FOXBOROUGH — Not that it was any big surprise considering his boss, Jerod Mayo, pulled the lever to bench Jacoby Brissett and start Drake Maye with the team at 1-4, but Alex Van Pelt said Thursday he was on board with the decision.
"We all sat together and gave our opinions and what we thought, and ultimately, it's his decision," Van Pelt said. "And I'm on board with that decision, I am. I'm excited to see Drake play. It's his time. I think he's he's prepared. He's done a great job on the practice field getting ready for this moment, not to take anything away from Jacoby. I mean, I'm so proud of him and what he's accomplished. May not be great statistically, but the stuff he does for this offense has been unbelievable over the first five weeks of season. He's a great teammate, you know, and he's been great in the meetings this week, trying to get Drake ready to go, giving him his full support."
Just a few weeks ago, Van Pelt told reporters it was better for Maye to sit. What's changed?
"I think it's a combination of a couple things, really," he said. "Offensively, we're not where we want to be from a production standpoint, especially in the pass game. I think that that leads to some of that decision, and also his growth and development over those weeks of practice and what he's put on the practice field. I think two of those combined, you know, we're close. We're a couple plays away from being 3-2, and feeling a lot better about where we are right now. But the reality of it is we're not, we're 1-4, and, you know, at this point, we need to find something to get us a chance to win on Sunday. And we thought with Drake's development over the past first part of the season on the practice field that he was ready to step in and take over.
"His understanding. He's like a sponge. He stands back there and watches everything. You know, he's very involved in the meetings, very vocal in the meetings as well. His knowledge has grown over the course of since we've had him, since the draft. He's more prepared now than he ever has been to handle the challenges that will be presented on Sunday. And again, his play on the field, you know, to watch the balls he throws out there, the accuracy down the field, the stuff that he's been able to show on the practice field is, again, I think it gives us a chance to go win on Sunday."
Van Pelt said Maye has progressed the most against the blitz.
"That's a big part," he said. "As a quarterback, young quarterback, especially, you need to know how to protect yourself. You need to know where the issues lie, how the protections are schemed, and where the holes in those protections are. And I think he's made great strides there. We had a blitz period to start practice yesterday against our defense, six plays, and he was 6 for 6 in making decisions and understanding the issues."
And Van Pelt acknowledged they are throwing Maye into the cauldron that is the Texans' defense that limited Josh Allen to 9 for 30.
"It's challenging. Obviously, that's a strong, strong defense," Van Pelt said. "They do a great job with their scheme as well, with their players. They have very talented edge rushers. You know, we got to make sure we handle those edges. You know, it's almost having like two guys like (Nick) Bosa a little bit on the edges. So you've got to make sure we're taking care of the edges at the same time. You know, very, somewhat basic in first and second down, but oh my gosh when they get to third down, they're coming from everywhere. They have every conceivable package of structures of defense, and they bring all their guys so big challenge for us, you know, from a protection standpoint, you know, if we can stay at a third and down all game, that'd be excellent, but I know we'll be at it, and we have to perform on third down, stay on the field."
Meanwhile, Brissett talked to reporters for the first time since the decision was made and his disappointment was evident.
"It's tough. I don't think words can really describe how tough it is," he said.
"I told somebody this the other day, man, I've been through hard things in my life. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll go through something hard. So, no, I'll be alright. Drake asked me how I'm doing. I'm like, man, you keep worrying about me, you're worrying about the wrong thing right now, you know? I mean, I can take care of myself. Appreciate that, but I'll be alright."
Maye said when he signed with the Patriots there was no agreement that he was assured he'd get X number of starts. But I did ask him, considering all that's gone wrong with this offense, if he felt like he was being out to be the scapegoat for this offense.
"I don't answer those ... I don't get into that. Somebody else can answer that question."
The look on his face had a definitive answer, and that was shared in the locker room. I asked one veteran on offense about Brissett being scapegoated.
"Somebody had to take the blame," he said.
But Brissett has handled this with class, which was part of the reason why Van Pelt and others wanted him here.
"It was hard for me," Van Pelt said. "It's hard anytime you make a quarterback change. You're in that room, and those guys were all so connected in there. Obviously, our relationship from Cleveland, there's a lot of weight there, and it's tough to, see a guy go out there and do what he's done again, taking the hits and making plays when he has the opportunity, and saying, 'Hey, we're going to hand the ball off to the young guy.' It's tough. But again,I think he's was a guy that we wanted here, knowing his personality and his team-first mentality, knowing that he was going to be, you know, bringing along a young quarterback. I think that was one of the decisions we made as an organization of the type of person we wanted to bring in the building to work with Drake."
Brissett is now firmly in Maye's corner.
"Great kid, great kid," Brissett said. "There's no malice in my heart towards him. Obviously, you know, I just want the best for him and I'm very excited for him."