Giardi: NFL Notebook - Maye takes to coaching; plus, Bengals or Burrow to blame?

Not that a positional coach is going to nuke the possible future of the franchise, but to hear quarterback coach Ashton Grant talk about Drake Maye a few hours after Josh McDaniels praised his most important charge should make you comfortable that the franchise is in good hands.

"I think his maturity," Grant said when asked what stands out about the quarterback. "For a guy as young as he is, being only 23 years old, you almost forget that based on, you know, your everyday conversations with him, how well he can maneuver different environments. He's a guy who can talk to everybody in the locker room, sit at every lunch table, hold a conversation with my 2-year-old daughter, and my 75-year-old grandmother. So I think that just goes to show how well-rounded he is as a person."

At 29, Grant isn't too much older than Maye, and people in the building have told me that the two have formed an easy bond. After hearing Grant talk about late-night phone calls to the quarterback, I should hope so.

"We make jokes all the time, but, like, I called him the other night at 10 o'clock to see if he was studying his plays with Ann Michael (his wife). So he's after it. He made a funny joke that she couldn't read all the abbreviations on the call sheet, so it was like a little bit of a waste of time. But, I mean, he's always trying to go the extra mile to be prepared."

That plays into the mindset of Maye, who told us on several occasions last year that he wanted to be coached hard. That's not always the case for players, especially younger ones in this transfer-heavy, NIL era.

"I think he's really open to it. If you think about it, the greatest players of all time are open to hard coaching. Think about Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. I'm not saying that Drake Maye is Michael Jordan, but I'm saying the guys who have that fire that burns underneath them, they want to be coached. They don't want guys that just pat them on the back. They want someone who will push them to continuously get better each and every day. And Drake is someone every day - he walks in, he asks, 'All right, what are we focused on today? What's the challenge? How can I be better? How can I make my team better?' So he's very intentional about that."

As we've detailed, Mike Vrabel, in particular, has been pushing Maye to be more vocal and more involved with teammates in practice and during games. Lo and behold, players pointed to Maye bringing energy and even a little attitude to the game on Sunday in Miami as being a key factor.

"It starts with practice," said Maye when asked about that. "It starts with me being out there today, and it starts with bringing it every day in practice, not just being one of the guys that has it on game day or has it when things are going bad. So, just my efforts to try to bring it. Being the one and not having the coaches do it, I think that's the best teams. So, that's what I'm trying to build. I’ve got a long way to go, but working toward that."

Maye can't do it alone, but he's got Grant, Vrabel and McDaniels guiding him, and while you can't always measure that kind of growth, it's clear it's taking root. 

BLAME BURROW OR THE BENGALS?

Injuries are a part of the NFL season, but to lose one of the best quarterbacks for at least three months here in mid-September is a bummer. 

Joe Burrow will have toe surgery after getting hurt in the second quarter of the Bengals' 31-27 win over the Jaguars. Cincy's franchise quarterback had a mass of humanity fall on his foot and had to be helped off the field. He was diagnosed with a Grade 3 turf toe injury, and any hope of playing again this season couldn't be avoided without going under the knife. 

A quick reaction would put some blame on Burrow for being injury-prone. After all, he missed the final six games of his rookie year after tearing up his knee, then had to sit out the same amount of time following a torn ligament in his wrist during the 2023 season. I can't argue against it.

However, a fair amount of the blame may fall on the organization for failing to adequately protect its franchise, as evidenced by this post circulating on social media.

Luck's departure from the game has sent the Colts on a quixotic search for their next quarterback, something the former #1 overall pick should still be. Could the same happen to the Bengals? Zac Taylor put the ball in Burrow's hands the minute they drafted him, for obvious reasons. His processing speed, deft touch, and exceptional in-pocket movement elevated Cincy from cellar dweller into a legitimate contender. But what makes him great also makes him hang in the pocket for that split-second longer.

"I get it, I understand where people are going to come from," said Taylor on Monday. "It's going to be very attacking of us and our style of play that's got us to a Super Bowl and an AFC Championship and two division titles and won a lot of games for us. We are always evaluating how we can protect our players and put them in the best position possible. I take accountability for that. If people want to blame me for putting him in a position, I'm fine taking that. We'll continue to put the best plan forward to put Jake (Browning) in a great position to go help us beat Minnesota."

“I think we’ve built this team organizationally, and we’ve devoted resources to what we think makes us one of, we believe, the most explosive, best passing offenses in football,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “And I think over the course of time, we’ve shown that we at least belong in that conversation. There is risk. No matter what you choose to do, you are going to incur risk. We have special skill players. We want to accentuate those skill players. We try to do both things.”

The Bengals have dumped a ton of money into Burrow and their two best pass catchers (Chase and Higgins), but it's not as if they haven't spent on the line. From 2022-24, they were in the top-10 league-wide in cap dollars invested in that position. However, some poor drafting - they struggle to hit on guards - and a healthy financial swing at tackle La'El Collins that failed because he got hurt, have not allowed them to be the group that Burrow deserves, or this offense needs. 

The entire organization, from ownership through Taylor and Burrow himself, will need to reevaluate how to advance going forward and perhaps become more risk-averse in the pocket. But that's for later. Now? Backup Jake Browning ascends to the same role he held in '23, with hopes that he can keep this team competitive until - if? - Burrow gets back.

PARSONS PUSHING PACK    

If the first two games of his Green Bay tenure are a sign of things to come, the Packers fleeced the Cowboys in their trade for Micah Parsons. 

Despite holding out all summer, Parsons is tied for eighth in the league in quarterback pressures with 10 (Trey Hendrickson is tops with 14). The attention he gets has allowed DeVonte Wyatt (11), Rashaan Gary (9, including 2.5 sacks), and Lukas Van Ness (5) to feast on single blocks, and the Packers' defense is thriving. They are third in total yards, second in rushing yards, fourth in points (15.5), and haven't allowed a 100-yard receiver because, let's face it, quarterbacks don't have time to attack the intermediate or deeper areas of the field. 

"Micah Parsons is by far one of the most competitive people I've met in my life," said Jordan Love. "He wants to win everything he does. That's just a little mindset that he is bringing to the team and obviously to that room. It's that infectious energy, knowing what type of player he is, and the way he plays the game, I think he is going to make everyone better.".

"Getting Micah over here, it changed up their [defense] whole personality," WR Malik Heath admired. "They're going to get it. They've been running to the ball, but now, like, they're on a whole different level. I feel like we've got the best defense in the league as of right now. ... That D-line is going to set the tone; everybody else is going to follow."

For as good as it's been for this unit, it could get better once the snap count restriction is lifted. Parsons only logged 45% in the opener and 67% against the Commanders.

"I just hope I'm full go," Parsons said. "Honestly, it's pissing me off. I tell them, '[Limited snaps] does worse than good, I get tight and stuff.' Hopefully, they just let me off. They can't hold a dog back forever, man."

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' defense allowed the QB to hold the ball a league-high 3.67 seconds in their season-opening loss to Philly, then allowed Russell Wilson to throw for 450 yards in an overtime win. Mercy. 

DANNY DOLLARS?

Rigoberto Sanchez gets paid to be the punter for the Indianapolis Colts, but through two games thus far, he hasn't been called on once. That's what happens when your offense scores on an NFL record 10 straight possessions of the season (over two games).

If all had gone according to plan, former first-round pick Anthony Richardson would be running this juggernaut. Instead, it's veteran Daniel Jones who has this group humming.

“I think the consistency that he brings, his preparation, and it’s coming to life on the field on Sundays. He works at it,” head coach Shane Steichen said earlier this week. “I think he’s doing a really nice job of going through his reads. If the first read is not there, he’s getting to his second, third reads."

Jones is currently completing 71% of his passes for nearly 600 yards, while averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. He's also done a terrific job of handling pressure, specifically this past weekend when the Broncos dialed up 25 blitzes. All Jones did was throw for 265 yards on 5+ man rushes, which is the fourth-highest total in a single game since Next Gen Stats began tracking the number back in 2016.

“I think when you start playing at a high level, obviously your confidence grows and builds, not with just Daniel, with any player,” said Steichen. “And obviously, we want to continue that trend each and every week, and he’s been doing a hell of a job. So, we’ve got to continue that this week. The preparation is going to be a big part of it.”

Jones isn't doing this alone. The offensive line, which underwent significant changes on the interior (new starting center and right guard), has been sound - "doing a hell of a job," said Steichen. Running back Jonathan Taylor looks like the same guy who was an MVP candidate in 2021 (he leads the NFL in rushing). Rookie tight end Tyler Warren is already a dude (11 catches, 155 yards), and there is plenty of talent in the wide receiver room. However, Jones has been the straw that stirs the drink, a nice turn of events for a player unceremoniously dumped by the Giants during last season, and who also heard the doubts when he was named the starter in August.

"You know what people are saying, and you know what the narrative is in a lot of situations," he said. "So, yeah, a little bit (of satisfaction). But I think I've realized - and I think I said this last week - I've played a few years now, and one game, two games, don't make a season."

He's not wrong about that. Look at the Saints' offense last year, which put up 47 and 44 points in their first games before cratering, losing 7 straight and 12 of their final 15.

Indy plays its first road tilt on Sunday, visiting 0-2 Tennessee.

NERD NUMBERS

- Of the Patriots' 9 sacks, 8 have come from 2025 free agent signings.

- Josh Jacobs has scored a rush TD in each of his last 11 games (including playoffs). The only players in the previous 40 seasons with longer streaks are HOF LaDainian Tomlinson and HOF Emmitt Smith.

- The Browns have 2 rookies with 100+ scrimmage yards in 2025 (TE Harold Fannin Jr. & RB Dylan Sampson); the rest of the NFL has 3 such rookies (Tet McMillan, Warren, Emeka Egbuka).  Browns rookies have combined for 28 receptions (most by any team through 2 games in the Super Bowl era).

- The Eagles have averaged just 119.0 pass YPG over 2 games in 2025 (2-0 W-L). 2nd-fewest in NFL ahead of only Tennessee (102.5; TEN is 0-2).

- The Saints opened a season with back-to-back home losses for the first time since 1994.

- The Seahawks defense has allowed 17 points in each of their first 2 games in  2025. The last time Seattle started the season with three straight games allowing 17 points or fewer was 2013, when it led the NFL in scoring and total defense and won Super Bowl XLVIII.

- Rome Odunze has caught all 3 of Caleb Williams' pass TD in 2025 (T-most rec TD in NFL).

- Christian McCaffrey is averaging just 62.0 rush YPG and 3.5 yds/carry in 2025 (0 rush TD). That's McCaffrey’s fewest yards/carry in career (4.7 career avg before 2025).