FOXBOROUGH - On Day 3 of training camp, Drake Maye threw an interception, his first of the summer. It happened during the most competitive team period we've seen so far in what has been, as expected, a slow ramp-up here in July.
To call the pick ill-advised would be doing a disservice to that phrase. Maye inexplicably double-pumped, then threw almost blindly to his left. Hard to gauge who the intended target was, but I can tell you it went right to edge rusher Matthew Judon, who had drifted into the curl/hook zone.
"Just a rookie mistake, no pun intended," Maye opined after practice. "Had a deep shot and was going to throw to the flat late, and in this league, they're going to cover the running backs, so you've gotta make sure you look before you throw it."
To his credit, Maye bounced back on the next play, firing a low rocket at Jalen Reagor, which the veteran wideout went down and got. It was a smart throw, put in a place where it was Reagor's ball or no one else's. Call it another part of the process that Maye will have to go through to succeed in this league.
"You can't ride the ups and downs. Every play is a new play. I just can't be too hard on myself. Sometimes, I get hard on myself, especially like I said, throwing my first interception, but yeah, just kind of - bounce back. It's how you bounce back in this league. And I'm trying to learn that."
There was another moment in practice when the fan base and whatever the hell they call Twitter were now agog. It was a go route down the right sideline to Ja'Lynn Polk (over Azizi Hearn). If you seek out the video, safety Jaylinn Hawkins would have left a serious imprint on Polk was he allowed, but it was nice to see the two rookies have that moment, especially with all the work they've put together.
"He made a nice catch. It wasn't a great throw, but Polk made a nice catch. Great player."
One last thing to note is how quick Maye has been to tuck it and run during the early days of camp and even back to the spring. I asked Jerod Mayo before practice if he'd like to see Maye stand in there longer to go through his progression, even on a play where he might get sacked.
"All those guys are taught and told to continue with the play," Mayo told me. "When you look at the good offenses, take KC (the Kansas City Chiefs), for example. They have what is on the piece of paper, but a lot of that stuff is just improvisation on the field. So, being able to continue that play, you never know what's going to happen. You could have a free runner, and he misses the sack, and now everyone has to get to a spot where he can find him. It's not just Drake, I would say that entire quarterback room, they operate under the same rules."
"I think it's a feel thing back there," Maye responded to the same question. "I think sometimes I've taken off, and sometimes I've taken off when I didn't need to. Just trying to balance that and learn it. I'm going to try to hang in there. There are some different dudes hitting me now than there were in college. Try to get down when I can, but I think part of my game is making plays and running. I'm not going to change that."
That will be another part of balancing the equation for the Pats and Maye. You don't want to take away some of the things that could make him special, but at the same time, there's a big picture to keep in mind. And as big as he is (6'4", 225 pounds), Maye's still a little leaner than they probably like for someone willing to put his body at risk like that. It's all part of the process and progress that almost certainly won't be a straight shot to the moon.
AND ANOTHER ONE
The days of thought suppression in Foxborough seem long gone and hard to find, for now. A veteran player expressed displeasure with his current contract for the second time in three days. Wednesday, it was Matthew Judon. Davon Godchaux took to the mic to make his case for a new deal on Friday.
"I consider myself one of the dominant run players in the league," he said. "Obviously, it's a passing league; a lot of guys get paid big money for their pass rush, which I respect. But at the end of the day, I feel like you got to stop the run to get to the pass rush. I think a lot of people overlook it."
Godchaux claims the lack of guaranteed money in this, the last year of his contract, is at the heart of the dispute, saying he "just want(s) some love." The 29-year-old is slated to make a base salary of $7.15 million this season. But league sources tell me that's only part of the issue and that Godchaux wants a longer-term extension with significant guarantees.
"I want some stability," he said, comparing himself to Grover Stewart of the Colts and the Browns' Dalvin Tomlinson. Stewart got a three-year deal worth $39 million ($17.99 million guaranteed), while Tomlinson got $57 million over four years ($27.5 million guaranteed).
During that comparison, Godchaux mentioned that neither player plays on third down. Our fact checker (that would be me) discovered that (per SIS) Tomlinson had 121 rushes on third down, far dwarfing both Stewart (27) and Godchaux (22). Similarly, Tomlinson had 181 rushes in true pass sets, Godchaux 107 and Stewart 80. Finally, for those who want a PFF grade (you know how I feel about them), Stewart was at 76.2, Tomlinson 61.2, and Godchaux 50.2.
"The run market has gone up, too. Not just the pass-rush market," Godchaux noted. "I'm not going to call out a number (salary-wise)...I just really want some respect. I have no doubt that the Patriots and Drew (Rosenhaus, his agent) will get a deal done. And if not, it's a business. I'm not going to be sad or angry. It's a business. Still love 'em but just gotta do what's best for me."
As noted, Godchaux didn't appear until midway through Thursday's practice and then didn't participate. He was back at it Friday, and Mayo said his nose tackle was just dealing with some soreness. That said, at some point, you'd figure Godchaux will have to start protecting his investment — his body — or risk injury, and that non-guaranteed money, or future free agent dollars, will go down the drain.