Some Patriots news and notes on this Monday:
One of the biggest questions heading into the season is obviously going to center around Drake Maye and how well he’ll operate under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
The second-year quarterback out of North Carolina had a shaky start this spring but finished fairly strong, with Maye looking more and more comfortable as the spring practices progressed. The four interceptions he threw during one of the practices that were open to the media certainly got everyone talking, but as Maye started settling in, there were enough moments where he managed to put together some momentum heading into the start of training camp next month.
For Maye, it’s a pivotal year for him. Everyone expected Mac Jones to make a second-year leap coming off his own rookie season, and changes at the coordinator position and an injury ultimately began the spiral he couldn’t pull himself out of. Maye is dealing with his own coordinator change, but in his case, he’s getting someone with more knowledge and experience. The hope is that it will help him take a big step forward and see New England bounce back after two straight 4-13 seasons.
Still, it’s certainly not a guarantee. Jones didn’t improve when Bill O’Brien returned ahead of Bill Belichick’s final season, with O’Brien gradually losing his patience with Jones until he was caught on camera having a heated exchange with his quarterback late in the year during that ugly 2023 season.
However, personnel issues also contributed to Jones’ issues in his final season, and in the case of Maye, the Patriots did get him some help this offseason.
The offensive line is definitely one big difference. They drafted Will Campbell to anchor the left side, and signed veteran Morgan Moses to anchor things at right tackle. That should be a significant improvement from Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs, with both seemingly in way over their heads last season.
They’ve also added Stefon Diggs and drafted TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams. Even if Diggs isn’t 100%, he’ll still be someone who should demand attention. That should ultimately open things up for guys like Demario Douglas and Mack Hollins to make plays, with Williams and the rest of whoever survives the final roster cutdowns to then take advantage of whatever opportunities those guys create.
As a result, Maye’s got a little more help than he had a year ago with an experienced coach who will be in his ear into the final seconds of each snap to guide him. The hope now is that it results in a better record and substantial growth from the 22-year-old quarterback.
Drake Maye
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Maye’s other challenge is going to be operating within McDaniel’s system, which puts a lot on the QB. Making the recognitions and then the proper pre-snap calls are critical in this scheme, and Maye admitted last month that he’s looking forward to having more put on him.
“I think the ball’s in my hands. I think you want that,” said Maye. “I think, you know, I hold the pin last. That’s what you know, they say, and I think that’s what you want because I can, I got the best view back there. Me and maybe the running back, you know, especially in the gun. But even under center, you got the best view of the defense. And you’re the one who has to know where everybody’s at, know really what everybody’s doing, or you know, at some point, not exactly, maybe technique exactly up front but get a good idea of, you know, what they’re supposed to do.”
“I think, it’s great for me to, you know, hold the pin last like I said and make, ‘Hey, if I may see a weak safety coming and the center may not be able to see that or the coach may not be able to see it from the sideline,’ little things like that, I think it’ll be great for me to, you know, take that next step and you know, Taking command of, you know, sending the guys up front, where to go and, you know, who to block. So I’m looking forward to it.”
McDaniels said earlier this month that some of what goes on pre-snap is a little overblown, but that Maye has done a good job of things so far.
“I mean, he’s known about that for a long time, and I think a lot gets overblown, honestly, if I’m being honest with you about what we do or don’t do before the ball has snapped,” said McDaniels. “On every play in the National Football League, somebody’s telling somebody where to go. We just so happen to give that responsibility to QB. He’s learned it very quickly. He’s studied hard at it. Honestly, there’s always going to be little things we can correct and try to adjust as we go forward, but I feel very comfortable with him doing that right now.”
Anyone wondering if McDaniels will take things slow with Maye will likely find that won’t be the case, provided Maye proves he can handle it. Jones’s ability to grasp the scheme as quickly as he did, along with executing it, is part of what allowed him to seize the job ahead of Cam Newton during his rookie season. Despite being a rookie, they clearly weren’t afraid of letting him loose, and McDaniels certainly wasn’t conservative.
Another key aspect is that mistakes didn’t scare McDaniels. One moment that continues to stick out was the pick-six that Jones threw late in the game against Dallas in Week 6. McDaniels didn’t flinch. He came right back and immediately called that deep route to Kendrick Bourne, which Jones put enough on it to get it just past the defensive back as Bourne took it in for the touchdown.
That was a gutsy call, and it tells you that as long as Maye has McDaniels’ confidence, we’ll likely see more of the same this season.
Mac Jones
(PHOTO: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images)
Meanwhile, speaking of Jones, he’s hoping for a rebirth now that he’s united with Kyle Shanahan out in San Francisco.
Shanahan reportedly was high on the former Alabama quarterback ahead of the draft, but opted to select Trey Lance, which obviously didn’t pan out. Jones ended up being the top performer among that rookie class, only to fizzle out just two years later prior to the trade that ultimately sent him to Jacksonville.
He didn’t perform all that well in his backup role behind Trevor Lawrence, and under Shanahan, the 49ers are likely his best shot at rejuvenating his career.
Given that he’s someone Shanahan liked, it feels like it’s a marriage that’s off to a good start.
“The world works in mysterious ways,” Jones told reporters recently via ESPN. “I’m glad to be back here and learning from a great group of guys, and that’s players and coaches. So, you go where you go in the draft, right? You don’t get a lot of choice over that, but I’m definitely excited to be here now.”
The coaching staff there has reportedly spent a lot of time with him focusing on his fundamentals, which was something that Jones mentioned quite a bit here as things started going off the rails. The young quarterback was often flat-footed and didn’t feel what was going on around him, with some of that showing up again down in Jacksonville.
Jones hasn’t been able to progress from that standpoint, and whether or not he’ll fall back into his old habits remains to be seen. The other problem is that he doesn’t have that strong of an arm, and it’s pretty clear that he seems to know that.
He was gun-shy here, often hesitating and missing wide-open windows while seemingly not having the confidence in himself to make the throw. Instead, the ball would come out late and it often resulted in a turnover, which became a problem that ultimately ended his tenure as a starter here in New England.
That was something he talked about this week, and that lack of confidence appears to still be a problem for him in San Francisco.
“My goal is to really just have great attempts, like, you know, is the ball supposed to go there?” Jones said. “And if it is, then let it fly and be committed to it. Sometimes when you watch my film, it wasn’t a full commitment throw and I want to get better at that. … That’s the whole point of football is to try those throws, learn from them, and then when you get to the game you can say, ‘Hey, I can do this,’ or ‘I’m going to check this one down, you know, I’m trying to protect the ball.’ So, I’ve learned the hard way in a way.”
In theory, he’ll be a spectator behind Brock Purdy this season, who received an extension this offseason. For now, Jones is with a coach who certainly is a fan, but whether or not Shanahan can fix him is definitely another story.
Jonathan Kraft
(PHOTO: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)
Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe brought up an interesting topic over the weekend in her Sunday Football Notes, talking about Robert Kraft and whether or not the Patriots owner would consider potentially selling the team.
Given the massive valuation and the billions teams are now selling for, Kraft certainly has an opportunity to capitalize on both the $172 million he spent on the team and the $350 million he spent to build Gillette Stadium.
However, Kraft told Adam Schefter last weekend at the Finatics Fest event that selling the team wasn’t on his mind.
“It’s nice, but to me, it’s like your house going up in value,” said Kraft during the event. “In my lifetime, and I believe in my children’s lifetime, we’re keeping control.”
However, the 84-year-old loves the team and being an owner is something he’s embraced since taking over. Having been a season ticket holder himself, the relationship he has with the fan base and his passion for every aspect of the job has been something that has definitely stood out since he acquired the club in 1994.
His son, Jonathan, is someone who manages Kraft’s other businesses, but it’s his father who has remained the voice of the club and the one still making the big decisions. Jonathan is the likely successor down the road, but the question is certainly going to be whether he has the same energy and passion for this business as his father.
To this point, we haven’t heard or seen much from him in recent years, save for the occasional radio appearance during the season. He’s been there with his father on Sundays in the owner’s box, with the two certainly getting a lot of air time as cameras focused in the more things deteriorated both during Belichick’s final season, and Jerod Mayo’s tumultuous campaign. But his dad has been the one in front of the cameras and the microphones as they’ve navigated all of it.
Still, nothing lasts forever, and he’ll certainly be filling some big shoes when that day does finally come.
Considering Forbes had the Patriots worth an estimated $7.4 billion in August of 2024, that’s a massive number, and one that might be hard to resist.
We know his dad loves every part of being an owner, and his commitment to the fans has seemingly never wavered. Despite questions about whether or not he should step down, Kraft has continued shouldering the load, and the team finally feels like it’s back on solid footing. He’s one of a kind, and someone who has absolutely meant the world to this region during his incredible tenure.
As we’ve seen, it’s certainly been a lot that he’s had to deal with, and Jonathan has been notably absent, stepping in for his father elsewhere as he’s shouldered more and more over the years. When the day finally comes where he’s forced to move on without him, will Jonathan want to take all that on? Or does he have his own passions and interests he may want to pursue?
For now, it remains a question that’s hard not to wonder, but hopefully, it’s also an answer we won’t need for some time.
About Ian Logue
Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
View all posts by Ian Logue
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