The Patriots’ growing pains were on display in Sunday’s Week 1 loss to the Raiders, and second-year quarterback Drake Maye was front and center.
He ended the day with 287 yards off 46 attempts, a touchdown, an interception, and four sacks.
When asked whether Maye has “too much on his plate” Monday morning, head coach Mike Vrabel said it was something the coaching staff has to consider.
“I think we have to evaluate that. We have to find out, is there something there? We have to figure out what our guys do best, and then do that,” Vrabel said.
Naturally, Maye – a team captain – brushed off concerns when speaking with ‘WEEI Afternoons’ in his ‘Patriots Monday’ appearance on WEEI.
“I wouldn't say that. I think at the end of the end of the day, being a quarterback in the NFL, there's going to be a lot on your plate no matter who you play for,” Maye said. “So, just being better as a group, being better with the details, establishing the run game and playing off the run game.”
After leading at halftime, the Patriots’ offense only managed to score a field goal, in the fourth quarter of their season opener. The offense got off on the wrong foot after Maye threw his first interception of the year on the opening drive of the third quarter. The throw was intended for veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Maye owned the mistake and reviewed what he could have done differently on the throw:
“Part of this league is making throws and getting hit. So, I think whether I think I had Diggs open, I need to follow through. From there, there’s times this happened where, maybe I can go make a play instead of stepping up there, or maybe settling in the pocket more and not stepping up into it. It’s unfortunate. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a miss. I feel I would say if I had it back, I would follow through more, don’t kind of step up and have myself affected by the D line.”
The best thing the offense can do right now, he said, is stack reps together. More than half the roster turned over from last year.
“Just continuing to get a feel for these guys, new guys out there playing with them,” Maye told WEEI.