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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Slow game with Maye: When the Houston Texans visited the Patriots in the 2023 preseason opener, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans had a plan for then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. He’d play sparingly.
Ryans later explained that the goal was to give Stroud a small taste of “live reps” and “real looks”, while at the same time acknowledging some concerns along the offensive line as the Texans had “things to clean up” in that area. So Stroud played 12 snaps over two series in his NFL debut, which included being intercepted by Jalen Mills, with Ryans holding firm that less was more despite Stroud lobbying to stay in the game.
The approach is timely to revisit because of what unfolded Thursday night in the Patriots’ 17-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the preseason opener.
No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, who brings the same hope to New England that Stroud has to a revived Texans franchise, played only seven snaps over one series. The ultra-conservative approach has led some to wonder if first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and his staff squandered a chance to help Maye’s development, especially since it seems clear they don’t plan to play him at the start of the regular season.
It’s possible they did. It’s also possible they helped Maye’s development, as the Texans’ approach showed last year with Stroud — who hadn’t been named the starter when the preseason began — ultimately winning Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
There is no one-size-fits-all playbook for how to approach preseason openers with highly drafted rookie quarterbacks, as the variance of playing time for recent top picks shows.
Top rookie QBs (since ’21) and how many snaps they played in preseason opener:
(counting Caleb Williams’ Week 2 game because Bears have extra preseason contest after initial HoF Game; also counting penalties as snaps played for 2024 QBs, with Bo Nix to be added Sunday) pic.twitter.com/TiM4yQ9i6c
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 10, 2024
Some coaches, such as Bill Belichick and former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, believe in playing rookie quarterbacks more. That’s why in the 2021 preseason opener, then-rookie Mac Jones totaled 33 snaps in his debut, setting the stage for him to ultimately overtake starter Cam Newton and author a productive rookie season that had some asking if he should have been drafted higher than pick No. 15.
“Practice is practice, but things happen at game speed and that’s something everyone needs to improve on — certainly at the quarterback position,” Belichick said when explaining Jones’ high playing time total in his preseason debut. “It’s a good opportunity for us to match that speed.”
One might think Mayo would endorse a similar philosophy, considering he played eight seasons under Belichick and then coached on his staff for five seasons. Instead, he’s bucking it, leaning heavily on the staff he hired — led by coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney and senior assistant Ben McAdoo — to set the plan for Maye and Co.
“Each of these quarterbacks has an individual development plan that I’ve gone over with AVP and the rest of his staff, and we’re sticking to that plan until it’s time to change,” Mayo said.
One of the primary objectives the staff set for quarterbacks in the opener was “clean operation and communication,” according to veteran starter Jacoby Brissett. That takes on added significance for Maye, who didn’t call plays in the huddle at North Carolina. Mayo also acknowledged the offensive line and some of its notable struggles in training camp were a factor in the limited playing time, too. The rainy forecast, which wasn’t anticipated, adds another layer of context to consider.
Of his seven snaps on Thursday night, Maye handed the ball off three times, passed three times, and there was one false start penalty on right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. Maye finished 2-of-3 for 19 yards.
The Patriots return to the practice field Sunday and Monday for their 12th and 13th workouts since training camp began, before welcoming the Eagles to town for a joint practice on Tuesday. Then the teams play at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
It will be a surprise if Maye is limited to seven snaps in his second game.
“This is a huge week for everyone to practice against the Eagles and then really we’ll see how the reps kind of break down in the game,” Mayo said. “I expect Drake to get more reps than he did in the first game against the Eagles.”
2. All about OL: For all the talk about the Patriots’ pursuit of receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and Maye’s development, a case could be made that the state of the offensive line is the team’s top concern. On Maye’s only drive Thursday night, my review had Okorafor responsible for three breakdowns, left guard Sidy Sow one and left tackle Vederian Lowe another. That’s partially why Maye faced a third-and-12 and third-and-11 situation. And the depth on the second unit, which was led by a solid performance from rookie right guard Layden Robinson, is also shaky. Until that all gets sorted out, it doesn’t seem like an overstatement to say not much else will matter.
3. Judon status: Matthew Judon might be unhappy with slower contract negotiations that would give him a raise, but he didn’t show it during Thursday’s preseason opener when he was coaching up fellow outside linebacker Oshane Ximines on the sidelines in front of Mayo.
That sparked some of the most notable commentary during the team’s television broadcast, because it was delivered in part by Judon’s former teammate, Devin McCourty, and his twin brother Jason, who played 13 NFL seasons.
“Everybody is questioning, ‘Judon is there but is he really happy?’ I think what you fail to realize, from a professional athlete [perspective], when you’re there and around the guys every single day — regardless of your contract situation — once you’re on the field and in the building you want to be there for your guys.”
McCourty added that Judon was managing a nagging injury, and that was the reason he didn’t play in the game or practice before that.
4. Brady in booth: When might Tom Brady visit Gillette Stadium for the first time as a Fox broadcaster? Because the Patriots don’t currently have much national appeal, and Brady is on Fox’s No. 1 team, there are no guarantees it will happen at all. But if Fox values the buzz it might create and wants to strike early if projecting a rough season in New England, perhaps Week 5 against the Dolphins fits best.
At this point, Fox has only announced Brady’s Week 1 assignment — Cowboys at Browns. According to league sources, the Week 2 Seahawks-at-Patriots game isn’t currently a consideration to be on his schedule.
5. “Bigger than me”: Third-year safety/special teamer Brenden Schooler said he approached Mayo near the end of Thursday’s preseason win to congratulate him because it was his first victory as coach. He said Mayo told him, “This isn’t about me, it’s about we.” Schooler relayed the story when asked what the new sign Mayo has erected in the team meeting room — which reads “BIGGER than me” — means in his view.
6. Harris as RB3? The Patriots know that Rhamondre Stevenson will be their top running back, with free agent signee Antonio Gibson behind him. After that, it’s a little less certain, but 2023 sixth-round pick Kevin Harris is probably the leading candidate. The 5-foot-10, 225-pound Harris, who kept his pads low on a 2-yard touchdown run Thursday night, has “done a great job in the weight room and on the field,” according to Mayo.
7. Brady’s final INT: The football that Brady threw in his final pass as a Patriot, which was a pick-6 by his former teammate Logan Ryan in a playoff loss to the Titans at Gillette Stadium, had a lot of meaning to Ryan because of his history as Brady’s teammate in New England from 2013-2016. So when the two became teammates again with the Buccaneers in 2022, Ryan included the ball with a few other items into the spot where Brady welcomed teammates to leave things for him to sign.
“Tom had fun with it, and went along with it, even through he was kind of tricked into doing it,” Ryan said.
Then the two got talking that if the football could ultimately lead to something positive, it would be the best-case scenario for both of them, so it’s currently being auctioned off with proceeds going to animal rescue work. That is one of Ryan’s passions off the field and something Brady became involved with through his daughter, Vivian.
Ever the good sport, Brady signed his name and wrote on the ball: “Last pass as a Patriot … 1/4/20 … Logan Ryan INT.”
8. “Wide open” at kicker: Mayo declared the competition between incumbent kicker Chad Ryland and six-year veteran Joey Slye as “wide open,” with Slye given the nod to attempt the lone field goal in Thursday’s preseason opener — a successful 42-yarder. Ryland made both point-after attempts, the second of which was slicing right as it approached the uprights. Adding those kicks to what has unfolded in practice in training camp, Ryland is 26-of-29 and Slye 23-of-28.
9. Kickoff nugget: Teams around the NFL are dissecting kickoff returns and how teams are aligning with the league’s new rules. On Thursday, the Patriots aligned eight blockers across the field on one level, with just one player behind them, and then two returners in the landing zone. Special teams coaches would be surprised if the Patriots make it a regular thing, as that type of 8-1 alignment limits their ability to create double teams from different levels, which seems to be one of the keys to the new rule. It might just be a case of the Patriots, who had two returns for 44 yards on Thursday night, not wanting to show too much.
10. Did you know? The Patriots have two players on the current roster that were teammates with Mayo during his final season playing in 2015 — center David Andrews and long snapper Joe Cardona. Houston’s Ryans is the only other current NFL head coach that has been teammates with two of his players — from last season with safety Kareem Jackson and snapper Jon Weeks.