SAN JOSE, Calif - File under nothing to see here.
Drake Maye’s shoulder, which has certainly been the Patriots' most heavily scrutinized body part since that time Tom Brady ripped up his hand, no longer seems to be an issue. Not that we thought it was a five-alarm fire to begin with.
Talking at Super Bowl’s media night, Maye said he felt as though his shoulder turned the corner on the flight out to the West Coast. In what Mike Vrabel called a “bonus” practice on Monday, Maye told the massive media throng, “I threw as much today as I would in a normal practice.”
"I feel good. I'll be just fine," Maye said. "I felt great and looking forward to getting back out there Wednesday and Thursday for practice and Friday to get ready for a normal week of prep.
"I turned a corner landing on the flight (to San Francisco on Sunday). I felt good from the flight and throwing out there today, I think it turned the corner, and I really had no doubt being 100% for the game, this is the Super Bowl. We get two weeks to prepare for it and do whatever we got to do to get it right. I've got confidence and feel good."
There are no “official” reports until Wednesday, but no one in the Pats’ camp seems remotely concerned. In other words, they feel the same way they did last week, but it certainly helped to see their quarterback spin it today and spin it well.
“I thought that ball came out good,” Vrabel said. “I thought it was a crisp practice for Drake and for everybody else.”
“He'll be fine,” added Josh McDaniels. “He's good. He's in a good place.”
For a 23-year-old kid, Maye didn’t seem at all fazed by the bright lights of this night. He carried a bemused look on his face as some of the out-of-left-field questions were tossed his way, and he handled them gracefully for nearly an hour. Just for color’s sake, at various points Maye’s “media” audience included a woman wearing a tiara, a guy dressed as a dragon, and someone in a bedazzled vest that temporarily blinded me.
Maye’s “injury” wasn’t the only one that drew attention. Both Robert Spillane (ankle) and Harold Landry (knee) were put at podiums, a little odd for the latter considering he hasn't played recently. Vrabel wouldn’t get into details about either’s availability - he’s not in the prediction business - but there was confidence exuding from both.
“Of course, I anticipate being out there,” Spillane said. “I’ve been doing everything required of me to make sure that I'm where I need to be, today, tomorrow, I'll be where I need to be, and Wednesday we'll practice and go from there. I love being in such a great organization with the training staff that really cares for me and wants to do everything they can to help me get out there.”
Landry seems to be a bit more of a projection. He still has a little hitch in his giddy-up. I’m not a doctor, but I occasionally play one in print.
“I mean, we'll see how the week goes,” Landry said. “But yeah, I would anticipate that (playing on Sunday).”
As for the rest of this night, it wasn’t nearly the bleep show that it normally is. Perhaps it’s the venue - the cavernous and dark San Jose Convention Center - the lack of fan involvement (the place wasn’t built for it), or maybe it’s this game’s lack of star power, as one National writer observed. But the festivities had a more muted feel. That still didn’t prevent one inane question after another from being asked.
For instance, Mack Hollins drew quite the crowd, as you would expect. This type of atmosphere is right in his wheelhouse. One “reporter” took a video of Hollins’ bare feet and wondered when the well-traveled receiver actually wears shoes (besides the game).
“So bathrooms and airports. Airports for FAA reasons, bathrooms for bathroom reasons,” he expounded. “Below 35 I usually don't - if it's gonna be for extended periods of time, but if it's for a short period of time, I'll wear nothing… Oh, and if I'm going out with the guys. I'll wear them because I don't want to kick us all out of the restaurant if I'm by myself. I've been kicked out of many a restaurant.”
Later, Hollins was asked to rate feet - he declined - and if he had any “weird” fans.
“Oh yeah, yeah, like people that don't want to take a picture of me,” he said with a wide smile on his face. “They just, yeah, they just take pictures of my feet. I mean, I'm really not capitalizing on the money out there. But some things you just gotta let live.”
I heard Will Campbell get asked who he’d want to be stranded on the Golden Gate Bridge with (he said Christian Barmore), Garrett Bradbury tell tales of the offensive linemen’s weekly dinner - “We drain about 60 Shirley Temples” - and Tommy DeVito give his best hard count to draw defenders offside. I guess it’s all fine, well and good for one night. Tomorrow, back to our regularly scheduled programming (Pats media availability at the team hotel is at 11 AM local).