Something is wrong with the Patriots. The challenge at this stage is to identify the root cause.
On Wednesday, coach Mike Vrabel was asked about a report that there were issues between him and quarterback Drake Maye.
“I am here because Drake was the quarterback” said Vrabel, via Mark Daniels of MassLive.com. “I don’t have much to add to that about a comment coming from an anonymous source.”
First, it’s hard to imagine that Maye was the main draw. Vrabel seemed destined to coach the Patriots, regardless of which quarterback he inherited.
Second, haven’t we evolved beyond the point of ignoring reports simply because they come from anonymous sources? No member of the Patriots will officially release something so inflammatory. (At least Vrabel didn’t call the report “ridiculous. “)
It’s fair to ask if something beyond the football is affecting the performance of the offense. Because Maye has gotten most of the attention, few have broadened the perspective to question whether Vrabel’s off-field distractions during the offseason contributed to this disappointing start.
In that regard, Maye’s regression served as something of a shield to questions about whether Vrabel’s entanglement with Dianna Russini set a bad tone that the team struggled to overcome — despite their best efforts to turn the page.
As NBC’s Mike Tomlin said when the topic came up before the Hall of Fame game: “When the games start, winning matters. And so if they get off to a quick start, they have an opportunity to tone down some of that noise. If they don’t, things could get extremely loud.”
For now, the noise has settled on Maye. With a loss at Buffalo on Sunday, this could boomerang against Vrabel.
Gn sports
