Some things I think I think as we head into another New England weekend with crappy weather.
- Drake Maye has that swagger you crave at quarterback. He's also got more than a little bit of gunslinger in him. You never want to take that away from him. It's part of the reason why the UNC product went third overall. However, the challenge for the coaching staff is to get him to understand when the time is right and when it's not.
"I just think that there are a lot of instances in this league where there's bad football that gets you beat," Mike Vrabel said earlier this week to Michael Felger. "We want to make sure that we understand how we want to play the game, how we want to take care of the football, how we want to take care of himself. There's times where he should slide and protect himself and protect the equipment (his body).
"I think it just comes from that, and knowing that you don't have to do it all on one play, that you don't have to try to win the game on one specific play. I think it starts there. I think it just starts on his leadership so that he can get it the best from everybody and that he can command the respect of the huddle. Those are important."
Maye doesn't have a turnover problem, at least not yet. But 10 interceptions and nine fumbles in a dozen starts isn't what anyone is looking for. And the two concussions (even if he disputes the first), as well as a handful of car crash hits, aren't a recipe for long-term health and prosperity. I've compared parts of Maye's game to Josh Allen, but he's not as big and strong as the Bills QB. Discretion, they say, is the better part of valor. Heed those words, young man.
- I mentioned this on my socials, but is there a chance Caedan Wallace ends up at guard? Eliot Wolf told Felger: “I think right tackle is probably his best position, but we like his versatility, his athleticism. He certainly has the feet to play tackle. He has the size to play guard. We’ll just see where he fits in and where it goes.”
The Pats signed Morgan Moses to start, let's be clear. So, where does that leave Wallace? I went back to all my reporting around last year's draft.
"I saw the quotes about flipping him from right tackle to left," said one scout. "The only thing we were considering with him was whether he would go from right tackle to right guard. So to think he can move to the blindside is ...aggressive."
Wallace's rookie season was derailed by injuries, and the hope is the new staff can get him back on track. Vrabel did credit the former Penn State RT for his work as a jumbo tight end early in the season.
- If you're a fan of vibes, they've been great at One Patriot Place since Vrabel walked in the door.
"It's been fun to come to work," said Vrabel. "There's an energy in the building, which I am proud of. When I hear that from people around the building that maybe have been there, that makes me happy, that everybody is excited, and there's an energy about coming to work and ultimately trying to help the players."
A year ago, there was a lot of uncertainty about going from Belichick to Mayo. There is none of that now. It's Vrabel's house, and there is an urgency — even in the spring — that wasn't felt a year ago. The Pats still need more players, but the floor no longer starts in the basement.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER?
Aaron Glenn heads into his first year as the head coach of the New York Jets having promised Justin Fields the starting quarterback job. Gulp. Not that Glenn had much choice in free agency/trade market. The Jets weren't going to do the Sam Darnold or Geno Smith dance a second time; Aaron Rodgers needed to go, and dealing for, say, Kirk Cousins (another Achilles tendon survivor) didn't make much sense. So they chose the only other guy with upside, or so they hope.
Fields is entering year five and is now on his third team. Not great. But hearing Glenn talk about the former Bear and Steeler was eye-opening.
“We’re going to let him play quarterback,” he said. “That’s what he’s always wanted to do. I’m not saying he hasn’t had a chance to do that in other places; that’s not my issue, but I know what I want to do with that player.”
One of the biggest knocks on Fields is that he doesn't process fast enough, and that's led to his previous stops sticking him under center, running play action, and getting the mobile quarterback on the move. More often than not, Fields has become more runner than passer. Reading between the lines, it feels like Glenn wants his offense to look more like what Fields played in college, where he operated most of the time out of shotgun.
“That’s everybody (else)’s opinion. I think he’s able to process well when he’s given the opportunity. If you go back and watch when he was in college, he was able to progress as far as reading coverages. To me, I think he had a chance to do that, and he did it pretty well.”
Fields has never thrown for more than 2,562 yards in a season and, for his career, has 45 touchdowns to 31 interceptions. But he is coming off career-best in completion percentage (65.3%) and passer rating, albeit in just a half dozen starts. Perhaps he is this year's Darnold. Or Baker Mayfield from a few years back.
"I know I definitely have some untapped potential," Fields said. "I'm hoping to get there this year, and I'm hoping to put it on display for everybody to see."
WHEN ONE ISN'T ENOUGH
I've spent a lot of time in this space exploring the Bengals version of team building and the pros and cons of being so heavily invested on one side of the ball. They haven't yet come to terms with Trey Hendrickson, the lone player on defense that opposing offensive coordinators toss and turn over. But they got all their pass catchers under lock and key for the upcoming season (and beyond).
No doubt Joe Burrow used his status as Cincinnati's franchise player to put pressure on ownership and GM Duke Tobin to make sure Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and even Mike Gesicki (yep, Burrow loves him) got contract extensions this off-season. Perhaps that's why Zac Taylor had a perma-grin at the league meetings in Florida this week.
"It makes it easier on the play-caller," he told reporters (he's the play-caller). "It makes it easier on the quarterback. Puts pressure on the defense — you've really got to make a decision: Do we leave him 1 on 1? Are we safe to leave him 1 on 1 at any given moment? And I can think of so many key moments over the last couple of years when teams have made that decision against us in a critical moment with Jamarr or Tee. Because they're 1A and 1B for us. … They made them pay. And so it gives the offense a tremendous weapon and it puts a lot of pressure on the defense to have to make some decisions over the course of the week as you're preparing and on gameday.
"Critical moments, you've got to make a decision — do we feel comfortable leaving this guy 1 on 1 with one of our corners, or do we need to commit help over the top, which is going to greatly, greatly affect how you call the entirety of the game on defense."
The Bengals put the lion's share of the blame for their defensive struggles on departed DC Lou Anarumo and believe (perhaps mistakenly) that new DC Al Golden will establish a higher floor. One would anticipate a heavy investment on that side of the ball over the three days of the NFL Draft, but in the meantime, make no mistake about it, Taylor, Burrow, and his fleet of weapons will need to be just as efficient and explosive as they were a season ago, or Taylor is probably looking for work (assuming the owner doesn't cheap out).
SLEEPING WITH SNAKES
Browns owner Jimmy Haslem finally admitted something we've known for a couple years: Deshaun Watson wasn't worth it.
“We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” he said. “We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t, and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
The irony is Haslem was standing in the same West Palm Beach ballroom as he did shortly after taking the plunge with Watson in 2022. Then, he had to spin acquiring a player facing a ton of off-field allegations. The cost was massive. Three first-round draft picks and a contract worth $230 million guaranteed. To say that sent shockwaves across the league is an understatement. Haslem said he and his wife needed to be held accountable (how, exactly, does that work?). However, he also said it was an "entire organization decision (sorry, GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski, Haslem means you)."
Watson has started only 19 games for Cleveland since the trade, dealing with a suspension (from the off-field stuff) and injuries. Having ruptured his Achilles for a second time in a calendar year, he is not expected to return this season, and even if he did, it doesn't appear he'd be given the ball again.
The Browns have the 2nd overall pick in the draft and have been linked to Shedeur Sanders (they were going to see him work out after the league meetings). Sanders' profile fits the type of quarterback Stefanski has had success with, but he's not the second-best player in the draft, and some would argue he's not a first-round pick, period (I disagree).
“It would be great if we could get the quarterback, but we’re not going to force it,” Haslam said. “I think the message is if the right person’s there, we’re going to take him. If not, we’ll figure (quarterback) out for a year or two until we get the right person.”
KEEP PUSHING THE TUSH (FOR NOW)
With only 16 of a possible 24 votes (the way the NFL defines a majority) onboard to ban the “Tush Push,” the competition committee has tabled the proposal to a later date. Color me disappointed, but I suspect those who want the ‘play’ gone from the league will keep working on those teams they feel can be coaxed in their direction (sometimes there’s horse-trading involved). Perhaps it might take another year, or there may be some tweaking of the current play itself, but I suspect the charge to get it gone will eventually succeed.
I will say that the notion that this is now a player safety issue might be part of why it didn’t get the votes. A year ago, the league told us there was no injury data. 12 months later, that remains remains true. Yet Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, whose team was behind the proposal, cited “injury concerns.” Bills coach Sean McDermott also pointed to that as why he’s out on the play (and his team uses it successfully, except in the playoffs…). Later, and I think this is truly the point, and one of the reasons why I’m out on the play, is, “I don’t think it’s a great football play. It’s more of a rugby play,” according to LaFleur.
He's right, and the way the NFC Championship game devolved as the Commanders kept trying to time the snap turned one of the league's signature games into a bleep show. I mean, a ref threatening to just award the Eagles a touchdown if the Commanders' defense did that again? That's like me to my kids when they were younger: 'If you throw sand at your brother again..." I come for the games, not to be transported back to crappy moments in parenting.
I did appreciate some of the defensive-minded coaches at least publicly expressing appreciation for what the Eagles have accomplished (though it's unclear who would have voted yay or nay).
“They’ve done a good job of creating a play that’s unstoppable,” said Glenn. “In my defensive coaching mentality, my job is to stop that play.”
“There are lot of plays that are hard to defend,” admitted Vrabel. “I don’t think you can get rid of them every time it becomes tough to stop it. Like, Lamar Jackson shouldn’t be able to run with the football anymore? How about making that rule — because it’s hard to defend.”
ODDS AND ENDS
- The league did approve moving touchbacks from the 30 to the 35-yard line. That means more returns, which will mean more injuries. Again, please don't tell me the offices on Park Avenue or these owners in their mansions give two bleeps about player safety.
- In the regular season, both teams are guaranteed an overtime possession unless one team holds the ball for the entirety of the period. OTs will remain 10 minutes until the playoffs.
- Replay assist is being expanded. It will now be allowed to reverse erroneous flags thrown for defenseless hits, face masks, horse collar tackles, and running into and tripping the kicker. However, they won't be able to throw flags when Darnold's facemask gets grabbed, and his head spins around like in that scene from 'The Exorcist.'
- The Lions' request to eliminate an automatic first down on penalties for defensive holding or illegal contact was denied.
- The Lions' proposal to reseed in the playoffs has been tabled and will be discussed later.