Maye addressed the Patriots offense after a poor Wednesday practice.
As the New England Patriots began their preparation for the Chicago Bears on Wednesday, they dialed up the physicality in practice.
Sloppiness followed.
Quarterback Drake Maye fumbled a snap. The Patriots offensive line failed to pick up a protection they’ve been working on. Mental errors then followed.
When the on-field work ended, Maye knew it wasn’t good enough. The rookie then went to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to ask if he could address the offense. Van Pelt was for it.
“Just little details, unfocused, and I think sometimes just getting into practice mode where you’re just running plays and not really tuned in and trying to execute specific plays. You’re trying to just get in a groove like ‘Hey, we’re just running plays out here just for nothing,’” Maye’s message began. “Just really trying to challenge those guys and challenge myself to take each play and know that when the game comes, this play is called, it matters.
“There’s so many times throughout the game you see how much that play can impact the turnout of the game, so I was just trying to get through to them and probably fumbled some words trying to do it, but I think those guys respected it.”
His offensive teammates did.
“Everybody loved it,” rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk said. “We need that. We need that from our starting quarterback. So, everybody loved it. Everybody wants to be held to a certain standard on this team. That just tells you a lot about the guys that we have in the room.”
The following performance on the practice field on Thursday and Friday were some of the team’s best this season, which then culminated with a victory over the Bears on Sunday. One where mental errors that cost them a potential win in last week’s loss in Tennessee were few and far between.
“I think we may have had some little mental errors that I think I really struggled with myself, that I think ended up that we didn’t show today, and that’s what counted,” Maye said.
After not taking over the starting quarterback role until Week 6 as captain Jacoby Brissett was behind center, Maye, who is the team’s youngest player, is finding his voice as the team’s quarterback and leader. The 22-year-old’s message on Wednesday was a self-proclaimed “next step” in that process.
“I think this is part of the evolution of Drake, and this is something that we’ve discussed behind closed doors,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “I thought he did a good job, not only going out there and executing in practice, but also having those player-only meetings, and that’s what we need from him.
“We need that. Anytime you have a quarterback that is as level-headed, is a smart guy, a competitor, all those things and a leader, there’s no perfect time to do anything. So, we just said, ‘Hey, let’s just do it right now.’ He’s done an excellent job there, and I look forward to seeing that progress going forward.”