Perry: Pats coaches ‘aligned’ with Drake Maye plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Is the New England Patriots’ reluctance to start Drake Maye amid their 1-3 start causing a rift in the locker room?
Head coach Jerod Mayo said categorically after the team’s Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that Jacoby Brissett remains “the best choice” to start at quarterback. Apparently the ongoing conversation with QB contributed to a “mutiny” inside the building.
“Right now, they are on the verge of a mutiny in this locker room. And I don’t want to be alarmist or (hyperbolic)…I don’t want to,” Patriots.com senior reporter Evan Lazar. said on the “Catch 22” podcast. “But I was in that locker room after the game on Sunday. Defense is mad at defense, offense is mad at offense. You have young receivers literally throwing tantrums on film.
“You’re at the point now with 52 other guys in that locker room all watching those two quarterbacks practice every day. Everyone knows they drafted Drake Maye third overall. And at what point are some of these guys like, “Why am I going out there and getting my ass kicked every Sunday and Drake can’t?” »
Lazar’s revealing comments made waves, especially since he works for the organization. Our Patriots insider Phil Perry reacted to the remarks and shared his perspective on the Pats QB situation on Friday. First edition.
“I said what Evan was trying to say at the heart of his comments, which was that it’s going to get weird if you continue to not play Drake Maye and the offense continues to be at bottom of the league,” Perry said. . “So I have to be consistent and say that I kind of agree with him on that. I don’t yet agree with him that this ’tilts towards mutiny.’ is just too strong.”
Perry also provided insight into where Mayo and the Patriots coaching staff stand on Maye this season. He believes the plan is to get the rookie playing “significantly” later this season.
“What I’ve been told is that they’re all aligned in terms of the plan for Drake Maye, and I believe they have a window of time to imagine that Drake Maye would play,” Perry said. “And he’s going to play. He’s going to play this year whether or not the offensive line is a complete shit show. He’s going to be out there eventually. It’s not a question of if, but when.
“And so, to me, that’s the hard part of Jerod Mayo’s job, where you knew the team could be bad and you knew you wanted to sit the young quarterback and let him rest or let him develop, but at some point, players on the field are going to feel some sense of potentially not getting all the help they think they should be, especially when, as we reported a few weeks agohe is training. He’s getting first-team reps and he’s looking good with those reps.
“So they know – they at least have an idea – of what Drake Maye can be and at some point I guess they’re going to want him on the field. … I think that’s going to be brought to light. ‘test. reads because I think he’s going to be there, I think they want him to play a lot this year.
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After an encouraging start to the season, the Patriots’ offense was almost non-existent during their three-game losing streak. Brissett has thrown for just 415 yards and two touchdowns with one interception (a pick-six) over his last three games. He failed to get the ball into the hands of his open receivers, including sophomore forward DeMario Douglas who expressed his frustration in Sunday’s loss to San Francisco.
Mayé made brief NFL debut at the end of the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the New York Jets. The third overall draft pick was 4 of 8 with 22 yards and was sacked twice behind the team’s struggling offensive line.
Even with a dysfunctional offense, the Patriots will have a chance to end their skid this Sunday against a struggling Miami Dolphins team. The Dolphins, also 1-3, will start third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley in the Week 5 game.
Kickoff for Pats-Dolphins is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Watch the full First Edition discussion below or on YouTube:
