Don't fall for the banana in the tailpipe. Yes, Drake Maye's emergence brings hope. If you don't have the quarterback in this league, you're doomed to be a bottom-feeder or a middler - in a good year. No one wants that. The ultimate goal is to be championship-driven.
It's just a four-game sample size, but the 22-year-old Maye has teammates gushing about his ability, toughness, and the intangibles that can't be measured until you get that guy into your building and into challenging situations. So far, so good, even with the turnovers. Hell, Davon Godchaux called Maye 'Josh Allen 2.0' after the game Sunday (where have I heard that comparison before?).
But this is not a well-coached team right now — they weren't last season either — and if you don't think a better brain trust would have yielded better results, even with this roster, you've been distracted from a critical element for this franchise going forward. This season isn't just about Maye's development. It's about whether or not this coaching staff can coach.
To this point, Jerod Mayo hasn't proven he's the right man for the job — ditto for defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. I'm not willing to say they can't do it, and not because I'm afraid to make some bold proclamation (does anyone remember Stink, Stank Stunk?). That's not it. But frankly, I don't think nine games is enough evidence. The staff has had some moments - the opener in Cincinnati, for sure - but the weekly consistency is lacking. Some of that is a roster with more holes than my favorite pair of sweats - and we knew that coming in - but some of that is failure to have the right plan, the players in the right place, and the right play called. I just cringed when I wrote that sentence. That's...not great. Add to that the mixed messaging, and you have what we have here today: a lousy football team with subpar coaching.
DIFFERENT YEAR, SAME PROBLEM
The wideouts - as a whole - are average to below average. DeMario Douglas is the one player in the group who consistently separates, but the West Coast scheme is not built around tiny slot receivers. And for everyone anxious to get Pop a certain number of touches, he got 7 Sunday for — wait for it — 35 yards, and 21 came on that one play, a beautiful throw by Maye and a great catch by the second-year pro. If this were the old Weis/McDaniels/O'Brien offense, he'd be an 85-catch guy, easy. But in the Van Pelt system, Pop needs bubbles and orbit motions leading to swing passes gamed up for him. You might as well tell the defense what you're doing before doing it.
As for the rest of the crew, I remain an advocate for having Ja'Lynn Polk's snaps reduced or to be a healthy scratch. He looks indecisive, and his confidence is flagging. I'm surprised at how this has gone for the rookie. Polk looked like a four or five-year vet this summer, a heady player who ran sharp routes and was strong at the catch point. We haven't seen that player at all in the regular season. Seriously. I can't think of one in my mental rolodex. That's not a great sign for him or the receiver coaches, Tyler Hughes and Tiquan Underwood.
Javon Baker didn't get a chance to run many routes (or play much) Sunday, but he did get open once, and the ball didn't come his way because of a jailbreak up front. The team had a come-to-Jesus moment with Baker after what went down in London (again, describe me as a 'mistake') and liked how he's responded the last two weeks. Let's see if he can continue understanding what's expected of him and embrace being a pro. His inactivity in previous weeks is about him, not them (the Pats).
Lastly, Kendrick Bourne may have had his best game statistically since his return from the torn ACL, but you know what hasn't changed? His penchant for making mistakes. I counted at least three times he and Maye weren't seeing the same picture - including the strip sack - and when I showed them to someone who would know, they agreed that those bad reads were on the veteran WR, not the rookie QB. Then, there was the comeback short of the sticks. What are we doing? If you can't count on the old guy in the room to do it right, what chances do you have of the younger ones doing it?
Again, there is far too much talking and not enough doing from as disappointing a unit as there is on a disappointing football team.
OLD SCHOOL APPROACH
Despite my asking, Mayo did not give a good answer on changing the offensive line combination from week eight to week nine. Come to think of it, Mayo didn't provide one telling answer about anything. Since the London misstep (soft football team), he has retreated into his Bill Belichick media playbook, albeit without the snot rockets and unnecessary confrontation. I guess the transparency era is over.
WHO'S UP AND WHO'S DOWN
Thumbs down, way down, for the interior of the offensive line. Left guard Michael Jordan, center Ben Brown, and right guards Layden Robinson and, eventually, Mike Onwenu were about as bad as it can get. Jordan, in particular, has fallen off a cliff, and if Sidy Sow could get his pad level straight, I'd make that change. Brown has had his lunch eaten in back-to-back weeks. As one of five offensive linemen on this team claimed off waivers, what could you realistically expect? Robinson starting was foolish (as I've written), especially coming off an injury and having to line up across Jeffrey Simmons. Onwenu kicking back inside didn't go much better. Are we having fun yet?
Thumbs down for the wide receivers, but I've already covered that.
Thumbs up for Maye and his ability to create off-schedule. He will make mistakes; assuming he learns from them, that's fine. But man, is he fun to watch. Maye's ability to feel the pressure (mostly) and make it work against the defense is an early superpower, and I'm curious how teams will counter his legs/running ability. Still, for now, the rookie is the best thing the offense has going for it. In fact, he's the only thing.
Thumbs up to Jaquelin Roy. Yep. He was good at the point of attack on Sunday, much better than the highly-paid Davon Godchaux, who has put together back-to-back stinkers. And for that, he gets a thumbs down.
Thumbs all the way up for Marcus Jones. I am 100% convinced he needs to get involved in the offense, even with his importance to the defense. I'd rather scheme up bubbles and swing passes for him than Pop.
Finally, thumbs up to Keion White, who provided some fairly consistent pressure and also destroyed a guard on one play — so much so that I think that guy should consider retiring.