FOXBORO – Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has a potential solution to calm himself down when he’s feeling too “amped” to begin a game.
Maye explained away an [inaccurate pass](https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/18/patriots-vikings-film-review-drake-maye-shows-command-and-20-more-takeaways/) in Week 2 of the preseason, when he threw high to wide receiver DeMario Douglas, as saying he was “a little amped early in the game.” The throw ricocheted off Douglas’ hands and into the arms of a defender, who dropped the ball. Maye also fumbled in the Patriots’ first preseason game.
The young quarterback had the same explanation after throwing an interception in the second drive of his first career start, saying he was “a little amped at the start, for sure.”
That’s obviously something that Maye will need to figure out in his second season.
“I think it’s kind of like back in day playing basketball kind of find a layup before you start shooting threes,” Maye said. “I think just whether it’s a good run or with the guys up front and the running backs, or maybe an easy completion. But other than that, I think it’s just getting out there. And I think that’s part of it. I think it’s whether it’s going to be kind of the jitters or going to be fired up, that’s more of what it is, just to kind of calm that. And I think kind of use the guys around me, as well. I think use the guys around me to kind of feel, like, hey, if they’re pumped up, I’m gonna get a little pumped up. But when I get out there and kind of be cool and calm.”
A reporter suggested that Maye should audible into a read option to get being hit out of the way.
“Yeah, sure that’d be great,” Maye quipped.
Earlier, Maye said that he gets “jitters” entering every game, but “once you get going in the game, I feel good.”
The idea of settling nerves early in a game with a run or short pass is good in theory but might not work in actual practice if the entire playbook isn’t available.
Head coach Mike Vrabel [was asked](https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/18/mike-vrabel-lists-corrections-for-drake-maye-to-make-after-patriots-preseason-game/) last week if he would like Maye to calm down before games or if he likes having a quarterback beginning a game with energy.
“The personality or whatever they’re feeling, that’s up to them,” Vrabel said. “I think that the performance and the mentality and how we want to play the game has to be the same. So, whatever they want to feel, they’re more than welcome to feel.
“We just need to make sure that we execute and that we’re taking command of the huddle and that we’re operating at a high level. Some guys are going to be more amped than others as their own personal approach to the game.”
And that’s the key. If Maye can use energy or jitters to his advantage, then it’s a plus. But it can’t be used as an excuse for early-game turnovers or misfires.
Last season, Maye actually had his highest completion percentage (72.9%) in the first quarter. So, even if he is amped to begin games, it wasn’t altering his efficiency. He had a 2.9% interception rate in the first quarter last season and a 4.5% interception rate otherwise.
Vrabel is happy with Maye’s development within Josh McDaniels’ offense though he acknowledged that things will progress now that training camp is over and the regular season is beginning.
“I think it’s continuing to build and grow, and now we transition into a new phase of game-planning and looking at a different defense and working through the show team and the looks that they need in all three phases to kind of take the next step here to start to win,” Vrabel said. “So, I think that it’s been good, and now it’ll be the next challenge here, to take the next step of game-planning and understanding how to prepare early in the week and build as the week goes on.”
Maye said he has some sense of how gameplanning will go under McDaniels after preparing for the Commanders, Vikings and Giants this preseason.
But the preparation will be fully ramped up for the Raiders, a team McDaniels knows well as their former head coach, this week and next.
“I’m excited just trying to be all in on the Raiders, and take one week at a time, and then from here, just try to take the little details and follow our rules and go out there and kind of be instinctive and play hard,” Maye said.
Maye had a solid, if up-and-down, first summer under McDaniels. In two preseason games, he was 7-of-12 for 58 yards while adding two rushing attempts for 16 yards and a touchdown. His fumble came while dropping back and attempting to throw the ball away. It instead came out of his hand backward for a fumble.
Turnovers, regardless of when they came in the game, were an issue for Maye. For the most part, he avoided turnover-worthy plays in practice and joint practices, but they remained an issue in the two preseason games and an intra-squad scrimmage early in training camp.