As the head coach of an NFL team, there are certain things you can’t say in the media.
New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is in a tough spot. While everyone understands that the Patriots aren’t starting third overall pick Drake Maye because New England’s offensive line and receivers aren’t good enough to support him, that’s not something you say out loud. Maye’s development is the most important factor. The franchise doesn’t want to ruin their talented rookie quarterback.
But Mayo made a small mistake in trying to dance around the subject. He is a rookie, after all. He said that Maye had outplayed Jacoby Brissett, but a few days later Brissett got the starting job. It’s not often you see a coach say that his starter was outplayed by the backup.
Mayo attempted to reverse this during a Tuesday morning appearance on WEEI.
Jerod Mayo explains decision
Mayo said he had not fully explained why he said Maye had outperformed Brissett in preparation.
“I should have given more context to the comment at the time,” Mayo said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. “Drake had more playing time in the preseason than Jacoby, and that was intentional.”
That doesn’t make any sense either. Maye had a passer rating of 86.9. Brissett was way down at a terrible 14.6. Playing time difference doesn’t explain all of that. More reps may have helped Brissett get out of that hole, but anyone who watched the games understands that Maye outplayed Brissett. There were other factors that played into Brissett being selected to start Week 1.
It’s just hard to explain those reasons without being disrespectful to the locker room.
“There are a lot of factors that led to this decision,” Mayo said last week, via MassLive. “I think the hardest part is trying to think short-term and long-term at the same time. But as an organization, we feel that Jacoby gives us the best chance to win right now.”
Will Drake play Maye?
One thing that needs to be answered is whether Maye will play at all this season. If the Patriots lose games, there will be a lot of pressure to make a quarterback change.
Mayo didn’t give a direct answer to that, but he did say that this won’t be a redshirt season for Maye. He was asked if Maye would play if Brissett got hurt, and the answer was a resounding yes.
“When we talk about developing a guy like Drake Maye, it’s an ongoing process,” Mayo said, via the Boston Herald. “If Jacoby were to get hurt in Week 1, Drake (Maye) would 1000 percent be the next guy on our list as the No. 2 quarterback.”
That’s an important answer. It means New England isn’t planning on benching Maye all season. Brissett could keep Maye on the bench all season by playing well, but if he fails, the Patriots apparently aren’t opposed to letting Maye play instead of bypassing him for someone like fellow rookie Joe Milton III.
This is a story that won’t go away once the games start. If Brissett struggles and the Patriots lose games, this is the only story worth following during New England’s season. In that case, Mayo’s explanation for why Maye takes the starting job would be a lot easier.
