LIVE: The BEST and WORST of Drake Maye in His First NFL Start | Pats Interference
The Athletic's quarterback guru, Derrik Klassen, joins Andrew to break down all angles of Drake Maye's starting debut, including his three touchdowns, two interceptions and extended plays, plus how the Patriots' offense changed around Maye. Later, Andrew and Derrik answer your mailbag questions.
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SportsTranscript
00:00the- okay to steal from the
00:15late. He's not late but he's
00:17certainly great Brent
00:18Musburger I think I just killed
00:19Derek Brent Musburger. The
00:22ultimate greatest of the show.
00:24Very much alive eighty five
00:26year old Brent Musburger you
00:27looking live. Not in a football
00:29game but in a football game.
00:32And by the way. Drake may. This
00:34episode is all about. Typically
00:36we do. Patriots film look they
00:38lost forty one to twenty one I
00:39don't think you want to hear
00:40how much about. The Patriots
00:41can't define the defend. Wham
00:43runs. When Houston's running for
00:45fifty four yards and twenty
00:46yards on a touchdown. So we're
00:47gonna spend. All night tonight
00:49with their class the athletic
00:50coming back. To break down
00:52Drake may because Drake may. I
00:54will put it in the crude cliche.
00:57Grade way Derek that we love to
00:59hear. I'm giving him a minus
01:01this but these are the final
01:02numbers. Twenty of thirty three
01:04two hundred and forty three
01:05yards. Three touchdowns. Two
01:07picks did take four sacks
01:09considering everything around
01:10him. Making a minus is fair. I
01:13think against that defense yeah
01:15a minus I think it's totally
01:17fair and like it I think there's
01:18we'll get into all of the
01:19reasons why the like. Truthfully
01:21I really think either those
01:22interceptions were really his
01:23fault- a lot of the sacks were
01:25happening like before he even
01:26really had a chance to do a
01:27whole lot about it- I thought he
01:29looked. Just really good
01:30overall and I would say like he
01:32he just looked like in control
01:33like the moment didn't look too
01:34big. I think especially for your
01:36first game that's important
01:37especially because like. Caleb
01:39Williams his first two games
01:40didn't look. Like I knew I had
01:42faith that he would figure it
01:43out obviously but his first two
01:44games he didn't look like
01:45things were it were going the
01:46right way. I didn't really feel
01:48that at all for Drake may's
01:49first start. No very in control
01:51you mentioned the sacks all of
01:52them against four man rushes
01:53where the offensive line pretty
01:54much just lost right away like
01:55these were not blitzes that
01:56fooled him. Things he didn't see
01:58so again for the folks who are
01:59live right now. This is new for
02:01us at past interference
02:02typically this is me sometimes
02:04with a beer talking to myself
02:05for forty minutes offense
02:06defense. Game balls everything
02:08you want to know this is all
02:09Drake may tonight we are
02:10breaking down every single
02:11thing with their class and- we
02:12will get to some mail back
02:14questions at the end. And get
02:16really into again. The
02:17quarterback that I think
02:19everyone wanted to see it look
02:20if someone you know I talk about
02:22this last time. Wanted Drake to
02:24sit and I'm not in a rush just
02:26do better than the worst past
02:27protection league update there
02:28up to thirty accorded to media.
02:31I'm not going to be the person
02:33still driving around with the
02:35bumper sticker of the losing
02:36presidential candidate eight
02:37years ago like I'm not here to
02:39belabor say like I told you so
02:40Drake look great I want to see
02:42Drake play football we did and
02:43we're gonna get into that today.
02:45I want to start here though.
02:46When you rewatch that tape.
02:49What surprised you have anything
02:51that you didn't realize on first
02:53look. I would say two small
02:56things I want to start by saying
02:58I thought he would look good
02:59because I just thought he was a
03:01special prospect and so the fact
03:02that he was able to look good
03:03was not all that surprising
03:04especially because he got you
03:05know five weeks whereas the other
03:06guys didn't to to kind of sit
03:08and- figure some stuff out get
03:09more comfortable with the
03:10offense. I think what stood out
03:12one was. His drop back footwork
03:14actually did look. Improved and
03:16looked a little bit cleaner I
03:17remember there was one play he
03:19had where. They just have a
03:20slant flat concept to the right
03:22it was like a second in long. He
03:24obviously opens going to the
03:25slant and just the very small.
03:27Careful adjustment he makes to
03:28go boom slant boom to the flat
03:30and actually throw that ball
03:31stay on rhythm. I was like okay
03:33he didn't really do that at
03:34North Carolina that was one of
03:35the big issues coming out so. I
03:37thought he looked clean in that
03:38sense which. I hoped he would.
03:40When you get five weeks on the
03:41bench but to actually see it was
03:43really impressive and then. He's
03:45a he in college he was always a
03:46guy where. When the chips were
03:48down he was willing to do
03:49something kind of stupid. And I
03:51know he threw two interceptions
03:53in this game but it didn't
03:54ever felt like he did something
03:55stupid like even the first
03:56interception is just like okay
03:57he kind of overthrows it.
03:58Receiver gets a little bit
03:59pushed off his route whatever
04:00and then the second interception
04:01is like the most nonsense. Tipped
04:03at the line screen whatever
04:04stupid thing ever so like but he
04:06didn't really make that mistake
04:07where I was like oh buddy what
04:08are you doing like he pretty
04:09much played within himself which.
04:11I didn't expect in his first
04:12start I really didn't. Yeah I
04:14think doing stupid stuff when the
04:16chips are down is also just
04:17called college you know whether
04:18you're- class in a rally and
04:20like it's just life. I will say
04:22for me rewatching the game there
04:23wasn't a ton that surprised me
04:24and again he gets in a minus for
04:25the reasons you mentioned.
04:26Houston's defense is really good
04:28the highest pressure defense in
04:29the entire league on a pressure
04:31basis not sacks and not
04:32necessarily hits. But they also
04:34obviously dealt with injuries up
04:35front he throws for more yards
04:37than any Patriots quarterback
04:38has. Since last October he has
04:40as many deep pass completions as
04:42Mac Jones had in three years
04:45when you consider touchdowns-
04:46and it's just it's just a whole
04:48new world right like this is not
04:50anything new. It's just a
04:52whole new world right like this
04:53is not any longer the Dinkins
04:55dunk offense that we've been
04:56watching here in New England for
04:58the last three years the thing
04:59that did surprise me though is
05:00that once he kind of. Settled in
05:02which even he admitted on I
05:03think it was last Wednesday.
05:04I'm gonna have some nerves will
05:06have to settle in. He just was
05:07like oh this is it like you're
05:08gonna be in blitz a lot on third
05:10down. And when you're not I've
05:12got four men rushing zone
05:13coverage and- we're gonna go
05:14from here because his numbers
05:15against pressure we're really
05:16really good. Seven of eleven.
05:18For ninety yards yeah for
05:19mentioned for sacks. Twelve
05:21touchdowns a pick and eleven
05:22rushing yards scrambling.
05:23Against the blitz. Six of twelve
05:25four hundred thirteen. Two
05:27touchdowns a pick. And eleven
05:29rushing yards. And we'll get
05:31into the blitz a little bit
05:32later but- we know generally.
05:34Quarterback numbers versus the
05:36blitz and pressure are not
05:37sustainable right very noisy
05:38not predictable week to week.
05:39How much of what you saw on the
05:41tape though you said okay if
05:43he's calm now. I can expect that
05:45to maybe be a little stickier
05:46like that could be sustainable
05:48in a way that. You know could be
05:50I think the blitz replacement
05:51stuff will be sustainable
05:52because this is just something
05:53I thought he did really well in
05:54college like he he was just
05:55always a guy where. He knew
05:57where the pressure was coming
05:58from. He knew how to replace it
06:00immediately if you needed to
06:01just put the blitz where the
06:03void is that sort of thing. But
06:04he also did a good job of
06:05understanding like. Where the
06:08pressure was coming from
06:09relative to his past blocking
06:11there was even one clip in this
06:12game where. He knows his line is
06:14sliding to the left and he's
06:15getting pressure on the right
06:16side. He just drifts a little
06:17bit to his left and tries to
06:18make the road he doesn't hit it
06:20was one of the first stars that
06:21he made. But just that
06:22instinctual like okay. I know
06:24exactly the little things I need
06:26to do to make this play a little
06:27bit easier for me. I think he's
06:28always had that. And then like
06:29you mentioned a lot of the
06:30blitzes in this game were just
06:31man blitzes like they would just
06:32send an extra guy play man
06:34coverage. And I think if you're
06:35going to give that to a guy as
06:37as talented as Drake may he's
06:38going to be able to get some
06:39good plays on you. And he
06:40certainly did. I think that
06:41third and five touchdown to Pop
06:43Douglas was exactly that where
06:45they just bring an extra guy
06:46he'd. Yeah like he's just really
06:47good at that. And so there will
06:49probably be a little bit more
06:50growing pains when he sees more
06:52of the like weird funky you know
06:54double a mug zone teams that
06:56like will drop bodies off from
06:58weird spots like that. There
06:59will be a little bit of a
07:00learning curve there when he
07:01plays that Brian Flores is of
07:02the world. But generally I think
07:04he's a guy who's going to handle
07:05it well because he always had
07:07and then he did in this game.
07:08So you bring up Pop Douglas who
07:10I think if people had not been
07:12watching the Patriots offense
07:13would listen to this podcast and
07:14be like are you trying to date
07:17the man through the Internet.
07:18The way that I talk about like
07:19play more needs more attention.
07:21He needs to get the ball. He's
07:22so great. He's been on this show
07:24before. But when we talk about
07:26like Drake getting on track the
07:28first five drives they have
07:29three first downs. He throws a
07:30pick. There's a three and out
07:31there somewhere. And then they're
07:33backed up with less than a
07:34minute left before halftime. And
07:36Drake makes I think my favorite
07:37play of this game which is
07:38spoiler alert ends up going to
07:40Pop Douglas for 22 yards. But
07:42it's a full field progression
07:43read. He starts in the left.
07:45There was some sort of I don't
07:46want to say with smash but it
07:47was like there was a corner
07:47around involved in the left. He
07:48wheels all the way back to the
07:50right. It's only a four man
07:51rush. But he not only stays in a
07:53closing pocket and gets hit as
07:55he makes his throw but flips it
07:56to Pop Douglas off platform. So
07:58you have all of the maturity
08:00that you want to see making the
08:01full field read. You see the
08:02toughness of taking a hit and
08:03hanging in the pocket. And then
08:04also this is why he drafted him
08:06third overall because he can
08:07fling the ball sidearm as he's
08:09getting clobbered. And then Pop
08:10Douglas takes a rest and they
08:11kind of build on that connection
08:12from the rest of the drive. We
08:14all remember that drive is just
08:15the giant 40 yard beautiful
08:17parabola that was a touchdown to
08:19Keishon booty. What else in that
08:21drive did you see when he kind
08:22of settled in that said okay
08:24he's got like a grip his arms
08:26around this game basically. So
08:29first of all the decision to
08:30throw to Keishon booty I thought
08:32was amazing because the
08:34situation in the game is they
08:35have 15 seconds to timeouts.
08:37They're like on whatever the
08:39little graphic on the field is
08:40for like you're in field goal
08:41range. And so a lot of
08:43quarterbacks I would think
08:44especially young quarterbacks in
08:45their first start would be like
08:47all right. I need to just get
08:49five or six more yards here. We
08:50have the timeouts we can get in
08:51the field bar in big missus.
08:53Nah I'm good. I'm too talented.
08:55I'm going to go through and he
08:56did and I just love like that
08:58mentality is part of why I fell
09:00in love with him as a prospect
09:01and so for him to show that on
09:02that drive was was really
09:03impressive. But then you
09:04mentioned some of what he was
09:05doing with sliding up in the
09:06pocket and sliding around guys
09:07and drifting and getting into
09:08just weird little pockets of
09:10space where he could throw a
09:11check down. I remember one I
09:12don't remember exactly what was
09:13in the game but he slides up a
09:15little bit moves out to his
09:17right and just like pops a
09:18little like flat check down and
09:20just little stuff like that
09:21where he understands exactly
09:23where to move in the pocket and
09:24he's not really wasting time
09:26like he's not really
09:27dilly-dallying. He's not moving
09:28into weird spots. It just there
09:30was a level of control and
09:32command and confidence that he
09:33played with kind of after the
09:35first drive or two that was
09:36like yeah man if you can do that
09:38against the Miko Ryans in your
09:39first game even for as imperfect
09:41as some of the execution was
09:43it's just the type of guy I
09:44want to bet on. Yeah and I think
09:46that's it's the simplest
09:48analysis possible when you're
09:49like oh he's just natural. Yeah
09:51like no kidding. You watch him
09:53in college but there is
09:54something to be said for he's
09:56not actively processing like
09:57this is instinctual. It's
09:59reflexive and for that to be at
10:0022 years old I'm supposed to be
10:02here. I'm good at this. I'm
10:04learning but I just kind of know
10:06where to go and what to do at
10:08this age given again an
10:10offensive line that had two
10:11offensive tackles were claimed
10:12off of waivers less than two
10:13months ago a center that got
10:15there on Thursday on a red eye
10:17flight and he's like doing more
10:19for that offensive line doing
10:20more for the offense doing more
10:22for all of his players and
10:23coaches combined in a way that
10:25rather than the service they're
10:26doing him was crazy to me but
10:28like that's the power of this
10:29kid if it eventually pans out
10:31it's only been one game to put
10:33the roses down for a second stop
10:35throwing him in his direction.
10:36You mentioned the drop back
10:37footwork. I did think that was
10:38better. His pick not only was
10:40just overthrown probably some
10:41juice behind that his footwork
10:43there I didn't think was great
10:44and there were a couple other
10:45misses were like you know this
10:46is a bug in the Drake made
10:47system. He's just going to miss
10:48layups. How did you see his
10:50footwork either align or not on
10:52some of those lesser plays. The
10:55footwork wasn't as big of an
10:57issue as I thought it was going
10:58to be coming into the game on
10:59the picky throws. It is a little
11:01bit of a problem. I also think
11:03because he has like such a
11:04shortened throwing motion. I
11:06think sometimes it can disrupt
11:07his accuracy like he there's a
11:09little bit of like T-Rex going
11:10on in the way that he throws the
11:11ball sometimes and I think that
11:13can cause some of his issues
11:14but for the most part I think
11:16the accuracy issues I think
11:18because the process looks so
11:20good. I'm not that worried about
11:21the accuracy stuff especially in
11:23his first game. I mean again to
11:24go back to Kayla Williams. Kayla
11:26Williams couldn't hit anybody in
11:27his first two passes and now he's
11:29he's hitting everybody and it's
11:30not a problem. And so I'm kind
11:31of expecting the same thing for
11:33Drake may again. He'll probably
11:34have one or two misses a game
11:35that are frustrating because he
11:36can get a little bit antsy and
11:37like amped up especially on some
11:38of those intermediate throws.
11:39But I don't think it's going to
11:40be too much of an issue. I too.
11:42I also think on that
11:43interception where he overthrows.
11:45I think it is Pop Douglas a
11:46little bit. To me it felt like
11:48Pop Douglas took his route a
11:49little bit flat and I thought I
11:50think may thought he was going
11:51to keep climbing a little bit
11:52and it's still on me to
11:54understand that he's not
11:55climbing and did not throw it
11:57higher. But I think again that
11:59even just goes back to it's your
12:01first game. You're not a
12:02hundred percent like confident
12:03in the chemistry with all these
12:04players and just like you know
12:05some weird stuff is going to
12:06happen. Yeah I I could excuse
12:08that to a degree. It also looked
12:10like Pop needed to climb a
12:11ladder in addition to just
12:12further down. Right. I mean he's
12:14what five seven. But I will
12:15completely excuse the other pick
12:17which happened in the third
12:18quarter and just gets tipped and
12:19swinged in like I don't know you
12:20spend enough time on X or
12:22Twitter and an unhealthy amount
12:24which is is my life particularly
12:25in season. And you're going to
12:26find people who want to put that
12:27on him. I just I just I'm not
12:28going to do it like that's not
12:30not whatsoever. A. And same
12:31defensive player. I'm not going
12:33to do it like that's not
12:34whatsoever. A. And same
12:35defensive player. It's not even
12:36just that it got a tipped at the
12:38line right like those are going
12:39to happen. It's that the
12:40defender caught it behind a
12:42Patriots players back like
12:43bearhugging him like that
12:45doesn't happen. That just never
12:47happens. It's a one in a
12:48million on Eric Murray's family
12:50tree. David Tyree is a very very
12:52distant cousin as I just lose
12:54half of my audience with that
12:55reference and we'll see those
12:56numbers go down. I also want to
12:58get into the plan though because
13:00you know part of the reason I
13:01wanted to wait is I just thought
13:02the Patriots needed to figure
13:03out what they had and how they
13:05were going to operate. It's a
13:06new coaching staff new play
13:07caller. Basically you're
13:08shuffling in and out of
13:09personnel all the injuries
13:10offense line stuff like figure
13:11out where the biggest holes are
13:13in the whole of the ship then
13:14plug them then bring the kid on
13:16to Captain that ship. But before
13:17we get there you mentioned
13:18Caleb Williams could not
13:20complete anything in his first
13:21couple of games. That has been
13:23my start on prize picks here
13:24where we do a segment every
13:25single week and I give you picks
13:26for prize picks of the week. I'm
13:28not going to give out my record
13:29but I just want to tell the
13:30folks this. If you want to watch
13:33the Patriots and they lose you
13:34can still win at home by playing
13:35prize picks with as few as four
13:37correct picks. Meaning when you
13:39go to prizepicks.com and you see
13:40these player stat projections all
13:42you got to do is pick more or
13:43less. Drake Mays going to be on
13:44there every single week. If you
13:45think he's going to throw for
13:46more than let's say 170 yards
13:48click more. If you think
13:50reminder Stevenson will have less
13:51than 100 yards you can pick less
13:53or whatever you want to do
13:54because if you sign up today you
13:55can get 50 bucks instantly when
13:57you play five dollars. You don't
13:58even need to win. You get the
14:00$50 bonus win or lose it's
14:02guaranteed. This is the best way
14:03to win real money this football
14:05season. Which players go off
14:06which ones aren't I don't know
14:07but you can make your picks in
14:09less than 60 seconds and turn
14:10your sports opinions your takes
14:12your fantasy players into real
14:13money all season long. Download
14:15the app today use code CLNS and
14:17get $50 instantly after you play
14:19your first five dollar lineup.
14:20Prize picks run your game. Okay
14:23Alex Van Pelt probably not
14:25playing prize picks but Alex
14:27Van Pelt I think. I think he
14:29called a good game for Drake may
14:31again they could not run the
14:33ball. Antonio Gibson thirteen
14:35carries. Nineteen yards. Thirty
14:38three yards after contact. How
14:41do you how do you support a
14:42rookie quarterback. When you
14:44can't run the ball and you
14:45identify as a run first offense.
14:47Run day. Being that the way they
14:49identify but- like looking at
14:50that and understanding how they
14:52went more play action heavy
14:53early they had a 62% success
14:55rate when passing at first down
14:56it says I know the looks I'm
14:57gonna get. I'm gonna put you in
14:58a good spot Drake delivered. I
15:00think there are outlines of an
15:02offense you that can work
15:03around Drake may separate from.
15:05We obviously love what we saw
15:06from him. I agree I actually
15:09thought they did a better job
15:10than I would have anticipated
15:11again if they could run the ball
15:13a little bit better. That would
15:14make this a lot easier and if
15:15you could stay in those down in
15:17distances that you want to
15:18protect the rookie quarterback.
15:19Kind of impressive again that he
15:20looked so good despite being in
15:22so many like third and longs and
15:23a lot of second along and stuff
15:25like that. But I actually did
15:27think they did a good job of
15:28like specifically getting pop
15:29Douglas moving across the
15:31formation and like letting him
15:32run a lot of his crossing routes
15:33that he's really good at because
15:35he's just not a guy who's gonna
15:36like win one on one and like on
15:38a curl route like body somebody
15:40out at the catch point like
15:41that's just not the type of
15:42player he is. So I thought they
15:43did a good job getting their
15:44most explosive passer or their
15:46most explosive pass catching
15:48option unlocked in that sense.
15:49I still would like to them. I
15:52would like to see them find some
15:53way to attack the middle of the
15:54field a little bit better.
15:56Whether that's trying to get
15:57more the ball more to hunter
15:58Henry like it's obviously again
16:00going to be hard to pop Douglas
16:01because he's not very big. So I
16:03think if they could unlock that
16:04a little bit more but I thought
16:05otherwise the offense looked I
16:07thought they gave him some good
16:08options and Drake may for the
16:09most part was going to the right
16:11spot with the ball. It's funny
16:12you bring up pop Douglas not
16:14bodying anybody let alone like
16:1612 yards downfield in a curl
16:17route. I think one of the
16:18incompletions that may through
16:20only three of them in pop
16:22Douglas's direction six catches
16:23on nine targets was on a curl
16:25round downfield which will bring
16:27me back to something later. But
16:29you know you talk about okay
16:30what was the game plan again
16:31early play action good first
16:33downplay callings. They tried to
16:34to run the ball. You got some
16:35movement throws his first
16:36completion was this a yarder to
16:38Kendrick Bourne at a bootleg
16:39something I talked about last
16:40week is I think they're going to
16:41dip more into this because he's
16:42mobile. There was also pressure
16:44on that play. You got that was
16:46that is the funniest bootleg I've
16:48ever seen where obviously he
16:50starts faking out to his left so
16:52he can he can do the play fake
16:54and the left guard immediately
16:55loses and he gets bumped as he's
16:57doing the fake. I don't know
16:58like the last time I've seen
16:59that where you get hit on the
17:01rollout like that. It was so
17:02weird. Yeah well I also and I'm
17:04trying to assign all the
17:05pressure here and basically look
17:07there there's you know Demetri
17:08Jacobs gave up five pressures and
17:10that happens when you hang out
17:11with the Neil Hunter long enough
17:12whether you're playing football
17:13or you're just on the couch. The
17:16pleasure otherwise wasn't that
17:17bad and like Ben Brown just got
17:18here but Michael Jordan I think
17:19had the wrong run action that
17:21they were going like made made
17:22this check and the arms waving
17:24out I think on this game was
17:25outside zone a week ago it was
17:27duo and he just completely leaves
17:29the guy in front of him which
17:31leaves Ben Brown trying to make
17:32this reach block. That's like
17:33two Ben Browns over from him and
17:35he just couldn't get there
17:36anyway. May got away. He made the
17:38completion between zero and ten
17:40yards of line of scrimmage which
17:41again talk about the game plan
17:43get the ball out live over the
17:44middle of the field. He was 13
17:46to 16 for 98 yards and a touch
17:48down that to me again put him in
17:51a good position. Let the Mario
17:53Douglas go to work over the
17:54middle was a good sign for Alex
17:56Van Pelt who's been getting
17:57flogged publicly and I just think
17:59he deserves more credit for this
18:00and it gives me hope moving
18:02forward of knowing how to work
18:03with me. Yeah I agree and like
18:05if making I think part of it too
18:07was that the short part of the
18:09field was probably always going
18:11to be the toughest part to like
18:12get made to be consistent just
18:13based on what he was in college
18:15again with some of the drop back
18:16footwork and every now and then
18:18some of his decision making in
18:19the quick game. I think it
18:20actually speaks to Van Pelt's
18:21coaching not even just with some
18:23of the schematic stuff but the
18:24fact that may executed it so well
18:26in his first start kind of speaks
18:28to like what they've been able to
18:29drill into his head and how well
18:31may has taken to it and I think
18:33that's like a part of coaching
18:34that we sometimes forget about is
18:37like yeah all the scheme stuff is
18:39really cool but at the end of the
18:40day you also just get your
18:41players to execute the right thing
18:42and like do it the right way and
18:43get all the details down. I do
18:45think in that sense Van Pelt the
18:47connection there with may actually
18:48seemed like it's going pretty
18:49well. Yeah and that's why he's
18:51here. You know like I wasn't
18:52thrilled by the hire I'll say but
18:54if you're asking what are the
18:55Patriots need in 2024 defensive
18:57first year head coach who's 38
18:59rookie quarterback like someone
19:01who develops had played the game
19:03and does all of the physical
19:04stuff and the scheme is whatever
19:06like I want to get into that now
19:07because I just gave Miss Flowers
19:08the game plan but I've got this
19:10contention part one is I think
19:12there are a lot of isolation
19:13routes like this is an old bones
19:15West Coast offense that has its
19:16receivers to win one won a whole
19:17lot and I just go there's no one
19:19besides pop Douglas who can do
19:20that. Now you say things often
19:22enough on a podcast or TV or
19:24radio wherever like people just
19:25tune you out. Should I get ahead
19:27of that in your view watching
19:28this offense. Do they need a
19:30little bit more motion switch
19:31releases motion into stacks
19:33bunches of those things as I
19:34think they're going to need that
19:36just given the receivers they
19:37had as good as may was even
19:38against man-to-man coverage when
19:40the numbers are here somewhere I
19:41think it was over 50 percent but
19:42as far as that contention like
19:43less isolation more more
19:45helping each other. It's like a
19:47double-edged sword where I think
19:48a lot of the motion stuff and
19:50getting into some of these like
19:51bunch and stack formations and
19:52stuff. It can obviously just by
19:55alignment and like by the
19:56friction. You can get some guys
19:58open like pretty easily and get
19:59give the quarterback some easy
20:00throws and take the ease off of
20:02again skilled players who are
20:03not very good at just winning
20:04one-on-one and beating guys at
20:06the same time. I think when you
20:07do a lot of that it actually
20:09takes it takes like some of the
20:12responsibility away from the
20:14quarterback and for some guys
20:15that's good. You just want them
20:16to go out there and make the
20:17throw. I think some guys it's
20:19actually good to have the mental
20:20burden on them and like let them
20:22be the engine that drives the
20:23offense. You see this a lot with
20:24Dak Prescott and the Cowboys and
20:26like obviously they're a bad
20:27team for a billion reasons right
20:29now, but like even when it's a
20:31McCarthy Van Pelt offense like
20:32they're coming from the same
20:33place the way this is structured
20:34in the way they call games and
20:35structure. They're passing it
20:37exactly and that's why it looks
20:38so similar. It is like the
20:40Cowboys and McCarthy are very
20:41good being like. All right. We
20:43have a supercomputer at
20:44quarterback. We're going to let
20:45him go 1 to 1 2 3 4 5 do
20:47everything. He wants to do
20:48pre-snap and operate that way.
20:50And if that is the way that New
20:52England feels is giving them the
20:54highest floor as opposed to some
20:55of the motion stuff. And if they
20:57really think that Drake may is
20:58that smart. I totally get it and
21:00stick with that. But the
21:01receiving core probably is so in
21:04dire need of help that some of
21:06the motion stuff someone getting
21:07into stacks just asking me to
21:09make throws and hoping that you
21:10can scheme it open at least a
21:12little bit more of that would
21:13probably be nice. Yeah. So what
21:15what else would you do? And I
21:16want to give proper flowers to
21:17again. Pop Douglas had 92
21:19receiving yards. This is the
21:20saddest at the come out of
21:21Sunday. Otherwise very a very
21:22good day for the Patriots.
21:23That's the most by a Patriots
21:24pass catcher since Christmas Eve
21:272022. So with that as a
21:30backdrop statistically like
21:31aside from the stuff we just hit
21:32on what if anything are you
21:34doing personnel wise or
21:35schematically or formationally
21:37with may now that he's at the
21:38controls of an offense that
21:39should look much different than
21:40what we have with Jacoby percent.
21:41Yeah. Again, I think some of his
21:43best stars coming out of college
21:44were throwing like dig routes and
21:46seam routes just over the middle
21:47of the field. And again, I don't
21:48know necessarily. I don't know.
21:50I don't know if I have the
21:51answers how to get there with
21:52this personnel group. But I do
21:54think that those are a lot of
21:55the best throws that he made
21:56trying to throw that like
21:57intermediate middle of the field.
21:58So if they can try to chip away
22:00at unlocking that over the next
22:01few weeks, whether it is in
22:03heavier personnel, you know, some
22:04of their 12 like getting into 12
22:06personnel under center. I think
22:08it's important. I think it's
22:10important to unlock that
22:10individual under center or if
22:11they just want to spread it out
22:12and go gun that way. To me, it
22:13doesn't really matter. But just
22:14unlocking that part of the field
22:15I think is important. I'm also
22:17surprised they didn't use him at
22:18all as a design runner really in
22:20this game. Yeah. Not that he has
22:22to be a guy who gets 10 carries
22:24or anything a game. But I was
22:26surprised they didn't really
22:27sprinkle it in. Maybe just they
22:29figured he was taking enough
22:30hits back there already and the
22:32game started to get out of hand.
22:33But I do think I and I also
22:35expect that to be something they
22:36can work on a little bit,
22:38especially if the rushing
22:39offense without him is going to
22:40continue to struggle. Well, and
22:42that's that hits on something to
22:44that fundamentally is changing,
22:45not even on purpose, but just
22:47the dynamic of putting him at
22:48quarterback like plays are now
22:50not dead. Derek, when the
22:52receivers are covered, they have
22:53a plan B. The plan B looks great.
22:55It looks like him scrambling for
22:5611 yards. It looks like him
22:57extending a play finding Hunter
22:59Henry and then that goes for 30
23:00yards. And so the second reaction
23:02plays that are like has all the
23:04media attention and fans
23:05attention about what the
23:06transition means. Now, just like
23:07everyone in their driveway is
23:08shooting like Steph Curry and
23:09bouncing back from 40 yards. You
23:10want to look like Patrick Mahone's
23:12and all Josh Allen, all these
23:13quarterbacks like the Patriots
23:14have a little bit of that. Now
23:16they can cook when the burner
23:17doesn't go on immediately right
23:19away. And so I think that too is
23:21something that will be a balance
23:22when you think about, okay, what
23:23does Drake may look like in the
23:25next two to three games? What can
23:26I predict? I think there will be
23:28okay. I got a not away with this,
23:30but I had a lot of success. He
23:31averaged 8.5 yards per play when
23:33he extended a play that works.
23:35I'm curious how much they might
23:37want to rein him in understanding
23:39he could get clobbered more than
23:41it did against Houston. And then
23:42there's a fine line, especially
23:43when you're a rookie from playing
23:45a little bit more backyard ball
23:46versus what's with the design of
23:48the play and sometimes it's
23:49giving up on it. I think he
23:51actually did a really good job of
23:53giving up on plays at certain
23:55points in this game or not even
23:57giving up but like in certain
23:58like he he straddled the line of
24:00knowing when to give up and
24:01knowing when to just like, okay,
24:02I need to go and make a play like
24:03literally his first pass attempt.
24:05They run like a bench concept.
24:06So they're running like it's like
24:07a little five six yard out and
24:09then they have the deep corner
24:10over it. He pretty much throws
24:12the ball out of bounds and I
24:13don't think that's a miss. I
24:14think that's him immediately
24:16realizing. Okay, this is not
24:17open. I'm just going to leave it
24:19out of bounds. If I throw it a
24:20little bit short, my guy has a
24:21chance on it. Cool. CJ Stroud,
24:23who is an obviously good
24:24quarterback literally did the
24:25same thing later in the game.
24:26And so like that to me like
24:28that's how I can that's how I'm
24:30trying to let people know this
24:31is not cope like a very good
24:32quarterback literally made the
24:33same throw later in the game.
24:35And so I thought that was
24:36impressive. And then to me, the
24:38best I think extension play that
24:39he had was they had like an
24:41offset stack to the left at one
24:43point in the game and they're
24:45trying to run like this vertical
24:46stem and get one guy open on a
24:48dig route like late, but because
24:50they're playing man coverage, it
24:51all just gets like muddied up.
24:52And as soon as Drake, I turn
24:53Drake turns his eyes over to the
24:55left. You realize it's all it's
24:57all muddied up and it's it's
24:58going to take too long for him
25:00to wait on that throw and throw
25:01it. He just immediately goes like
25:03he doesn't. He's not sitting
25:04there like I do. I need to wait.
25:06Do I need to throw it? Yes. And
25:07just ran off the motor. He like
25:08bounced into the running back for
25:09a second. It was that play. But
25:12why not? Yeah, why not? It's just
25:14the fact that he was so ready to
25:16just immediately knew that, OK,
25:19this is an open. I'm immediately
25:21ready to go again. That's good
25:23coaching and then good on him
25:24for taking it. So I I'm again
25:26kind of surprised that they've at
25:28least through one game coached
25:30more of the idiot do some crazy
25:32stuff out of him than I thought
25:34there was going to be. Yeah. And
25:35he against man coverage, you
25:37know, talk about some plays are
25:38just not there. Booty got jammed
25:39on that first or down where he
25:41throws it, you know, into the
25:43third row. And you're like, OK,
25:44that was that was extreme. And
25:46but to your point, you're right.
25:47Like it was it was completely
25:48covered. He said, I'll move on.
25:50I'm just curious. You get like a
25:51little bit of that success.
25:52You're like, oh, I can handle
25:53this. And then you push the
25:54envelope a little bit more,
25:55which there's something to be
25:56learned there. Like you don't
25:57find out what your limits are
25:58until you push them in that
26:00regard. The point about man
26:01coverage where, again, he gained
26:03that big play of the 11 yard
26:04scramble. He was six of 11 for
26:06one hundred and thirteen yards,
26:07two touchdowns and one pick.
26:08Those numbers are better than
26:10anything Jacoby said had not a
26:12huge bar, obviously. But this is
26:13an offense as a whole that had
26:1510 completions, 10 in the last
26:17three games combined against
26:20man coverage to almost get there
26:22in one game when you're trailing
26:24and, you know, Houston playing a
26:25lot of men, not even I mean,
26:27they're playing a lot of man
26:27coverage with them because
26:28there's an obvious defense, but
26:29was just astounding. It's a
26:31total, totally different game
26:32changer. What are we missing
26:33here so far? Like something that
26:34if you were running, making this
26:35rundown, you talk about Drake
26:37May, we would have hit on
26:38already in the first whatever
26:3820 minutes. I don't know. I feel
26:42like we've hit on a lot of it.
26:43I do have one specific play that
26:45I thought was it just kind of
26:46speaks to I want to set the
26:49table by people in the draft
26:50process thought that Drake May
26:52was just like big arm, big
26:53athlete idiot. And like he had
26:55some of those plays. Right. But
26:57I think people thought he was
26:58much more of a project than he
26:59actually is. And I think one of
27:00them used to coach the Patriots.
27:04It would appear so. Yeah. Yeah.
27:08But to me, there was a play in
27:09the middle of the fourth
27:10quarter. I think there was maybe
27:11eight minutes left. So the game
27:12is blown out by now. I
27:14understand that, but they have
27:16one of their receivers in a
27:17tight split to the right side.
27:18I think it's Keyshawn booty and
27:20a tight end right next to him.
27:22Booty runs like a 12 yard
27:23outrout. And then the tight end
27:25next to him is like chip
27:26releasing into the flat.
27:27Derek Stingley is playing as the
27:29flat corner in between them.
27:31Drake May knows this. He knows
27:32the game with what flat corners
27:33are trying to do. And so he
27:34like shakes his shoulders and
27:35looks at the flat route, gets
27:36Stingley to sit under it for a
27:38minute and is able to throw over
27:39the top of them and throw it to
27:40Keyshawn booty. And that was
27:41just like, dude, really good
27:43NFL quarterbacks do that. And
27:45like that is what it's supposed
27:46to look like. That's the guy who
27:47understands how the game is
27:48supposed to be played. I started
27:50so impressive. He had just the
27:51confidence and all that stuff to
27:53do that.
27:54So I'm glad you brought that up
27:55because I remember watching that
27:56from the end zone angle and it
27:58look, I spend Mondays basically
28:00in this chair. Like this has
28:01been by force. You and me both
28:03a chair for me sitting on it for
28:0410 years yet or 10 years, 10
28:05hours per day. Um, and I'm
28:08watching the end zone angle and
28:09he gives us like little shimmy
28:10shake. Like I'm going to pump
28:12fake and drive into you and then
28:13step back. And I'm like, what
28:15was that for? And it was a 13
28:16yard completion. It was K
28:17Sean booty on the corner. So
28:18it's the honey hole there and
28:20kind of the spot behind the
28:21flat corner. And they had run
28:22play action, which they didn't
28:23do a ton of, but he was four
28:25for four on play action. They
28:26would run at a 16% rate. They
28:28can do more of that. It just
28:29encapsulates where, again, I
28:31think they have a system that
28:32works for him. He knows what
28:33he's reading and he gets to it
28:35immediately. It was on first
28:35down as well that it was just,
28:37I'm glad you brought that up.
28:38And it also highlights
28:39something where I think they
28:40can go to that well a little
28:40bit more, assuming they're
28:42running the ball or it's just a
28:43close game. Cause you get down
28:4414, nothing in your game
28:45scripted like gone that you can
28:48run a little bit more of that
28:49stuff. And even on play action
28:50from the gun, he's adding
28:51elements in there that might
28:52have been missing, uh, with,
28:54with Jacoby percent.
28:56Absolutely. And, and like, I
28:57think that play also kind of
28:58drives the point home to, he
29:00kind of beat the Texans defense
29:02like you, there was at least
29:03one clip where you could say he
29:04beat them in like every way
29:06where he had like the blitz
29:07replacement against man, where
29:08he just hits pop Douglas over
29:10the middle. He has the deep
29:11ball, uh, to cash on booty that
29:13we already talked about. He's
29:14beating cover to here in this,
29:15in this instance, and like
29:16understanding how to move guys
29:17with his eyes. Um, all of the,
29:19the plays that he was able to
29:20make as a scrambler, some of
29:22the stuff that he was able to
29:23move around a little bit in the
29:25pocket, stay patient, find his
29:26check down. Like he just almost
29:28every way you could beat a
29:29defense. He did it at least like
29:31once, which again, you're going
29:33to have to do it more than once,
29:34you know, as your career goes on
29:36and stuff like that. And as the
29:37team gets better, but just the
29:38fact that he like checked so
29:39many boxes in just one game, I
29:41was like, so you want it to look
29:43like, yeah. Okay. Now I want to
29:46think about this from a defense
29:47perspective, cause they're going
29:48to run into Jacksonville in
29:49London. And I don't know, like
29:51London might reject patch Jags
29:53like a bad organ transplant. Uh,
29:54but generally speaking, defense
29:57was a look at this and go, okay,
29:58man coverage. He's looking for
29:59tomorrow. Douglas, maybe we
30:01double him because he, he saw
30:03Douglas did seven targets in
30:04critical situations, meaning two
30:06minute drill third down or in
30:08the red area. And Douglas is a
30:11weapon versus a man to make
30:12coverage is obviously a really
30:13good idea. And he diagnosed it
30:14and he beat the blitz again.
30:15Drake may did not take a single
30:16sack against the blitz from
30:17Houston that puts them on about
30:19a third of his dropbacks. And
30:21then we want to contain them
30:22because he scrambles or hurt
30:23Houston 38 rushing yards. Most
30:25of that gave up to anyone
30:26wearing, well, basically just
30:28red and white, but usually a
30:28little bit of blue there. How
30:30else do you see defenses
30:31reacting based on the initial
30:33film and what you think we'll
30:34see in London and beyond to what
30:36Drake may has shown he can do.
30:39I mean, I think the best way to
30:40rush the pastor with him is not
30:41necessarily bring a ton of extra
30:43bodies, but if you can just do
30:44some of the twists and loops and
30:46stuff, like he's typically a guy
30:48that understands how to move
30:49around that stuff. It's just
30:51that there are certain ways to
30:52where like you can force a loop
30:54or force an overload on one side
30:56and then have somebody coming
30:57around the other side where
30:58you're like baiting him to slide
30:59into one side. And I think
31:01because he's a guy who's so
31:02willing and quick to move that
31:03you can get him that way. I
31:05don't know if that's like a
31:06tried and true way to get him,
31:07but that might be your best way
31:09to get him once or twice. I do.
31:11I do think there is some chance
31:13they try to crowd the middle of
31:14the field and especially not let
31:15pop Douglas get going. I think
31:17there's some chance of that
31:18because he is their most
31:18explosive player. At the same
31:20time, when you do a lot of that
31:22stuff, whether it's you're
31:23just playing cover one or you're
31:24playing some sort of bracket
31:25over the middle, you're
31:27obviously going to have less
31:27help on the outside and you're
31:29going to be able to throw some
31:30of those one on one balls
31:31outside the numbers. I know the
31:32Patriots receivers are not the
31:34best at that, but man, Drake
31:36making throw him dude like he is
31:37very willing to throw those
31:38throws, whether it's like 12
31:40yard curl and out route again, a
31:43go ball to cash on booty, like
31:44any of that stuff. He's very
31:45willing to make those throws.
31:47And I think you will at least
31:47keep defenses honest in that
31:49sense. So it's kind of hard,
31:51especially with only one game of
31:52film to like understand exactly
31:53what defenses want to do to him.
31:55But that's probably where I
31:56would see it. Yeah. And it'll be
31:58interesting too, because I don't
31:59think they're going to stop
32:00playing a lot of man coverage.
32:01You know, you start with the
32:02receivers would be like, okay,
32:03we got this. Like we'll play one
32:04on one in case your booty did
32:06beat Derek Stingley down the
32:07sideline. Next gen stats had
32:09only 0.8 yards of separation,
32:10whatever, two feet, three feet
32:12you separate, catch touchdown
32:13that counts. But most of the
32:14work done there was Drake may
32:17dropping a bomb with pinpoint
32:19accuracy. So there will be a
32:20little back and forth. Jalen
32:21Polk, I think will be better.
32:22He's got to get going. He had
32:23two drops yesterday and he's
32:26bottom, whatever, and
32:27separation, but at the catch
32:28point and yards at the catch
32:30point and next gen sets, all
32:30this different stuff. But
32:31Kendrick Bourne's back. They
32:32just need X, which they don't
32:33have. And so they're just going
32:34to rotate guys in there who have
32:35to win one on one down the
32:36field. I'm sticking with pop
32:38Douglas and soon we'll get to
32:39mail back questions and get out
32:40of here. This is a question I
32:42told you off air. Okay. I want
32:43to get into this because I look
32:45at him and go, he's their best
32:47receiver. Pick your metric. I
32:49don't care. He's number one.
32:51And yet their offense as a
32:52whole, the numbers would tell
32:54you operates most efficiently
32:56with two tight ends. And so
32:57when the Patriots go to two
32:58tight ends, he's coming off the
33:00field because he's the slot
33:01receiver. You need bigger guys
33:02who can win outside. I would
33:04argue then either the Patriots
33:05need to find ways to become
33:07more efficient from 11
33:08personnel where he can be in
33:09the slot and he's surrounded
33:10with two other receivers or put
33:12him in more of these two tight
33:13end sets because when they were
33:15in 11 personnel, they had a
33:16rushing success rate of 33%.
33:18Not very good. They also took
33:20all four of their sacks because
33:21it really helps in date on the
33:2340 hour touchdown in Cajon
33:24booty to have Hunter Henry chip
33:26for Demontre Jacobs and give
33:27him a little extra time. So
33:29Drake may can throw that
33:29touchdown, which of those two
33:31putting pop Douglas as an
33:33outside receiver and 12
33:34personnel or believing somehow
33:36you can manufacture more
33:37efficiency from 11. Would you
33:40turn to if you're Alex Van
33:41Pelt? I think it's, it's trying
33:45to find some way to be more
33:46efficient out of 11 personnel.
33:48And I don't, I don't
33:49necessarily know what the
33:50answer is there. Um, but I
33:52think if you go to 12
33:53personnel and you have one of
33:54your only two receivers be a
33:56guy who typically doesn't play
33:58outside, which is kind of
33:59already a problem to be
33:59annoyed and then just doesn't
34:00have the build to really win
34:02outside. Like, and I've, I'll
34:05fully admit this. I am like
34:06anti small receiver of like,
34:08even like people love like
34:10tank Dell. I'm like, he's okay.
34:12Like he did. Like there are
34:13certain limitations.
34:14You don't love tank Dell on
34:15Sunday. Uh, CJ Stroud love
34:17tank Dell. Yeah, that's true.
34:18Yeah. I just think there are
34:20like certain limitations with
34:22being a smaller receiver. And I
34:23think that's probably why it
34:24looks so up and down even in
34:2611 personnel, even though he is
34:27their best pass catcher. It's
34:29just that blocking wise, like
34:30if he's going to be in the
34:31slot, which he always is, it's
34:33kind of hard to do some of the
34:33stuff that you want to, um,
34:35formationally because of that.
34:36And then like his route tree is
34:38a little bit limited. And so
34:39even though he is very
34:40explosive and he is their best
34:42just run across the field type
34:43of guy, I think he is still
34:45limiting in some ways. And
34:46that's probably why they prefer
34:47to have some of the bigger
34:48bodies that they have. Um, so I
34:50would still say just trying to
34:52find ways to be more efficient
34:53out of 11, if that's possible.
34:54Yeah. And that, that depends a
34:56lot on the other receivers who
34:57they're going to be singled up
34:59outside. I mean, even if you're,
35:00you know, if the, if the splits
35:01are wide enough and they're in
35:03quarters or cover three, like
35:04that's might as well be man to
35:05man out there and you just have
35:06to trust that your guys can win.
35:07And so far the Patriot receivers
35:08have not, that's again, why I'm
35:09emphasizing more pop Douglas,
35:11keep your best receiver on the
35:12field. Granted, you don't want
35:14him coming down to crack and a
35:15crack toss. And this is a run
35:16for stopping blocking matters a
35:17little bit more. Um, but okay.
35:21That it's a little bit of an
35:22identity crisis that they have.
35:23Granted, many would argue their
35:25crisis is the five men upfront
35:27who are coming and going. Um,
35:29like the whole line is an
35:30airport, but we're going to get
35:32to the mailbag. I have one more
35:33question for you about dreg may,
35:34uh, in the meantime, I'm going
35:36to London next week. I am taking
35:37my wife. I'm taking a very
35:38close friend who's a Jaguars
35:40fan. I don't know what befell
35:41him in childhood, but somehow
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36:43app today. What time is it?
36:45Game time. Okay, well, now it's
36:47time to talk more about Drake
36:48May. Um, what? I don't know.
36:53Like, how excited are you? I
36:55guess moving forward. Like you
36:56and I were both just at the
36:58front of the train, couldn't
36:59even see the caboose of everyone
37:01who's joined now. I'm excited to
37:02see Drake May play football and
37:03usher the Patriots into this new
37:05era. No more, again, Dinkins
37:06dunk offense. Like, has that
37:08gone up appreciably? Did he meet
37:10your expectations? Are you still
37:11concerned about the offensive
37:12line? Like, where are we going
37:13to dismount here before we get
37:14to the mailbag? I think the best
37:17way I would put it and, you
37:18know, we kind of mentioned this
37:19a little bit is I thought
37:20because of the state of the
37:21offense, because of the state of
37:22the offensive line, because it's
37:24only been five weeks, you know,
37:26I know that's more time than
37:27some of the other quarterbacks
37:28got, but it's only been five
37:29weeks. I just didn't think that
37:31they would get as much of the
37:32volatility out of him as it
37:34seemed like they got out of him
37:35in this first start. And I'm
37:37sure he's going to have some up
37:38and downs over the course of
37:39the season. Like, that's just
37:40natural for any rookie
37:41quarterback. But the fact that
37:42it didn't look really chaotic at
37:44all in his first start, I
37:45thought was really encouraging.
37:47So in that sense, I feel pretty
37:49good, like about the players
37:51specifically, like him himself.
37:52I'm exactly where I was coming
37:54in, which is I think he's
37:55incredible. But the fact that
37:57he was able to kind of weather
37:58the storm around him for the
37:59first week, I thought was was
38:01really nice. Really encouraging.
38:03Yeah. I'm I said last week on
38:05TV, I was at eight point eight
38:07out of ten, which is not only a
38:08nod to my father in law, who has
38:10a great deal of affection for
38:11the number eight, but also to
38:13say, like, I got a little
38:14anxiety about what happens next,
38:15like a forty point four pressure
38:17rate. A is the best of the
38:19season for the Patriots. And yet
38:21your center is still learning
38:23his teammates first names. So it
38:25gets easier against the Jaguars.
38:27Don't get me wrong. I am rooting
38:30to be wrong about this. This is
38:31too early for Drake May. I very
38:33much hope that's going to be the
38:34case. But there's a part of me
38:35that just goes there a couple of
38:36hits in the first half that
38:37would have been exhibit a and an
38:38unsafe working conditions
38:40lawsuit if he chose to pursue
38:41them. Instead, he got his hand
38:42on the game. He did. Drake May
38:43things and everything was OK.
38:44All right. On the mailbag. And
38:46then we'll get out of here.
38:47Carlos, longtime listener.
38:49He wants to know, do you guys
38:50believe that Drake May elevated
38:51receivers like Pop Douglas and
38:53Keisha Booty, or had they been
38:56held back by poor quarterback
38:57play? Basically, how much credit
38:58do you give to Drake for how
38:59well they played versus how well
39:01they played on themselves? How
39:02much credit they get?
39:05I mean, I think they kind of
39:06just were who they were like,
39:09like, like Pop Douglas obviously
39:10was really explosive in certain
39:11senses. And I think the fact
39:13that he was able to get off the
39:14line on that third and five
39:15touchdown, I thought was really
39:15impressive. But there were a
39:17couple of routes where he did
39:18get bullied and got pushed off
39:19his spot a little bit. And he's
39:20always been that way. It's just
39:21that May did a really good job
39:22of in those moments where he
39:23could find him, getting him the
39:25ball and getting some explosive
39:26plays that way. Keisha Booty,
39:28kind of the same thing. Like, I
39:29think he has always had this
39:30kind of potential to be able to
39:32stretch the field. And even on
39:33that plate, he doesn't really
39:34get that much separation. Drake
39:36may just puts it in the exact
39:37right spot. And he's probably
39:39not going to do that every
39:40single time. But the fact that
39:41may could do that, I think was
39:42certainly an elevation from what
39:44they were getting previously.
39:45It's like, I think Bursette has
39:46always been a guy who, when the
39:48conditions around him are
39:50helpful, he can like really let
39:53the offense be what it needs to
39:54be. Like if you have the 12th
39:55best offense, he can make you
39:56the 12th best offense by being
39:58out there. But if you're the
39:5930th best offense, he's not
40:00going to make you any better
40:01than that. And whereas I think
40:02Drake may, because of some of
40:03the scrambling, because of some
40:04of the aren't talent kind of
40:06gives you a little bit more of
40:07that boost. Yeah, I've equated
40:09this many times before in this
40:10podcast of like, okay, a
40:12quarterback with his abilities
40:14to extend plays is like having
40:16an NBA player who can create his
40:18own shot with five seconds left
40:20on the clock. Like you ran your
40:21set, horns went to shit and no
40:23one's open in the corner and
40:24you're just screwed. Like
40:25someone's got to chug it up. He
40:26can make those shots. That's
40:27what you need in the modern
40:28league and separates good
40:29quarterbacks are certainly, you
40:31know, slightly below average,
40:32like Jacoby Bursette from the
40:33good ones. They do elevate in
40:35the way I will say pop Douglas
40:37was unlocked in a way that Bill
40:39O'Brien did not unlock him. Mac
40:40Jones, Billy Zappi, Alex Van
40:42Pelt through five weeks did not
40:43unlock him. I think that was
40:44just Drake may taking the right
40:46matchup over and over again.
40:47That's always been there. But
40:48Keishon booty had that ball put
40:50in the absolute perfect place
40:51downfield. It's not to knock
40:52Keishon who got open enough, but
40:55I, you know, no one would have
40:56been disappointed had Drake
40:57missed this 40 yard throw right
41:00before that. So because it was,
41:01it was, it was pretty tight
41:02coverage. Speaking of making
41:04throws, Kurt asks, Drake made
41:06some throws under pressure that
41:07were athletic and not
41:08structurally sound in his point
41:10of view. At what point are the
41:11coaches? Okay. With this now a
41:12natural talent taking over and
41:14doing what comes natural to him
41:16versus traditional quarterback
41:18mechanics. I'm going to guess
41:20Derek, you don't care very much
41:21about that. I don't care at all.
41:22Go, go watch CJ Stroud. Go watch
41:25Jordan. Love go watch almost all
41:27of the best quarterbacks. Like
41:28they are the, I think the best
41:31way to play quarterback right
41:32now is when you can be
41:35fundamentally sound and when you
41:36can play with a good base, all
41:37that stuff, you do it. And a lot
41:39of the best quarterbacks are
41:40that way. Like obviously that
41:41Prescott and like, even if you
41:43just watch CJ Stroud, CJ Stroud,
41:44when he has a chance to be
41:46clean and in structure, he's as
41:48pretty a thrower as anybody, but
41:50when he has to go find a weird
41:51throwing angle and jump off his
41:53back foot or, or, or like
41:54submarine a ball somehow to get
41:56it out, he knows how to do it.
41:57And he's very confident in his
41:58ability to do so. I think Drake
42:00may has that like athletic
42:01ability, that bounciness, that
42:03like loose type of arm angle to
42:05be able to do all that stuff.
42:06So he'll probably have some
42:07misses because he's doing that.
42:08Like I remember Lamar Jackson's
42:10rookie year, he kept trying to
42:11sidearm and people were like,
42:12what is he doing? He's missing
42:13some throws. I'm like, trust,
42:15like he is a guy who knows what
42:17he's doing and he'll figure this
42:18out. And he's one of the coolest
42:19guys doing that now. So I think
42:21that's kind of the path for
42:22Drake may as well.
42:23Isn't that their, their phrase
42:25anyway, big trust. Yes. No, no
42:27second T yeah. Just, just trust
42:29straight up. Yeah. I think it's
42:30just, um, you mentioned
42:33submarine and that got me, uh,
42:34thinking about like Chad
42:35Bradford and these old Red Sox
42:37reliever. She would throw a
42:37sidearm, um, baseball in the
42:39brain. But look, if the ball
42:41gets there and it's accurate and
42:43you don't need Tommy John
42:44surgery to be extreme for a
42:45minute and still stick with
42:46baseball, that's fine. Like
42:48that, that is the modern
42:49position. And when you rather
42:50have that arm slot unlocked or
42:52there's those abilities, like
42:53do you think Peyton Manning
42:54would turn down that chance to
42:55throw the ball like that? If he
42:56knew he could get there on time?
42:57No, it's new. So there's a time
42:59to say, oh, is this consistent?
43:00Is it sustainable? Is it even
43:01healthy? Answer is yes. Um, but
43:04you need to see it first. We saw
43:05from Drake main college. It's
43:06kind of like the new prototype,
43:08uh, for, for the quarterback.
43:10All right. Couple more. Um,
43:13well, this is, this is not
43:14Drake made, but we'll sneak it
43:15in here. Lawrence goes besides
43:16offensive tackle center and
43:17receiver to the Patriots need
43:19more help in the defensive side
43:20of the ball. I think at corner,
43:25um, I think, I think corner and
43:28probably still a little bit up
43:29front, but I think Belichick,
43:31Oh, got away with less than
43:33ideal or like very specific
43:36cornerback talent for a very
43:37long time in this defense, like
43:39just deploying guys in the exact
43:40right way. And he was able to
43:42make it work. Obviously. I
43:43think Christian Gonzalez is
43:44good, but even in this last
43:45game, having a guy like him
43:47getting stuck, trailing Stefan
43:50digs, like that's the exact
43:52type of receiver. He's just not
43:53built to handle. And that's
43:55going to happen, right? Like
43:56Richard Sherman was a hall of
43:57fame cornerback. That is also
43:58not the type of receiver that
43:59he was very good at handling
44:01all the time. And so like
44:02that's just going to happen.
44:03And so I think if they could
44:04get a little bit more help in
44:05the secondary and then have a
44:07linebacking core that wasn't
44:09only good at hitting guards, I
44:11think would be good. Like
44:12again, Belichick was so good at
44:14putting the defense and calling
44:16it in such a way that those
44:18niche skill sets could kind of
44:19work out and you could be
44:20better than the sum of your
44:21parts. And this is no knock on
44:23Gerard Mayo, but he's just not
44:25been able to do that through,
44:26through five, six weeks. And
44:28it's a really hard thing to do.
44:29Again, it's hard to beat Bill
44:30Belichick. But I think the
44:32talent is probably going to
44:32have to get a little bit better
44:33on that side of the ball. Yeah,
44:35the talent does have to get
44:35better. I'll say this. I again,
44:38spent all day going over the
44:40film. Wasn't just Drake May.
44:41You can read and find clips and
44:42gifts and stats and breakdowns
44:44of everything that happened and
44:45went wrong on defense tomorrow
44:47morning at the Boston Herald.
44:48It's up at 7 a.m. And the name
44:50you're going to see a couple of
44:51times is Drake. One McMillan,
44:53who just flatly has not been
44:54good enough. The last four
44:55weeks trying to replace
44:56Juwan Belly, who is that big
44:57thumping linebacker. Like I'm
44:58just going to come in as a
44:59missile. I don't know how this
45:01is going to look after it's
45:01done, but I know you are going
45:03to be in the wrong end of what's
45:04about to happen. And that's
45:05good enough when you're a big
45:06thumping linebacker. McMillan
45:07got washed out on the 20 yard
45:09touchdown run that Joe Mixon
45:10had late. He got washed out on
45:12the longest run of the game, 59
45:13yards. And the Texans were just
45:16running wham. So they said,
45:17hey, Devon gotcha is the only
45:19problem we have here up front
45:20blocking. We're going to not
45:22block him initially and have a
45:23tight end come over from the
45:24side and pop it. And then once
45:26he's neutralized, we're off to
45:27the races because Macmillan is
45:28not big enough. And we handled
45:30on the edge where Keon White
45:31gave up an edge on on that
45:32first run that went for 59
45:34yards. And then Anthony Jennings
45:35gets spun around and all these
45:36different things. So the point
45:37is, it is a personnel problem.
45:39And that's unfortunate because
45:40he can't really do anything
45:41about it. And they just kind of
45:43have to ride this out. But
45:44lucky for them, their schedule
45:45gets much easier the rest of the
45:46way. Um, circling back to AVP,
45:49Jordan wants to know what grade
45:50would you give AVP for
45:51yesterday's plate calling
45:52specifically for helping Drake
45:54May in his first start? I mean,
45:56like a solid B or B plus, I
45:58think given like the personnel
46:00deficiencies, he kind of did the
46:02best that he could. Um, and
46:04especially to like, you know,
46:05you mentioned they only ran
46:06like four or five play action
46:08plays. Part of that too is just
46:09not only were they not running
46:10the ball well, which, you know,
46:12you can maybe say he should
46:13design that a little bit
46:14better, but I don't know. I
46:15think if they just had the backs
46:16that they wanted and the
46:17offensive line that they wanted,
46:18it wouldn't be as much of an
46:19issue, but they were also just
46:20down on the scoreboard. And so
46:22it's hard to do a lot of your
46:23run past conflict stuff when
46:24you're down to scores. It's not
46:26very convincing. You're going to
46:27run the ball very much. You
46:28want to run? Cool. Please.
46:30Right. Yeah. Fine. Yeah. Drain
46:32the clock when you're down to
46:33scores and you're probably not
46:34going to score anyway. That's
46:35totally fine with us. So I think
46:36that was really more of the
46:37constraint on him than like him
46:40having any issues as a play
46:41caller. Yeah. And my issue with
46:43the lack of play action in the
46:44first five weeks was that,
46:46okay, this whole system is
46:47designed on running the ball
46:48and generating explosive plays
46:50off of play action. And I get
46:51you can't protect, but at some
46:52point where the explosive plays
46:53coming from, well, with Jacobi
46:55percent, it was play action or
46:56bust. He completed one deep
46:58pass before his last two passes
47:00this year, where just like
47:02Houston, when the Patriots wanted
47:03to run the ball, said, oh, cool.
47:04Miami watching Hunter Henry stay
47:06in bounds on a 25 yard
47:08completion was like, oh, Jacobi,
47:10you want a deep completion?
47:11Cool. The clock's gone. We win.
47:13The explosive plays now are not
47:15dependent on scheme with Drake
47:16May. It's I want to throw this
47:18ball 40 yards down the field
47:20and I'm going to put it where I
47:21want it. And that's going to be
47:21a touchdown. And we're in this
47:23ballgame. Like he is a walking
47:24explosive play. It's not always
47:26going to be there, but he
47:26unlocks a lot more for the
47:27Patriots than they had before.
47:29Um, we're going to end on this
47:30one because I am a humble host.
47:33I am Pat's nation coming after
47:35me, but he says, y'all, so we're
47:36in this together. Do y'all still
47:38think it was too soon to start
47:40Drake crying, laughing emoji?
47:41Um, so I actually said on the
47:46athletic show, me and me and
47:47Robert kind of went back and
47:48forth on this. But so when I
47:50first saw the news that he was
47:51going to start against the
47:52Texans, I was like, that's a
47:54tough game to throw him out
47:55there for that kind of sucks.
47:57But then I thought about it
47:57more and I was like, all right,
47:59this Patriots offensive line is
48:01not going to get any better and
48:02it's the NFL. They're going to
48:03face a lot of good defenses
48:05kind of regardless. And he's
48:07going to start at some point in
48:08this season regardless. So the
48:10more I thought about it, I was
48:11like, whatever, it's probably
48:13fine. I don't think one game is
48:14going to kill him. And then it
48:15turns out, you know, if you, if
48:16you listen to the last 45
48:17minutes, it didn't kill him. If
48:18anything, he looks really good.
48:19So yeah, look, I said at the
48:23beginning, I'm not going to be
48:24the person driving around with
48:25a bumper sticker from a losing
48:26presidential candidate eight
48:27years later, like thinking
48:28somehow that they had actually
48:30won or you're just holding on to
48:31something that didn't happen.
48:32Like Drake Mase here, I'm going
48:34to choose to be happy about this
48:35and celebrate it. And I do still
48:36have concerns, long-term
48:38concerns. It's not one game. Oh
48:39my God, he gets tackled like he
48:41gets hurt. This is the NFL. I'm
48:42aware of what I'm covering, what
48:43I'm looking at, but I'm also
48:45aware of the effects of just
48:46long-term sustained pressure.
48:48And it's not that Drake's not
48:49tough. I think he's tougher than
48:50Mac Jones, who broke obviously
48:51under sustained pressure. It's
48:53just, we have a long ways to go.
48:54I would have waited a little bit
48:55understanding this season is a
48:56bridge to next year, to the next
48:58era. But that can be expedited if
49:01Drake survives, learns how to
49:02thrive as we saw for spurts on
49:04Sunday and gets to a second year
49:06and is like, I'm ready to roll,
49:08man. This is my show because it
49:09was on Sunday and it looked
49:12awesome. Okay. He's Derek Klaassen
49:13listening to him in the athletic
49:14football show live on Sunday
49:16nights. This has been our first
49:17time going live on a Monday here.
49:19Normally the film is just me,
49:21sometimes a beer and a lot of
49:22stats. And then I leave and
49:23sometimes I have to go to TV,
49:24which I do now. This was much
49:26better than that. Thank you,
49:28Derek, for hanging out,
49:28indulging the Drake Mayfest. And
49:31I don't know when he, when do
49:32you want to come back when he
49:33throws for five touchdowns or
49:34500 yards? I mean, whichever one
49:37comes first, you don't really
49:38have to twist my arm to do a
49:39whole nother show about Drake
49:40May. So whenever that happens,
49:42I'm I'll be on call. Awesome. We
49:45will see you next week. See you
49:49man. See ya.