FOXBORO -- Monday was the most physical practice of the summer for the Patriots. They wore full pads in heat that reached up over 90 degrees. They tackled to the ground at times. They spent a period executing goal situations with full contact.
The action couldâve been described as violent at times. At the end of the session, safety A.J. Thomas blew up wide receiver JaQuae Jackson on a pass over the middle. Jackson held on but met with trainers soon after after taking a jarring shot to his midsection.
A practice like that one is useful, of course, to measure play in the trenches. Itâs helpful when trying to check in on short-yardage effectiveness for both the offense and defense. And if you want to gauge player toughness quotients, this was the practice for you.
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It wasnât the most friendly of circumstances for quarterback evaluation, with much of the focus going to the run game, but thatâs what weâll do here anyway in The Drake Maye Report for Day 10.
The rep report
In 11-on-11 work, Jacoby Brissett took 22 competitive reps. Drake Maye, meanwhile, took 21. (Some of those reps featured only half the defense of line rushing the passer, perhaps in an effort to limit the workloads for some of the big bodies at the line of scrimmage.)
Crunching the numbers
Maye finished his competitive reps going 4-for-7, with four sacks and two snaps that resulted in scrambles.
The sack number there is a glaring one. The Patriots defense worked throughout the practice on games and stunts at the line of scrimmage. Despite seeing those looks many times, the second unit offensive line had difficulty blocking them.
Of the four sacks on the day, three came thanks to stunts on the defensive line. The fourth was credited to Davon Godchaux after he powered through Caedan Wallace, and forced the rookie tackleâs back to bump up against the rookie quarterback.
Jacoby Brissett went 10-for-13 with an interception. The pick was not Brissettâs fault as he hit his fullback for a would be touchdown in the goal line session. Kyle Dugger popped the ball loose, and JaâWhaun Bentley intercepted it. Brissett remains the top quarterback in all drills, and he once again took all first-team reps.
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Play of the day
Maye showed off his athleticism early in the practice by scrambling for a touchdown on fourth down, which came after a useful completion on third down to running back JaMycal Hasty.
His best throw of the day, however, was not completed. He aired one out to K.J. Osborn that looked like it shouldâve been caught with Osborn getting a step behind the defense. The wideout appeared to have trouble tracking the ball, though, and slowed down before it arrived. It landed just beyond his reach for an incompletion.
Why he's ready
In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's prepared to sit atop the hierarchy of quarterbacks in New England sooner rather than later.
Mayeâs ability to get himself out of trouble and pick up yardage with his legs could help him establish himself as a useful quarterback wary in his rookie season.
Quarterback scrambles, in terms of advanced metrics like EPA, are among the most efficient plays in football. His two scrambles on Monday wouldâve been two of the best runs of the day in a run-game heavy practice.
Why patience is a virtue
In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's not quite ready to sit atop the quarterback depth chart.
The Patriots may be forced to wait and see on Mayeâs readiness simply because they arenât getting a great look at how he can operate from the pocket. While the first-unit offensive line has help up well in recent practices, the same canât be said for the second unit.
With some injuries at tackle, Maye has had Wallace, undrafted rookie Zuri Henry and the newly-signed (Aug. 2) Kellen Diesch blocking for him on the edge. Plays that end in âsacksâ often end with a defender standing flat-footed in Mayeâs face as he tries to attempt a throw. One on Monday was deflected by tight end Jacob Warren and picked by A.J. Thomas, but we did not record that as part of the dayâs results, just as we donât record completions made after âsacks.â
Once those sacks happen, the play is over. And for Maye, too often lately, the play has been over well before it shouldâve been because of shoddy protection.
It will Maye hard for him to be deemed âreadyâ until he has an opportunity to work with starters, thereby giving his coaching staff a better look at what heâs capable of.