FOXBOROUGH - Time for the latest chapter in the ongoing saga: “Is or isn’t Drake Maye’s right shoulder injured?”
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told us he “believed he (Maye) got dinged” in Sunday’s game against the Jaguars.
“We haven't had a big meeting and talked about specifically like exactly when this or that or the other happened,” he said. “But yeah, he ran the ball a few times last week, and I think that's when it happened.”
Ok, with that response, we now know why Maye made his first appearance on the practice report (full participant - shoulder) mere minutes after I asked him if his shoulder had impacted his throwing at all.
“No,” was the very first word of his response, which is why I thought this was being put to bed. Instead, Mike Vrabel, who Monday said he wasn’t aware of any issues, will almost certainly field questions about it during his normal Friday press conference. It also meant McDaniels was asked if he had to alter how he called games or change the work they did during practice.
“It has not,” he said. “He's always been a guy that can run and do things with his legs and all that, and he's taken a few hits since he's been in the National Football League. That's kind of part of the process when you can make things happen with your legs. You're gonna incur some hits.
“So he - they - would obviously tell me if there was something that we felt like we couldn't do, or he couldn't do. That has not been the case. I know he's a tough kid. I know that for sure. Doesn't make a big deal out of much, and so it's business as usual for us.”
Will it stay that way, considering when McDaniels thinks the ding happened? Wonderfully (he wrote, sarcastically), we’ll get to monitor that Sunday afternoon in Buffalo, though, as Maye reminded us, the shoulder does not affect his brain/decision-making. That’s been the real problem.
Maye has been hesitant to let it fly, but my film study says it’s not about the shoulder; it’s the uncertainty about what he’s seeing from opposing defenses and his own receivers. Add a heavy dose of protection issues and this is far from just a quarterback problem. But part of the challenge is getting Maye to play more comfortably and confidently, though that last part isn't something McDaniels worries about when it comes to his quarterback.
“I've played golf with him. Pickleball with him. I've watched him play football, and I'm not really sure what changes that for him. He's blessed in that regard. When I hit a tee shot in the woods, my confidence is shattered and I'm going to do it again and again and again. He doesn't really do that. He can do that, and then the next one's down the middle. It's 340, and you're sitting there going, "How did that happen?
“And I think that’s what his mindset is, and it's the way you have to be as a quarterback. It's not too dissimilar to being a cornerback. When you say you've got to have a short memory, yeah, you're going to give up a catch. But quarterbacks, you know, if you throw the ball enough, something bad's going to happen.”
It has for Maye, quite a bit over the last three weeks (6 interceptions), or even dating back to last year’s playoffs (threw 4 in 4 games). Some of his issues stand alone, and some are a byproduct of what’s going on around him. In week one, it was the left guard in particular, and some receiver trouble. The following week, it was Jared Wilson and the right guards. Last weekend, it was the right guards, right tackle, slot receiver, and tight end. I wondered if McDaniels felt handcuffed - and again, not to use as a lifeline or excuse - by not knowing where the next leak might spring.
“I don't really have the ability to do that because if I don't trust what I see on the practice field and I don't trust the preparation that the guys are putting in, then I'm not doing them a service,” he said. “Sometimes you have to protect something that's a weakness. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to figure out what those are, but I love the challenge of it.
“I honestly think that a lot of times these scenarios during the course of a season end up being blessings at the end of the year because you get to what you need to get to quicker because you're in it.”
There is no doubt they are in it knee-deep, especially the quarterback, and it doesn’t look like a quick or easy way out. This is a challenge, arguably the biggest of Maye’s young career. But internally, they still believe they’ll get this right, even as the noise grows louder with every passing day/week.