Jerod Mayo is Sticking to 'the Plan' on Drake Maye. What That Plan is, Nobody Has the First Clue.

Sarah Stier. Getty Images.

OK, class. Let's begin today's lecture by acknowledging a few things. 

First, as I said at the top of the syllabus I handed out on the first day, 2024 has one major priority. The Prime Directive is to develop Drake Maye and get him on the path toward being the starting quarterback in the Patriots first postseason win since Super Bowl LIII five years ago. There are other important issues to be resolved; but this one blocks out the sun on all of them. 

Two, let's acknowledge that whatever issues are plaguing this team, Jacoby Brissett's play doesn't crack the Top 5. Despite what happened Sunday:

Third, all that said, tell me if this sounds familiar:

--52 points scored, 31st in the league. (Thanks, Miami!)

--955 total yards, 32nd 

--59 1st downs, 30th

--4 touchdowns, tied for fewest

--65 pass completions, 30th

--449 passing yards, 32nd

--75.4 passer rating, 27th

--17 sacks allowed, 2nd most

--13.5 sack %, most

And:

--29 receptions by wide receivers, in all probability 32nd in the league but I don't feel like sifting through Pro Football Reference to confirm because believe it or not, I don't have all day

And there, in those last three data points lie the problem. They cannot protect a quarterback. Therefore they can't generate a passing attack. Therefore a young wide receiver group is dying on the vine and wasting, respectively, the first, second, or in the case of Tyquan Thornton (2 catches for 27 yards) third year of their careers. Which is the equivalent of a kid missing entire years in elementary school. Except in the NFL, you don't get kept back and so you can then physically dominate all your classmates who are a year younger, smaller, and weaker than you all the way to middle school. You just end up benched in favor of some rookie or free agent who got to prove himself in an actual professional passing attack. 

All of which begs the question, when will Drake Maye finally get his shot? All along I've been saying it would be this week, at home against an obviously wounded Dolphins team. But Jerod Mayo has confirmed that is 100% not happening. But if not now, then when? 

Mayo was asked that very question. And gave a long, honest, and candid answer. That says essentially he's got a plan, and he's sticking to it. What that plan is? Your guess is as good as mine:

WEEI - “I think the hard part about it - look, all the fans, you guys here, media, they want to see the third overall pick play,” said Mayo. “And I understand the frustration from the fans. I understand the frustration from you guys in here.

        

“What we’re doing is what we think is best. What I’m doing is what I think is best for the Patriots today, and also in the future. And that’s how I have to look at these things. You guys look at these things as - you know, on a week-to-week basis, there’s a combination of multiple things that we have to deal with.” …

“I understand your frustration. Like, whether he plays eight games, full season, whatever it is - we came into the season with a plan, and we’re going to execute that plan knowing that we’ll take our bumps and bruises along the way.” …

“You know, we sat in here and said during training camp, like, ‘Drake’s getting better, Drake’s getting better, Drake’s getting better,’ you know? And then, Jacoby’s out there, and it’s like ‘Well, why isn’t Drake playing?’ Like, he’s getting better, we have a plan, we’re gonna stick to it. …

        

“[H]e did outperform Jacoby by the time we got to the end of camp. What we had to do was go to the regular season knowing that, ‘Look, who gives us the best chance of winning right now?’ And so just because you’re trending better, in a certain way, doesn’t mean you outperformed from a holistic standpoint. Talking about the spring all the way through training camp.”

I don't mean to come down hard on a coach with exactly than four games experience. But this sounds like they don't have a plan as much as they have the concepts of a plan:

Maybe I'm just confused. Because the plan seems to involve getting Maye ready, which is obviously Job One. But they also started Brissett because they believe he's the one who can put them in the best position to win. But they're not winning. More to the point, they're not generating a single watt of energy with him under center. They have the worst offense in the league, and there's no reason to think that's going to change any time soon. 

I get that it's a huge risk to put any human being behind this line right now. But even by adding the "right now" suggests that there's going to be a much better time later on. To which we have to ask, "When?" Where is that help going to come from? Eliot Wolf had a good eight months and tens of millions of dollars at his disposal. And he gave us a rookie playing out of position in Caeden Wallace, Vederian Lowe, and Sunday, Demontrey Jacobs. Does the plan involve one of those three suddenly learning how to play left tackle in the NFL? As we speak, David Andrews is going to see specialists for the injured shoulder he left game in San Francisco with. So the idea that help will arrive from this roster and then line will start defending the pocket like Easy Company did Bastogne doesn't sound like a plan. It's wishful thinking. Which is never a plan at all.

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The only way we're going to see what Maye is capable of is to start him. The only way we're going to get him to develop chemistry with his young wideouts is in game action. Which is the entire mission of this season. It sucks for Mayo and his staff that they have to put him in harm's way behind an O-line nobody does, or should, trust. But that's the cards they've been dealt by the front office. And they have to face reality on reality's terms. Sooner, rather than later. 

There comes a time when your kid has to get behind the wheel, pull out onto the road, merge onto the highway, and learn to operate a motor vehicle without you or a Driver's Ed instructor there to tell them what to do. Despite all the danger and the idiots and the other drivers texting with one hand and drinking a Dunks with the other. Yes, they're much safer in the driveway. But that's not what they build cars for. 

It all comes down to this: If things don't improve with Brissett at QB starting this week, it's time for Maye to take the wheel. If things don't get better and Maye still doesn't start, then the only logical conclusion any of can reach is that the plan is to tank, and build around him next year. I for one do not want that. Let the kid play.