Drake Maye will make his first start for the Patriots against the Houston Texans Sunday, prompting some to wonder: is this part of The Plan Jerod Mayo continuously cited through the first five weeks of the season?
Well, as Mayo quoted Mike Tyson earlier this year, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Quote Tyson at your own risk. New England got sucker punched by a fellow cellar-dweller Miami Sunday, and now it’s Maye-Day.
Through his own references to the red-shirt-happy quarterback process in Green Bay, Eliot Wolf has made no secret that his preference would be giving the 3rd overall pick as much time to develop as possible. But there’s no Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers starting in Foxboro. There’s been Jacoby Brissett: a good soldier and a careful executor of the game plan, but too limited in his skillset to elevate the Patriots offense above a 20-point score.
By rolling Maye out against the formidable Texans, Mayo and his staff are signaling that the young quarterback has progressed so quickly, he’s ready for show time. Or, they’re admitting Brissett has the offense in such a funk a quarter of the way through the season, they need to reach for a solution. Best case scenario, it’s a happy combination of both: Brissett has taken the offense as far as he can, and the kid has shown himself to be of starting caliber in practice.
Small roster fluctuations could help make this a better debut date for the rookie than previous weeks. Vederian Lowe is back at left tackle, hopefully solving the revolving door at the most critical position protecting the quarterback. Veteran receiver Kendrick Bourne is also healthy enough to provide another outlet for a young gun whose likely to need some time finding rhythm and moving through his progressions.
But it’s natural to worry that this is a move the silo-free conglomerate of decision makers had planned to make at the eleventh hour, and they’ve bumped it up to 5 o’clock after getting punched in the face. The offense has looked so bad it’s alienating a fan base used to Super Bowls and celebrity treatment. The rumors of a mutiny are literally coming from inside the house. Mayo has said, time and time again, he was ready to “take some lumps” this season, but nobody is prepared to lose half their captains through Week 6 – including one facing charges for alleged violent crimes.
Jacoby Brissett wasn’t the biggest problem on the Patriots, but they’re a team with so many issues, they need to grasp for solutions wherever they can find them. So if Maye has been competent in his 30% share of practice snaps and on scout team, it’s time to see if his mobility, big arm, and accuracy can boost this team out of rock bottom.
Maye’s start will be a bigger gamble than the possibility of a sloppy debut against a Houston defense who’s allowed the fourth-lowest passing yards per attempt this season. Now, the clock is ticking for Wolf on his pick, and Mayo and his staff regarding Maye’s preparedness. Sunday might suck, but how the following 11 games go could determine job status for Patriots employees who were not hand-picked years ago by Robert Kraft.