FOXBOROUGH – Does it matter?
Last week, in the first open Patriots OTA session, Drake Maye threw four interceptions. That number of turnovers is unusual for any quarterback, especially in a non-padded spring practice.
OTAs are also known as ‘passing camp’ and historically, we’ve seen other quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Mac Jones complete over 70% of their passes in these practices.
After Maye’s rough day, Mike Vrabel was asked on Wednesday if he cared about the turnovers.
“Well, I care. I care about every player’s performance and that we continue to improve,” Vrabel said. “There has been great improvement. Everybody’s going to have a bad day. There’s a lot of reasons that go into it. We’re not going to analyze every single practice and have explanations for things that came up. The command, the operation, all those things have continued to improve.
“I don’t know who asked me about what I thought would be a successful day. Sure enough, I told you those things weren’t going to happen. Hopefully, the operation, the communication today, and the execution has got to be better. We only have so many of these opportunities. I’m hopeful that in front of us, the media, that we have a better day.”
Maye’s day on Wednesday was slightly better since he threw no interceptions. However, the Patriots offense still looked sluggish and never established a rhythm. Last week, Maye completed 11-of-16 passes (69%) to go with those four turnovers. On Wednesday, Maye finished 9-of-17 (53%) and struggled throughout most of the practice.
The Patriots defense did all it could to disrupt Maye’s offensive unit. The combination of Harold Landry, Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, and Keion White up front was at times too much for the Patriots to handle.
Maye’s first 11-on-11 period was a run-heavy session that saw the quarterback complete three short passes to TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Williams, and Kendrick Bourne. After that, however, Maye never completed two passes in a row for the rest of the day as the offense didn’t get into a solid rhythm.
Maye completed 2-of-5 passes in the second period and was 2-of-6 in the third. Maye threw behind multiple targets (Kendrick Bourne and Henderson) and had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage. Tight end Jack Westover also dropped a pass.
In the final 11-on-11 period, Maye completed 2-of-3 passes. His last play of the day during competitive drills was a fumbled snap between him and center Garrett Bradbury.
Through two open practices, the second-year quarterback is 20-of-33 (61%) with four interceptions. Last year, in five spring practices, Maye finished 29-of-44 (66%) with three interceptions.
Is this a cause for concern?
Before practice, Vrabel noted that on Maye’s four-interception day, the Patriots were working on third-down plays. That made it easier for the defense to rush the passer and made it more difficult for the offense.
“This is hard. This is a hard time in the spring when every pass play is third-and-10. They’re pass rushing, they’re pressuring and they’re blitzing. Which is great,” Vrabel said. “We have to be able to block and see everything. It is a passing camp. It didn’t take Keion [White], K.C. [K’Lavon Chaisson], Christian [Barmore], Milt [Milton Williams], and Harold [Landry III] long to figure that out.
“It is what it is, which is good. Again, they know how to practice. We have to be able to speed, pass rush, stay away from the quarterback, get out of the way, stay off the ground. All those things that they’ve been able to do over the course of the first four OTAs.”
After practice was over, receiver Kayshon Boutte said he didn’t want to talk about what improvements he’s seen from Maye, but added he feels like the offense will perform better when pads come on.
“I know as players everybody’s got their own perspectives of what they need to improve on. I feel like maybe (Maye) worked on what he had to and came back stronger,” Boutte said. “I feel like it’ll all come to life when we’re in camp when the pads (come on) and get a real look.”
