rather than dominating at right guard. Okorafor and Wallace are career right tackles, so let them battle it out there. Robinson has at least practiced at LG this summer. The rookie was already pushing Sow for that spot in camp, and Lowe is a career left tackle.
Let everyone play in their natural positions, build some chemistry with the same starting five, and see how it looks to get Maye on the field in a month or so. Don't overcomplicate things.
Q: Besides the offensive line needing depth, where else on the team do you think on the team needs the most help? - Ken M
You could make the case that they're still short on top-end talent at wide receiver, but if they get decent quarterback play and protection, the wideouts should suffice this season. My bigger concern is with the defensive front.
The Patriots don't have as many pure pass-rush winners who can win one-on-one matchups, and let's also not forget that Barmore developed into a beast against the run as well. My fear is that they'll be too situation-dependent, with guys who either stop the run or rush the passer but not enough defenders who can do both. That will leave them without an early-down pass rush, for example, because it's harder to scheme up pressure on first and second down.
New England needs their defense to keep them in games, and although it's still an above-average group on paper, it doesn't have the blue-chippers it once did in the front seven. Hopefully, Keion White will develop into one of those guys for them.
Q: Out of all the cuts, which player were you most shocked that they got released? - John
I was surprised that the Patriots waived Kevin Harris. He was on my final roster projection, with the Pats carrying four running backs. He had a solid summer, and it looked like he had added some burst. However, Harris got passed by JaMycal Hasty, who is more of a scatback. All's well that ends well, though, with Harris and undrafted rookie Terrell Jennings signing to the practice squad.
Q: Other than Drake Maye's growth since the spring, can you give fans another reason to be excited about the season? - Xavier S
Although they've lost some pieces, I'm still optimistic about the Patriots defense keeping them in games. The schedule lightened up a bit by facing some backup quarterbacks a year ago, but they were ninth in DVOA without Judon and CB Christian Gonzalez for most of the year. Now, they have a healthy Gonzo, an emerging Keion White, and a pretty good stable of holdover starters from the Belichick era.
There are still solid football players on this defense: Davon Godchaux, Deatrich Wise, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, Anfernee Jennings, Josh Uche, Daniel Ekuale, Jon Jones, Marcus Jones, etc. Plus, I'm bullish on Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers as a safety tandem. Those two might be the best pairing in the league by season's end.
Overall, the Patriots season will be determined by the success or failure of the offense. However, defensively, they should be competitive, and that'll be enough to keep them in games. If the offense overachieves, they have a good chance to be better than last year.
Q: Any idea of how much the NFL will actually enforce the tackles not lining up correctly? Is it going to be emphasized this much during the season? - Tyrone
After last Sunday night's game, I asked around the locker room about this being a rule the league has decided to emphasize this season. To the players' knowledge, they hadn't heard that it was a point of emphasis, which we usually hear about during the preseason. Typically, the league has certain things that it's trying to be stricter about, so they'll over-officiate it in the preseason and the month of September, and then there's a combination of players adjusting and the league becoming more lenient once the games matter more.
For what it's worth, the overhead view clearly showed that Okorafor and Onwenu were lining up in the backfield. I thought they were legit calls.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
