At 3-10, it’s understandable that most Patriots fans would be incredibly frustrated by the state of the team.
With the franchise moving on from the greatest head coach in NFL history in January, there was an immediate air of skepticism surrounding what the Krafts had in store for a post-Bill Belichick world at 1 Patriot Place.
And when it turned out ownership decided to hire hand-picked former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, the skepticism grew even louder among the New England faithful.
Why wasn’t there a true hiring process?
Why would you hire a guy that hasn’t even ever been a coordinator to replace Bill Belichick?
How long ago did the Krafts decide to make this change?
What type of coaching staff is a guy like this capable of putting together?
You name the question, and it was being asked by callers on the WEEI airwaves all winter, spring and summer long.
So as the Patriots sit here with three wins heading into their Week 14 bye week, frustration and negativity towards the six-time Super Bowl champions is about as unsurprising as it gets, and patience for Mayo’s group to turn things around with four games left in 2024 is wearing thin.
The organization has gone 7-23 over the last two seasons. And if you want to stretch it back even further - since starting the season 8-0 in 2019, the Patriots have gone 36-54, which includes the postseason losses to Tennessee (2019) and Buffalo (2021).
Six Super Bowl wins feels further and further away by the loss, and a franchise that was once worried about securing the one-or-two-seed in the AFC is now worried about where they will land within the top five of the NFL Draft.
Lucky for both fans and Krafts alike, there is hope!
That light at the end of the tunnel comes in the form of two 22-year-olds on either side of the ball:
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye, and second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Since taking over the starting job under center in Week 6, Maye has steadily improved as a field general each and every week.
Sure, there’s been bumps in the road. And yes, Maye has shown a propensity to turn the ball over while trying to make plays for his struggling team.
But one thing is for certain - Maye is a gifted passer, has a knack for playmaking on the fly, and has the command of the locker room after only eight professional starts.
Fellow rookie Layden Robinson spoke glowingly about his young leader with the media after practice on Tuesday, the team’s last before hitting their bye.
“You know, Drake is doing great,” said Robinson. “You know, it’s just week by week, you see how more confident he gets. And you know, you see him walking around, and you see him just having fun, and that ‘Drake smile,’ you know how it is.
“So you just see him walking around, he always has that confidence about him, and you know how he takes control of the huddle. He gets in there, and he’s like, ‘Alright, let’s go to work.’ Basically, I mean - you know, we rally behind him.”
Robinson went on to explain why Maye is such an easy guy to follow as a leader.
“Just his competitive nature,” said Robinson. “You know, him wanting to get out there and just be the best person he can. You know, he always makes sure that he’s on it, no matter what. You know, if he feels like something was on him, he’ll tell us - go around saying, ‘That was on me.’ And, you know, you gotta pull him aside and say, ‘Man, it’s on all of us. It’s not just on you.’ You know?
“He takes accountability, and he gets back to work. And he says, ‘Hey, let’s go do it.’ Every week it’s a new attitude, win or lose. And we’re just getting back on it. And you see that positive energy from a guy like that every day, you have no choice but to come to work and give the best version of yourself. Because you gotta match it.”
Robinson’s sentiments from Tuesday echo what we’ve continually heard from teammates and coaches over the last two months. Maye leads by example, regardless of all the losing around him.
His fellow 22-year-old in Gonzalez is doing the same on the defensive side of the ball.
After playing in only four games his rookie season before suffering a shoulder injury that knocked him out for the remainder of 2023, Gonzalez has picked up right where he left off.
The 2023 17th overall pick has shown in 2024 why fans were excited when he surprisingly fell into their lap in the middle of the first round in last spring’s draft.
Every single week, Gonzalez is tasked with covering the opponents best wide receiver. And like clockwork, Gonzalez continues to step up and make lives difficult for QBs looking to connect with their top targets. That, combined with a couple picks and a scoop-and-score touchdown in Week 12, should put Gonzalez firmly in the discussion for his first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
But on Monday, Gonzalez’s name was nowhere to be found when the top 10 vote-getters were released by the league - something the NFL does every year to help drive more fans to vote, as well as (unsuccessfully) create more interest in the game.
Guess who didn’t care?
“I mean, it is what it is,” said Gonzalez. “You know, the votes [are] gonna come - I believe it’s just the first, you know, first stretch of voting. I think there’s more voting. So I mean - if it comes, it comes. If it don’t, it don’t. I’m not too worried about it.
“We as an organization - we gotta win. I mean that’s our main focus. That’s our main thing. Win, and everything else will follow suit.”
The kid nailed it.
This is not a group that should be worrying about individual awards or accolades right now.
Gonzalez said it best - they gotta win.
Setting up a culture of winning right now is the most important thing this team can do through their final four games of the season. And it doesn’t have to be 4-0, either. 2-2 where the team limits boneheaded mistakes and scores in the red zone would be fantastic.
It’s all about getting that arrow pointed in the right direction for 2025. And with Maye and Gonzalez as the tone-setters on either side of the ball, they’ve got a solid base to work with.
Whether the coaching or roster construction is able to improve around them is a different topic for a different day.