This could go very, very wrong for me, but here it goes ...
I wouldn't mind seeing the Patriots trailing the Jaguars on Sunday, preferably early in the second half, to help lock Drake Maye back in.
Wait, what?
Hang on, hear me out.
I already feel good about Maye going back to his native South. Sometimes, it just feels better to be back to what you're used to. For Maye, a North Carolina native, that would include the heat, sun, humidity, and that familiar Bermuda grass at Everbank Stadium. For an athlete, those sights, smells, and the feel are almost like slipping back into your childhood, or a favorite pair of well-worn shoes. It can just bring a real sense of comfort and the ability to be free.
A deficit on the scoreboard wouldn't be bad either. If that happens, Maye will be forced to drop the game-manager act that has locked his brain for the first two weeks, leaving him no choice but to make plays and let it rip.
I've seen that movie before for Maye: last season's trip to Miami, when the quarterback, surrounded by questions all week after a poor performance in a loss to the Raiders, put together his best career game to that point. It included a fast start (led 12-0, thanks to two Andy Borregales missed extra points), and a touchdown drive after trailing 20-15 late in the third quarter.
(How about this quote, considering all the talk about decisiveness this week, from Mike Vrabel about Maye's performance the day after: "Hugely efficient," Vrabel said on that Monday. "The ball went where it was supposed to go. He was decisive. I thought he did a great job of transferring up into the pocket, setting his depth, and then transferring up, being really good with the football.")
Sign me up for that script again.
I think part of the problem for Maye to this point is that he's been too focused on not losing the game, as he did in Seattle. Did you know the Patriots have led or been tied for 95% of game action this season? It's not just Maye, either. Being in striking distance (especially against the Seahawks) led Vrabel and Josh McDaniels to play more conservatively. And I don't blame them, not that it will help your fantasy (or mine; yes, I have Maye). They didn't want the Seahawks' defense and defensive line to wreck the game early in a repeat of the Super Bowl. Against the Steelers and that putrid offense, the Patriots didn't need to risk anything offensively to secure that important first victory.
But it's not a great way for Maye to play, at least as a 24-year-old. He'll probably grow into a smart game manager who can push and pull the risk level at will, but he's not there yet. And that's OK.
As we saw last season, Maye seems to need the chips down a bit to really get his juices flowing. Maye played great in an eventual comeback against the Dolphins in Week 2. In Week 3, the Steelers led 14-0, and then Maye brought the Patriots back to tie the game (before his second turnover cost them). The Panthers took an early lead in Week 4, before Maye and the Patriots put on the afterburners for a 42-13 win. Then the QB and the team made a statement in the Week 5 23-20 victory at Buffalo ... when the team trailed midway through the third quarter.
I understand there's a lot of consternation and questions about the offense, namely why McDaniels and Maye aren't being more aggressive, at least compared to some teams.
This will continue until the Patriots reach a place where they have season-to-season continuity among Maye's targets and the offensive line. They could have done that this season by retaining Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte and center Garrett Bradbury (keeping Jared Wilson at left guard for another season). All three were under contract this season, but the Patriots chose to move on from them.
They put a lot of assets into upgrading with A.J. Brown (Boutte), Romeo Doubs (Diggs) and Alijah Vera-Tucker (Bradbury, with Wilson moving to his more natural center position).
It obviously has not worked well through two games. You could easily argue that if the Patriots ran it back (not to mention Brown's injury), Maye and the offense would have started the season much faster.
But this wasn't about two games. This was about making the Patriots, especially on offense, more formidable in a restocked AFC while facing a much more difficult schedule. Say the Patriots did run it back. What would their ceiling really be? How did the offense and Maye look in the AFC playoffs going against tough defenses and struggling/backup quarterbacks?
Now think of the Patriots, assuming everything goes well, entering the postseason this year with all those upgrades. A year ago, what chance would you give them in a postseason shootout against Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen?
What about this year, with Brown, Doubs (hopefully), and a much more capable offensive line?
Again, the Patriots didn't make those moves to be better in Week 2 or 3. They did it with the long term in mind, to make the Patriots worthy of challenging for a Super Bowl after being outgunned against Seattle.
"Well, of course," Vrabel said. "When you are looking at the roster, it’s looking at the vision for each player. And talking about the offensive line, we had a vision for Jared and what he was going to play and where he was going to be. And I thought, he did what I felt like was his best at guard. But ultimately, those are decisions that we have to always make, where you’re going to get the best out of each player. And then the other guys, Diggs was a free agent (sic, that's not correct). Again, you have to weigh those every year and how we construct it.
"But we’re certainly always looking for sustained success, being able to do that and not just for six weeks or eight weeks. I think everything we do is trying to have a vision and then pivot from there. If somebody gets injured or something happens, we have to be willing to adjust and coach the next guys, and I think you’re going to see that here at outside linebacker this week."
Part of the vision, it should be pointed out, is giving Maye that needed continuity heading into 2027. After rebuilding the team the past two offseasons, the only offensive starter set to be a free agent after this season is Mike Onwenu. Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas are also free agents, but could be retained or extended depending on what happens this season.
But yes, it has not worked well through 12 percent of the schedule. Brown is out, and Doubs needs to run his routes better. Maye needs to learn to trust his new targets, and the returners who have been put into bigger roles (like DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams). Maye also needs to figure out how to play behind and trust his blockers (now it's, in essence, three new linemen with Greg Van Roten in for Mike Onwenu).
A lot of season left to play out to see if this vision becomes reality.
But, at least for this week, a trip south of the Mason-Dixon line and the need to rally on the scoreboard might just be what the doctor ordered for Maye and the Patriots' stagnant offense.