FOXBOROUGH – Heading into Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo indicated that everyone that was available would play.
That means all four quarterbacks would see action.
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Jacoby Brissett was deemed the starter ahead of training camp, and nothing has changed to take away that distinction. Brissett, who knows Alex Van Pelt’s system having played in Cleveland, has distanced himself from the field during training camp.
That said, most eyes were on rookie Drake Maye. As the player the Patriots chose with the third overall pick, and the player who is expected to be the next franchise quarterback, his first go-round against another team, and how he handled the speed of an NFL game was another important check point.
Thus far, while Maye has progressed, and showed off his talent and playmaking ability on occasion, he’s still far from being a finished product.
Bailey Zappe is pretty much a known entity.
As for rookie Joe Milton, there’s a fascination with him given his bazooka arm and athleticism.
So how did each one fair during the Patriots 17-3 preseason win? What, if anything, was there to learn?
Jacoby Brissett: He was in for the first series, and that was it. After Rhamondre Stevenson scampered around the right side for 11 yards on the first play, it went downhill from there. Brissett then dropped back for his first throw, and it was a bit too high for tight end Mitchell Wilcox, who couldn’t hang on in slippery conditions. On the next play, Brissett, after looking off his first option, tried to hit Tyquan Thornton down the right side line. Cornerback Lamar Jackson broke that up. On third down, Brissett avoided the rush, and smartly threw the ball away. So it was 0-for-3 officially. Not much could be gleaned from that, except the offensive line didn’t protect particularly well.
Drake Maye: He came on in the second offensive series to a thunderous roar. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt kept the starting offensive line out there. Basically, Maye was asked to hand the ball off, and make safe throws. He hit Antonio Gibson for a screen pass that went for 13 yards. Reagor couldn’t pull in Maye’s next offering, which went off his hands. His third pass was a dump off to Kevin Harris for six yards. So one first down, and that was it. That was also the extent of Maye’s action. So like Brissett, it was tough to make much of an assessment. There was a false start penalty on right tackle Chuks Okorafor during the series, but it seemed mostly of Okorafor’s doing.
Why didn’t Maye get to play more? At first glance, it would seem like the coaches didn’t trust the second string offensive line, which came on in the third series. Outside of that, it didn’t make much sense at all. The rookie needs to get as many reps as possible in the preseason. How else is he going to learn? How else is he going to improve? This decision by the coaching staff was disappointing to say the least.
Bailey Zappe: The man who spawned Zappe Fever in New England and beyond was greeted by boos. They weren’t necessarily aimed at him. Fans were voicing their displeasure because the plug was pulled on Maye after one series. Still, it was a cruel twist given fans booed Mac Jones in favor of Zappe two years ago.
In any case, Zappe played the remaining five series in the first half, going 9 for 16 for 79 yards. And he started the second half – once again greeted by boos. He finished 12 for 20 for 108 yards (two sacks) before handing the baton to rookie Joe Milton late in the third quarter.
For his part, Zappe made some nice plays, hitting Kayshon Boutte with some well-placed throws. On the flip side, several of his passes were inexplicably off target. He did lead one touchdown drive off a turnover, which finished off with a two-yard Kevin Harris run.
Joe Milton: The crowd lit up when the rookie sixth-round pick entered the game. And he didn’t disappoint. He showed a lot of poise – even against the third and fourth string players – in leading an 11-play, 44-yard touchdown drive on his first series. He went 3-for-5 on the drive, and wasn’t helped by a drop by Boutte on the drive. He showed some touch on short passes to running back Terrell Jennings, and some savvy on a 12-yard run. The latter showed off his athleticism, as he travelled a long way to escape would-be tacklers behind the line of scrimmage, before taking off for a dozen yards.
His star rose even more during his second series, leading a 75-yard scoring drive which culminated with a 38-yard touchdown pass to JaQuae Jackson. Milton showed off his arm on the play with a nice throw to a wide open Jackson down the left side. Granted, this wasn’t against starters, or second-stringers, but he made the most of his opportunity. He finished 4-for-6 for 54 yards and a touchdown.
