The New England Patriots have a problem at quarterback, something few thought they would say after Drake Maye’s impactful campaign last season.
Through three games, Maye leads the NFL with six interceptions. Including his lost fumble, he has seven giveaways in total. He’s turned the ball over in every game this season and has three turnovers in New England’s two losses.
The 24-year-old is costing the Patriots with his turnovers and poor decisions, and he hasn’t made enough big plays to make up for them.
So what leads to these bad decisions?
During his weekly appearances on the Greg Hill Show on WEEI (full interview below), head coach Mike Vrabel used a golf analogy to try to explain what’s going on with his quarterback.
“I think the quarterbacks want to make plays. I think they want to throw touchdowns,” Vrabel said. “I think sometimes when Greg and I go out to play golf, we really want to make a good score, don’t we? Sometimes we get so focused on that that we try to squeeze the life out of the golf club, and we squeeze it so hard that the ball has no choice but to go sideways. We need to stop trying to squeeze the life out of every play. We need to relax. We need to settle down and go play football and not try to force things which do not exist.”
Maye tried to force two more plays in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars, but both were poor decisions.
The first came on third-and-goal from the Jacksonville 2-yard line, when Maye forced a pass into the end zone looking for receiver Efton Chism III. Cornerback Travis Hunter, who was all over Chism, intercepted the pass.
The other came on the way back to Kyle Williams on the sideline. Cornerback Jarrian Jones, who like Hunter had tight coverage, jumped the route for another interception. Maye admitted after the game that he shouldn’t have attempted the throw.
Those are the kinds of decisions Maye, who finished last season with just eight interceptions, didn’t make. But Vrabel wouldn’t go so far as to compare this season to last year.
“Every situation, every match and every play is different. For him to have so many close decisions like that (last year), I
I don’t know,” Vrabel said. “I just know that’s what’s happened so far, and definitely in the red zone for scores.”
Two of Maye’s interceptions took place inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, while four took place on the opponent’s side of the field.
Although Maye played arguably two of his worst games as a professional in Week 1 against Seattle and Week 3 against Pittsburgh, Vrabel remains confident in his quarterback.
“I have no doubt that he will continue to work. He will start to consistently make better decisions, and everyone around him will continue to improve as well,” Vrabel said. “It’s just about getting back to work. Being around people you care about. Form a little circle. Focus on the people that really matter and try to get back to work. Drake’s our quarterback, man; we gotta get this right, by all of us.”
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