The struggles New England Patriots
quarterback Drake Maye endured over the first three weeks of this season generated both predictable and unexpected headlines following the club’s 35-6 blowout loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars that dropped New England to 1-2 on Sept. 27.
Some have implied that Maye is dealing with “a psychological thing,” such as the so-called “yips.” While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels addressed this particular Maye theory.
“No yips” for Drake Maye amid poor play?
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, McDaniels shared that Maye has “no yips” this fall.
“I’ve played golf with him, pickleball with him,” McDaniels said about Maye. “I’ve watched him play football, and I’m not really sure what changes that for him. He’s blessed in that regard, you know? When I hit a tee shot in the woods, my confidence is shattered, you know, and then I’m gonna 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 [yards], and you’re sitting there going, ‘How did that happen?’ And I think his mindset is — and it’s the way you have to be as a quarterback.”
This past Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel raised some eyebrows when he said that he “can’t manufacture confidence” for Maye and that “confidence comes from your preparation.” Later in the week, Vrabel and Maye both suggested that a rumor claiming there has been a rift between them is not accurate.
That’s all well and good, but the numbers show that Maye heads into the first weekend of October responsible for a league-worst seven total turnovers on the season. He will look to avoid committing costly giveaways when the Patriots play at the rival Buffalo Bills (3-0) this coming Sunday.
Drake Maye not letting mistakes “weigh on” him
“Yes, there are things that we can do better,” McDaniels continued during his comments about Maye. “Yes, there are things that we can work on to try to make some of the negative scenarios that we’ve had happen go away, you know, and that’s what he’s focused on, you know? But his demeanor, his countenance, his facial expressions, his ability to interject things in the meetings has not changed, you know? And, you know, and I love that about the kid. I think, like I said, he’s blessed in that regard, because I think there’s, you know, there’s people that sometimes let those things weigh on them.”
Maye insists a throwing-shoulder issue that popped up on the team’s official injury report isn’t impacting his decision-making or how he throws footballs against live defenses. Nevertheless, it could be interesting to see what is and isn’t said about that potential setback following New England’s matchup at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium.