To quote one of my favorite movies, 'Almost Famous', it's all happening.
At least, I think it is.
Drake Maye is starting to string together one high-level performance after another. He was nearly flawless in a week 2 win at Miami - his best game as a pro - and toyed with Carolina on Sunday in a 42-13 rout of the Panthers.
If the Patriots are to emerge from the throes of the general malaise that has gripped this franchise tightly for the last several seasons, Maye must transform from a symbol of hope into a tangible reality. That must be rooted in consistency, whether it's throwing, running, improvising, or leading. We've all seen the flashes before, but now they seem increasingly like the norm.
The nerd numbers love him right now. He is third in EPA/CPOE composite, sixth in adjusted EPA per play, fourth in EPA per play, and seventh in success rate.
If you're into more traditional statistics, Maye leads the league in completion percentage (74%), ranks sixth in yards (988), and 11th in QBR (63.9).
Is the best version of the second-year pro emerging?
"Yeah, I sure hope so," he said postgame. "If it leads to wins, that's what I'm trying to become and the quarterback I'm trying to become. I try to do it my whole career, spread it around, and give it to the guys that can make plays.
"I think everybody's got a chance on our team - our skill guys - to give them a problem. I think we've got guys on the team that are great with the football in their hands, and I try to do my best job to get the ball to them quick and don't hold it."
Against the Panthers, Maye gave the game what it needed, and in many ways, it felt like he was toying with that defense. Aside from a couple of throws, the ball went where it was supposed to go and went there accurately. Better yet, on the rare occasions where the pocket got muddy and there was danger around him, Maye protected the football, heeding the lesson from last week's otherwise outstanding performance versus the Steelers. Specifically, he took a sack in the third quarter on a play eerily similar to the critical fumble two Sundays ago. I made a note next to my playsheet that read "growth," but Maye wasn't all that thrilled with himself afterward.
"Yeah, I'll probably throw it away too," he said. "Don't take a hit and don't give those guys up front a one-yard sack. They hate me for that, and I apologize to them (smiles). Other than that, yeah, if there's nothing there, just try to live for the next play, live another day. Just learn that, and I think it leads to good things."
Several plays later, the 23-year-old produced his finest play of the day. It came off play action, and Maye immediately rolled to his left. Hunter Henry came across the formation on a slide route, and the throw traveled maybe a handful of yards. But it was his ability to create a throwing window in a crowd - with a defender in his face - and dip his arm angle to zip the ball in accurately and with pace, that gives you a taste of how high the second-year pro's ceiling truly is.
"He's becoming a problem," a scout from an AFC team texted me. "You can see his comfort in the system grow, and he's starting to understand what he can and can not get away with."
The other play that stood out to me came from the pocket. Facing a third-and-15 - and trust me, no offensive coordinator has a long list of plays to eat up that yardage - Maye showed patience in the pocket, allowing a double in-breakers to develop. When he got his chance, he rocketed a second-window throw to Stefon Diggs for the first down. It helped that Maye was protected well - the Panthers rushed just four - but there were no ants in his pants. A calmness emerged, again showcasing his growth.
"Seeing him be able to grow, and see the field a little bit easier, is always awesome," added wide receiver Mack Hollins.
That's not to say this will be a linear progression. There have been a handful of plays this year, including the two critical turnovers versus Pittsburgh, that gave me pause, and why "I think" is near the top of this story. But so long as Maye isn't an error-repeater - and he sure as hell wasn't yesterday - then there's no reason not to think he can't continue on this track.