Why a Patriots veteran receiver opted to punt a football into the crowd

EAGAN, Minn. – The Patriots offense started off fine, but in the third full-team period, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores dialed up the pressure.

By the time Drake Maye dropped back for the ninth time in an 11-on-11 drill, he was sacked three times. That included back-to-back pass plays in the third team period. When the fourth period started, Maye was sacked again.

At that point, the Vikings defense was clearly getting the better of the Patriots to start Wednesday’s joint-practice session.

That’s exactly why Mack Hollins stepped up

On the next snap, Hollins ran through the Vikings defense, caught a deep pass from Maye, and ran in for the 50-yard touchdown. Next, while in the end zone, he held the ball out in front of him and punted it into the stands.

Both officials on site threw their flags. Hollins said there was a reason for his actions.

“Called a play, was able to get past the coverage, Drake found me. I didn’t like the energy, so I decided to punt the ball in the end zone,” Hollins said. “I saved up a couple of dollars to pay the fine, and I know it’s not a flag against the team, so it doesn’t hurt the team, it just hurts my pockets, but maybe it’ll give us a little energy boost.”

Hollins noticed his teammates’ effort and didn’t feel that they were playing with the type of energy conducive to good football. The veteran receiver noted that not everyone would run down the field after a play.

After his long touchdown, Maye completed three more deep passes throughout the practice. Although the Vikings made some good plays, the Patriots finished the second half of practice better than they started.

Maye finished 16-of-25 in full-team drills. He was also sacked six times by a talented Vikings defensive front.

“It was good for us. Good for us to see a defense that does a lot of different things. They got us a few times. I feel like we got them,” Maye said. “It was good for us to see that and experience a new defense. Kind of very different from Washington and very different from our defense.”

After Hollins punted the ball, Maye completed highlight-worthy throws to DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and TreVeyon Henderson. After being sacked four times in the first four periods, Maye was sacked twice in the final four.

Prior to Hollins’ catch and punt, the Patriots also had a fumble (by Douglas). The Patriots went on to play better, with one highlight being a 70-yard touchdown catch and run by Henderson during a 2-minute drill.

“Energy is important. What I learned from a coach early on in my career is that execution fuels emotion,” Hollins said. “If you’re doing things right, usually the energy is pretty good. When you’re doing things wrong, usually the energy is not too good. So if you see good things happening, up the energy. Sometimes you have to fake it until it is real. Then you get a play like TreVeyon’s, where a 2-minute drill doesn’t have to go the full 2 minutes. It does matter.”

After the Hollins play, in the fifth period, Maye hit Douglas for a 25-yard pass play. In the next period, the Patriots quarterback connected with Boutte for 30 yards. This was an impressive throw as the receiver caught it sandwiched between two Vikings defenders.

The Patriots ended practice with two 2-minute drills.

In the first, they didn’t need all the time on the clock as the Vikings failed to pick up Henderson out of the backfield. That’s when Maye hit him, and the rookie running back took off untouched for a 70-yard touchdown.

Patriots players had a good time celebrating that one in the end zone.

“We’ve just got to bring our energy,” Maye said. “I think the guys responded well at times, but I still think as a team we can do a better job of bringing energy and having energy when our guys make a play.”