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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Maye’s development: Bill Parcells’ pithy responses to reporters’ questions were enjoyed by many in New England during his tenure as Patriots head coach from 1993-96. But it’s something Parcells said during his final stop, as Cowboys head coach from 2003-2006, that is timely to revisit now that Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo announced veteran Jacoby Brissett will start at quarterback over rookie Drake Maye.
Parcells had kept undrafted free agent quarterback Tony Romo on the Dallas roster in 2003 and it later became clear that Romo had potential to grow into something greater. At one point, Parcells was asked, “What do you have to lose putting Romo in there?”
To which he replied: “You have the quarterback to lose if he’s not ready. That’s one of the problems with young quarterbacks that get picked with high expectations or get rushed into situations that don’t allow them to succeed.”
No situation is the same, of course, but the Patriots are following Parcells’ blueprint with Maye — for now, at least.
“There’s two ways to look at it. Obviously I want to play, the competitive edge in me. At the same time, I understand the situation. Jacoby has been in the offense and got reps with the 1s all camp … I feel like I left it all out there. No regrets coming back.” – QB Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/WETP1EVuL4
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 29, 2024
Some steadfastly agree with it, Tom Brady among them. Others believe the best way for young quarterbacks to learn is by playing right away.
With the Patriots declaring their intentions, the question now is what things will look like for Maye behind the scenes to prepare him for whenever the call comes.
“I lived that life,” former ESPN analyst Matt Hasselbeck said, referring to his 1999 season with the Packers. “Mike McCarthy was the quarterbacks coach and he wore me out mentally every day.
“The night before games, I would run the quarterback meeting and go over the game plan with Brett Favre to hold Brett’s attention and develop me in case I had to play because I wasn’t getting reps during the week. It was ‘You’re going to be the teacher here. Get up in front of the class and install X Dagger Y Shallow Cross to Brett Favre.’ I can’t say it enough how much that benefited me.”
Such an approach has been a staple of the Packers’ culture, which first-year Patriots executive vice president of personnel Eliot Wolf grew up watching as his father, Ron, was the team’s general manager in the 1990s.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, whose “QB Confidential” breakdown of Maye shares some of his insights on his game, had a similar experience with the Rams in 1998 learning behind Trent Green.
“The biggest thing you do when you’re in that position is you try to get as many mental reps as you can. For me, any time Trent did something in the offense, I was asking him ‘Why?’ I was fortunate he was very open with me,” he said. “I was watching through the play as Trent was running it, and saying ‘OK, this is what I would have done.'”
In New England, Brissett and Maye have lockers next to each other and have pledged to have a similar dynamic.
“He came up to me and said, ‘Whatever you need, I’m here for [you].’ And it’s the same thing for him — whatever he needs from me, I’ll do the same,” Brissett explained.
Maye shared his perspective, saying: “I’m here to help Jacoby and keep the vibes in the quarterback room up. Nothing’s going to change. I’m still rooting for him. … Him being almost 10 years in the NFL, me being in my first year, it’s a learning experience. I grill him with questions.”
For Warner, running the scout-team offense also proved invaluable.
“I was competing and the beautiful thing was I got to go against our best defense every single day. It wasn’t set up for us to succeed, you’re actually set up for failure. That helped me hone my skills,” he said.
Former Patriots backup quarterback Jim Miller, who had a nine-year NFL career, said it will be critical for Maye to adopt a starter’s mentality, something Maye himself also referenced Thursday when he acknowledged he’s “one snap away.” It can be hard to do as the backup.
“The best thing for him is to prepare his fanny off and the coaches will be able to assess how much of the game plan he is absorbing. They’re going to see that out on the field with how he practices — ‘All right, he understands this concept, he understands this,'” Miller, now a host on Sirius XM NFL Radio, said.
“Then I think at some point in the season, the math is going to dictate the young man is ready to go and ‘Let’s put him in there.’ The only thing that would put him in the lineup sooner is if Jacoby Brissett turns over the football a lot. Coaches can handle a rookie making those mistakes. They can’t handle a veteran making a whole bunch of turnovers.”
Hasselbeck’s belief is that the best-case scenario for Maye is the Patriots winning games while developing him behind the scenes.
“But if I’m Drake Maye, I’m planning on playing right now. The odds are that your starter does get hurt and you’re going to have to go,” he said. “And once you go, you’re probably never coming out.”
2. Onwenu’s gesture: Offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, who signed a three-year, $57 million contract in the offseason, fulfilled a longtime dream by purchasing a new home for his parents and three siblings in Michigan.
“We all grew up under each other, and as the last born, I was the last one in the home,” he explained. “That was the only thing I wanted to do [after the contract].”
As for his fifth year with the team, Onwenu acknowledged that he wasn’t present for the first few weeks of the voluntary offseason program in the spring because of personal reasons, and that he could have started training camp off stronger.
“I think I came in at an OK spot. I probably didn’t do as much as I wanted to throughout the summer, but I’m not ashamed of how I came in or anything like that. I still felt like I could do what I do,” he said.
“I settled down a week before. I was going to be doing a lot of running. When I came in, I was off for maybe four days, but once I got going and hit the ground running, it was good. So I think I could have done a couple things better, but it’s a long year.”
3. OL targeted: The Patriots were awarded offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs (Broncos), guard Zach Thomas (Rams), defensive tackle Eric Johnson II (Colts) and linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Chiefs) on waivers last week. To protect themselves in case the two teams ahead of them in the waiver priority claimed those players, the Patriots also put in “backup” claims on three other offensive linemen and one defensive lineman, per league sources. It is a reflection of how the front office viewed the offensive line and defensive line as the top priorities coming out of training camp — which seemed obvious.
4. Waiver wire chatter: The Patriots weren’t the only team to put in waiver claims on Jacobs and Johnson, with the Cardinals attempting to claim Jacobs and the Bengals putting in a claim on Johnson, according to league sources. Having the No. 3 priority on the wire — based on last season’s 4-13 record — proved advantageous to the team. The Broncos were also planning on signing Jacobs to their practice squad if he cleared waivers.
5. Lining it up: After three days off, as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement, the Patriots are scheduled to return to practice Monday and the health of the offensive line will be a top storyline. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (oblique) has been out since Aug. 21, while starting left guard Sidy Sow (ankle) has been sidelined since the preseason finale Aug. 25. Chukwuma Okorafor has been at left tackle and free agent signee Nick Leverett at left guard, further testing the team’s depth.
“I think it would be naive for us to say going to that first game — where really no one has played four quarters of football — to think that guys won’t have to rotate in there at times,” Mayo said.
6. Mayo and Mazzulla: Mayo first met Joe Mazzulla when the latter was serving as a Boston Celtics assistant coach and the two have stayed in touch since. Their connection has grown, which was evidenced when Mazzulla attended the team’s Wednesday practice and held a practice script in his hands. Mayo said he appreciates their conversations about Xs and Os and how to manage people, calling Mazzulla — who won a championship in his second year as Celtics head coach — a great resource.
7. They said it: “I’ve never been in a game of proving people wrong. I just want to prove myself right. I love the locker room, I love the team and I’m such a fan of this game. I hope when people watch me play, they say, ‘This dude really loves what he does.’ I think when I don’t love that, I’ll know it will be my time.” — Brissett, reflecting on his nine-year NFL career (read more here)
8. AVP & JBJ: Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt keeps a guitar in his office, and he told the crowd at the Patriots Premiere on Wednesday night that one of the unforgettable moments he has experienced since arriving was when Jon Bon Jovi, who was visiting the team as a guest of owner Robert Kraft, knocked on his office door. He did what most music fans would do in that moment — he handed the guitar to Bon Jovi, one of his favorite musicians, who signed it for him.
9. Scouting Hunter: There were 31 scouts and front office personnel on hand Thursday night for Colorado’s 31-26 win over North Dakota State, representing 18 different teams, and the Patriots were one of them, according to the school. Given the team’s ongoing quest for a No. 1 receiver, it might be a preview of how thorough the Patriots will be in their evaluation of Colorado dynamic pass catcher Justin Hunter, who is the No. 9 prospect in ESPN analyst Field Yates’ rankings.
10. Did you know?: Of the 28 new players on the Patriots’ 53-man roster, 10 are rookies. That includes all eight of the 2024 draft picks, rookie free agent safety Dell Pettus and linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who was claimed on waivers.