Bedard's Breakdown: Film backs up that Drake Maye is scuffling right now with new surrounding cast

Breaking down some of the 12 minus plays (plus the interception penalty of an additional -1) — and a few where I didn't even penalize Drake Maye — I ascribed to the quarterback, which led to his worst-ever grade under my scoring (only 29 dropbacks hurt the percentage) in the win over the Steelers:

1-10-PIT 34 (11:32) D.Maye pass short left to R.Stevenson to PIT 31 for 3 yards (N.Herbig). FUMBLES (N.Herbig), RECOVERED by PIT-P.Wilson at PIT31.

So I did not dock Maye for this play, but I could have, as Dan Orlovsky explains better than I could. Basically, Eli Raridon is the No. 1 on this play and comes wide open, perhaps for a touchdown, but Maye bails on the play and takes the acceptable checkdown to Rhamondre Stevenson (although Maye could stand to throw it a little harder to give the back more time to prepare for the defense).

1-10-PIT 49 (10:17) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete short left to R.Gilliam.

Pressure is not much of a factor until the very end of the play, and Maye has plenty of options. This is the first of two examples where Maye could throw the Cover 2 hole shot to Kyle Williams, but Maye turns it down. If that's Kayshon Boutte, does Maye turn it down as well? I don't know, but I've seen him make this throw by tossing a howitzer. In any event, Maye's footwork is terrible on the checkdown to Reggie Gilliam, and Maye sails the pass.

3-5-PIT 44 (9:26) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at NE 46 for  -10 yards (J.Ramsey).
PENALTY on PIT-A.Highsmith, Defensive Offside, 4 yards, enforced at PIT 44 - No Play.

This ends up being no play, but I still count those plays if there's pressure (the QB's mind doesn't just erase it), and Maye goes down here. I put this on Maye because he identified another player as the Mike. If Jalen Ramsey blitzes from his linebacker spot, which he does, then Maye has to know that player is on him and scramble or throw the ball away. QBs should never take unneccessary shots, even if the play doesn't count. 

1-11-PIT 11 (1:08) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at PIT 14 for -3 yards (sack split by D.Harmon and T.Watt). NE-M.Onwenu was injured during the play.

This is a good play call against this zone defense — Hunter Henry to the flat, Mack Hollins curling around the linebacker — if Maye can get the linebacker to move toward Henry with some sort of fake toward the tight end (I've seen him do it last season). If Maye does that, Hollins is wide open and likely scores. But Maye doesn't do that, and he also doesn't throw Hollins open, so he attempts to scramble. He has to stop scrambling on these three-step drops where a tackle (or both) are cutting the ends, which Morgan Moses does here. But the time Maye tucks the ball, TJ Watt is off the ground and coming after him. Maye has three options: throw to Henry immediately, throw to Hollins, or throw the ball away. Don't take a sack, even if it's -3 yards. Between Morgan Moses' false start and this, the Patriots are a net -8 after starting at the 6-yard line. Bad football.

3-10-PIT 10 (15:00) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at PIT 12 for -2 yards (A.Highsmith).

This is probably Maye's worst play of the game, considering he bails on it almost immediately, and I just realized this, AGAINST A THREE-MAN RUSH!

Maye has options on this play, starting with Romeo Doubs on a slant that might score if Maye wants to throw immediately.

He also has Hunter Henry coming open for a touchdown if he hangs in the pocket, or if he releases to his right out of the pocket instead of up the middle where two Steelers are spying him.

This is just bad quarterbacking.

1-10-NE 31 (6:44) (Shotgun) D.Maye scrambles right end to NE 38 for 7 yards (R.Jenkins).

Another play I did not give him a minus, but I could have, considering the great protection. Williams is open on the hole shot for the second time, and Maye has checkdown options to Reggie Gilliam and Hunter Henry. I don't love Mack Hollins deep right, I would turn that down. But I would love to see the Williams hole shot at some point (look for it next game). Maye got 7 on the scramble, so I left it alone.

3-6-NE 35 (5:21) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete short middle to D.Douglas (A.Highsmith).

This is another brutal miss, this time on third down. Yes, Greg Van Roten is losing his pass block, but if Maye delivers the pass to DeMario Douglas on time — before/as he gets out of his break — this is easily a first down, and probably a lot more. But Maye, because he needs to confirm the receiver is open, is a beat, almost two beats, late and his arm is hit and the pass is deflected. An elite, confident quarterback makes this play in his sleep. It doesn't get any better than that.

1-10-NE 47 (:12) (Shotgun) PENALTY on NE, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at NE 47 - No Play.

Unless the play call comes in late (it didn't), this is always on the quarterback. That Maye didn't even see the clock expiring is evidence, to me, that his brain is a little locked right now, and he's not dialed in.

1-10-NE 20 (1:48) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at NE 8 for -12 yards (T.Watt).

There are multiple issues on this play (I don't think Romeo Doubs ran his route correctly, and I have no clue what Hunter Henry and/or TreVeyon Henderson are doing, both blocking Jalen Ramsey), but Maye can't take a 12-yard sack here on first down when Morgan Moses was doing his job against Watt. I think Maye was trying to escape to throw on the run to Henry, but Maye would have been better served, with errors going on around him, just escaping the pocket up the middle and getting what he can. It's unacceptable to take a 12-yard sack.

2-12-NE 38 (11:24) (Shotgun) D.Maye scrambles up the middle to PIT 49 for 13 yards (R.Jenkins).

I docked Maye for taking a hit at the end of the scramble, but I don't have a huge issue with it. But I would really love to see him just throw the ball to Douglas and see what he can do with it. He's open pretty quickly.

3-9-PIT 48 (10:04) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete short right to R.Doubs.

I split this between Maye (could have been a better throw) and Doubs (could have caught it). They both need to be better and hit these layups.

2-11-NE 31 (4:24) R.Stevenson left guard to NE 32 for 1 yard (J.Brisker; D.Harmon).

I may be wrong on this, but I thought Maye allowed the Patriots to run into a bad look where the safety was waiting in the hole. But this could have been run blocking (Cam Latu).

_______________

Maye certainly had some good plays — I had him for five plus throws, including four facing pressure — but he left a lot of plays on the field, mostly due to his lack of conviction in his protection (sometimes that was warranted) and his receivers (again, sometimes that was warranted). But for this offense to get going in Jacksonville, Maye is going to have to find some conviction and quickly. No, it's not perfect around him, but it's good enough to be playing better than this. And I'm sure he knows that.

Here are the positional ratings against the Steelers:

OFFENSE

Quarterback (1 out of 5)

We've been over much of this, but Maye accounted for 4.5 of 13 total QB pressures (35%). That's way too much.

Running backs (2.5 out of 5)

I thought Rhamondre Stevenson ran really well outside the fumble, which just can't happen, with two broken tackles, a good 24-yard run, and a tough 9-yard run. ... This was the full TreVeyon Henderson experience again, except he was a much-improved pass blocker with three good blitz pickups (one did result in a hurry, but it was still good). That could get him on the field more, and they need him to become a checkdown merchant. I did not love his stuff on 2nd-and-1 (he needs to find a way to get that yard, even if Jared Wilson was taking an L), and his 7-yard run in the third quarter had a lot of meat left on the bone, but he just ran into the safety. ... Fullback Reggie Gilliam has not made an impact to this point. Will that change?

Receivers (2.5 out of 5)

Romeo Doubs ended up a minus for me, despite his two explosive plays (wide open), with his fumble, at least one bad route (where he ended up in the same spot as Douglas, and possibly another), and splitting that final drop with Maye. ... Newcomer at TE, Cam Latu, was not impressive with his blocking, which he's known for. ... I didn't even realize Mack Hollins played 39 snaps until after the game. The Steelers pretty much shut down his patented deep dig.

Offensive line (2.5 out of 5)

What a comeback game for Alijah Vera-Tucker, as he became one of the few linemen to post a positive grade in my system (I'm stingy with the plusses for offensive linemen). He showed strength and toughness in this game, which I'm not sure he had in him. Wonder if somebody was challenged this week. ... Will Campbell was once again very good. ... Jared Wilson had a really rough game, but some of it was offset by four plus blocks. ... Morgan Moses had a below-average game for him against T.J. Watt. It would be average to good for most linemen. ... Greg Van Roten was not good coming on for Mike Onwenu, but he could have been rusty (i.e. Vera-Tucker). I'd give him a full week of preparation and practice reps, and then see what happens on Sunday. If this level of play continues, they might have to go to Ben Brown quickly.

DEFENSE

Defensive line (5 out of 5)

I largely have no notes on the entire defense, and they basically bullied a weakling (elder abuse alert on Aaron Rodgers!). Not one player had a negative grade as the Patriots covered their asses off again, and Zak Kuhr blitzed like Rodgers stole something from him. ... The line was basically flawless, with Elijah Ponder, Cory Durden and Gabe Jacas leading the way. There was a video going around of Rodgers praising Jacas after the game. I think that's because when using the preseason film to scout Jacas (when he had no clue and was an out of control tornado), the Steelers targeted him with deceptive plays like boots and read option. The one problem? Jacas does not fall for those anymore. Talk about a quick turnaround. Kudos to Jacas and coach Mike Smith. ... Didn't see much out of newcomer Daquan Jones, who looks smaller than he did with the Bills last year. Guess he's more of a three-technique than a nose tackle now.

Linebackers (5 out of 5)

Christian Elliss is off to a fast start this season and looks faster on the field. He's all over the place. ... Kuhr's attacking gameplan allowed Robert Spillane to get downhill, which helped after a rough Seattle game. But he also had two excellent downfield coverages in Tampa 2.

Secondary (4 out of 5)

Christian Gonzalez is basically pitching a shutout through two games. The overrated D.K. Metcalf was no match for him. ... Charles Woods stepped up for Carlton Davis with good coverage, and Marcus Jones was very good, too. The Patriots' three corners and their tight coverage are giving the Patriots a big advantage and setting up the pass rush. ... Better out of the safeties, but I need to see more. Jaylen Reed had two impressive covers/tackles to start his appearance for Craig Woodson, and then had a pretty big whiff tackle on the 26-yard run.

THREE UP

CB Christian Gonzalez: He's a different cat this season. Impressive.

DE Elijah Ponder: Was all over the field from a stuffed run on the first play of the game. Pretty good athlete.

LG Alijah Vera-Tucker: I thought Cam Heyward was going to wipe the floor with the veteran. I was wrong. AVT was doing the wiping. Quite the turnaround from Seattle.

THREE DOWN

QB Drake Maye: Time to buck up. Even if he's not confident in what's around him, he needs to find some, because no offense is good with an unconfident quarterback. Fake it until you make it, Drake.

RG Greg Van Roten: Not going to hit the panic button yet, but that was bad. He gets one more game to show he's still got it.

C Jared Wilson: He had a lot of good plays, but way too many bad ones. Maye feeling confident would start with his center not getting beaten right off the snap several times.