by Now is the moment for the Patriots to try to get past their missteps as the regular season draws near. According to Josh McDaniels, Drake Maye is making progress in that area.
Following an unfortunate turnover in their preseason opener, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator was pleased with Maye’s performance during the team’s joint sessions with the Vikings this past week.
During Saturday’s game against the Vikings, McDaniels told the Patriots’ preseason television broadcast, “I was really excited by the way he handled these practices this week.” Practice is inherently challenging since it places you in a situation where you must repeatedly run the same thing, which isn’t how a football game actually works. As a result, he had to deal with numerous long-yardage scenarios. Numerous drills lasting two minutes. He was involved in many challenging low-red zone scenarios.
He showed us a great deal of growth. did a fantastic job looking after the football.
According to several reports of those sessions, Maye was in sync with his receivers throughout team drills in the two joint practices with the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday. Maye didn’t commit a turnover during the two joint practices, despite being fired six times during Thursday’s practice.
That is obviously promising, particularly after Maye foolishly extended a play in last week’s preseason game, turning a play that should have been a sack for the Commanders into a lost fumble. On Saturday, Maye completed 4 of 7 passes for 46 yards without committing a turnover, demonstrating his clean performance. On his second and last drive of the game, he also guided the Patriots to a touchdown.
The fact that Maye performed well against a team as strong as Minnesota’s, which is coached by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, also pleased McDaniels.
Considering how strong they are when the ball is snapped, there won’t be a more challenging defense to contend with before the ball is snapped, McDaniels continued. I am very enthusiastic about his future and where he is going. I adore the way he handles his business each day. Patriot Nation ought to be thrilled as well.
Although the Vikings’ defense was completely prepared for the combined practices, they did not use their starters in Saturday’s game. Minnesota’s defense, which finished 14-3 the previous season, returned standouts like edge rusher Jonathan Greenard and finished fifth in scoring.
Maye said he showed some signs of growth as well, especially since the Patriots began the preseason facing two NFC playoff contenders. He still believes he has some space to develop, though.
After Wednesday’s practice, Maye stated, “I think we had a good first two-minute, and I was disappointed with how the two-minute ended in Washington.” It was a touchdown, which is always excellent because we needed a field goal to tie the score. I believe we had a strong initial play coming out of the second two minutes, but we were unable to continue after taking a sack.
You learn from things like that, and you know that if the look is absent, you can probably find the answers and gain knowledge in two minutes. We seem to be protecting the ball. I don’t think I actually placed it in danger.
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