The 2024 NFL season has a well-known — and unfamiliar — really feel for New England Patriots followers.
The keys to the offense, and the franchise, have been handed to a rookie quarterback. A primary-round choice, sporting No. 10, tasked with taking on an offense that years in the past was thought-about the league’s greatest, and dwelling as much as lofty expectations and potential comparisons to one of many recreation’s greatest. A rookie quarterback breaking into the league enjoying for a defensive-minded head coach, in a deep division and convention.
Whereas these could be the similarities between Mac Jones and Drake Maye, they finish there.
In some ways, Jones was a passenger alongside for the experience again in 2021, a reality that’s greatest evidenced by his efficiency in a Week 13 victory over the Buffalo Payments that improved the Patriots to 9-4 on the season. On a windy night time in Buffalo, Jones tried simply three passes, as Invoice Belichick relied on the working recreation and New England’s protection to hold the night time in a 14-10 victory. It was a three-throw outing from the rookie quarterback that was quick sufficient to be damaged down on video and shared on social media, and I did precisely that the subsequent morning.
Sadly, that video has been misplaced to the annals of time.
It’s exhausting to think about the 2024 Patriots doing one thing related with Maye. Their newest rookie quarterback could put on the identical quantity as Jones, however their play on the sector as first-year NFL quarterbacks is vastly completely different. The place Jones was, as talked about above, extra of a passenger alongside for the experience Maye is flying the aircraft, and each safeguard conceivable has been turned off.
Nonetheless, he’s rising, and creating, the best way the Patriots want him to.
Sunday’s outing in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams could be the very best instance but of Maye’s improvement as an NFL passer. Working behind a New England offensive line that has struggled to guard him at instances, and with a younger receiving core round him that’s studying to separate from protection constantly, Maye related on 30-of-40 passes for 282 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception which got here on New England’s last offensive play.
It was an effort that drew the eye of a coach who is aware of quarterbacks, none apart from Rams head coach Sean McVay:
#Rams HC Sean McVay was very complimentary of #Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye:
“He appears to be like like a stud… You possibly can see the influence that he has on his teammates. The way in which folks discuss him right here. He appears to be like like he’s gonna be a particular participant for a very long time and he gave us matches in the present day.” pic.twitter.com/zPyjAwKiKZ
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) November 17, 2024
Past the numbers, there’s the video that Maye placed on show Sunday. Performs that illustrate how the sport is slowing down for the rookie, and the way he’s already forward of schedule on the younger quarterback improvement curve.
Take his first landing of the sport, this nine-yard reference to Kendrick Bourne. Maye’s confidence is clear within the timing, as he executes an abbreviated five-step drop, drives his again foot into the turf at Gillette Stadium, and comes up firing with out losing a second:
Timing is important within the NFL, notably down within the purple zone the place the sector is compressed and house comes at a premium. Each wasted second, every further step, carries a worth. However Maye is aware of the protection, is aware of that Bourne can have inside leverage on his in-breaking route, and rips in an ideal throw on time and in rhythm for the rating.
A route mixture that the Patriots like to name for Maye pairs a sit route over the soccer with a shallow crosser coming from the opposite aspect of the sector. It’s a normal “man/zone” learn for a quarterback, as they’ll look to the crosser in opposition to man protection (with that receiver working away from a defender) however get their eyes to the sit route in opposition to zone, with that receiver sitting down in house.
On this play from the primary quarter the Patriots dial that up, and watch Maye work by means of this idea. He first will get his eyes to the left, the place the Patriots are working a “peel” mixture with a publish route, and a wheel route. That’s his “alert” on the play, which he’ll throw if one of many vertical routes is open early within the play.
However Maye sees the Rams dropping into zone protection, so he will get his eyes to Hunter Henry on the sit route and throws it on time and in rhythm:
Right here is that very same actual design within the third quarter. Once more the Rams use zone protection, so Maye comes off the peel mixture on the correct, and will get his eyes on Henry to make an anticipation throw:
Even higher is the position of this go from Maye, as he sees the closest menace to Henry is coming from the left aspect of the sector, so he leads the tight finish away from that defender, permitting Henry to make a better catch and decide up extra yardage.
Typically within the NFL, groups look to blitz rookie quarterbacks. The thought is that the sport is already too quick for them, however by blitzing them you velocity up their thought course of much more within the pocket, resulting in errors.
However groups would possibly wish to assume twice about blitzing Maye, who has already proven capability to beat stress appears to be like each along with his thoughts, and his ft.
Take this play from early within the recreation. Los Angeles simply brings 5 after the QB right here, however a security blitz from the third degree creates a free run at Maye. However the rookie merely slides within the pocket along with his ft away from the free runner, creating sufficient time and house to get off a throw on a crossing path to convert this third down:
Late within the first half, the Rams used one other blitz to try to get stress on the rookie, this time a linebacker coming from the second degree. Right here, Maye simply hangs within the pocket and calmly replaces the blitz with the ball, firing a fast throw to Demario Douglas on a slant route:
However maybe the most important distinction between 2021 and 2024 in New England? What Maye can do when he’s pressured to create. Whereas Jones was in a position to execute from the pocket, a query mark dealing with the Alabama prospect coming into the NFL was his athleticism, and whether or not he may create sufficient off of construction and outdoors the pocket to perform within the NFL. These traits have nearly turn into conditions within the trendy recreation, because of the athleticism on the opposite aspect of the soccer, and the defensive schemes that may so typically take away a quarterback’s preliminary reads.
Whereas that query went largely unanswered with Jones, Maye is answering it every week. On this third and 1 from Sunday the Patriots flip to a mesh idea, however the Rams cowl the routes. Watch as Maye shifts into creator mode, buys a while along with his ft, and manages to transform the third down late within the play:
These are the sorts of performs the New England offense couldn’t generate in 2021, however Maye is delivering them week in, week out.
Whereas graphics on each NFL pre-game present final Sunday confirmed the Patriots “within the hunt” for the playoffs, these expectations are usually not the purpose for this season. The one true purpose in New England in 2024 is that this: Ensure Maye is the long-term reply on the place, and do all the things potential to see that he’s a greater quarterback on the finish of the yr than he was when the yr started.
The playoffs could be out of the image, however the extra necessary questions in New England are being answered in one of the best ways potential.
One other distinction between 2024 and 2021, and one that might work out very nicely for the Patriots in the long run.
