FOXBORO, Mass. — A lot happens when you cover the New England Patriots throughout the week.
You get at least three Jerod Mayo news conferences, a presser with the starting quarterback, multiple locker room availabilities, and access to a few practices. Some takeaways become individual stories, while other quotes and nuggets are left on the cutting room floor.
With that in mind, my Patriots notebook publishing Friday for the rest of the season rolls on. These pieces mostly focus on top Patriots storylines and leftovers from each week but also include a non-football thought or two — because I’m a dork who likes to talk about other stuff.
So, let’s get into it.
How Drake Maye Wowed Patriots Players and Coaches in Week 7 Practice
The Patriots haven’t been fully transparent about Drake Maye’s development and why they kept him on the bench for the first five weeks. However, we know the coaching staff was concerned about the rookie facing and, more importantly, managing pressure.
Maye is far from a finished product in that area, as evidenced by some unnecessary sacks he took in last Sunday’s home loss to the Houston Texans. But he’s made meaningful strides, and he’ll need to continue improving as the Patriots navigate chaos on their offensive line.
During a Thursday news conference, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was asked to describe how different Maye is now compared to early in the season. He responded by highlighting a specific play from Wednesday’s practice.
“Different, completely different,” Van Pelt said. “We had a period [Wednesday] — another fast-start period against the defense, good-on-good in the red zone. I didn’t give him an answer for a zero-blitz look that the defense presented. He got himself out of trouble with the right protection adjustment and the route changing and threw a touchdown.
“So, for me, wow, okay, he can get in there, and he can protect himself. He knows the calls he needs to make. So, I don’t know if we’d have gotten that done in week one.”
Tight end Austin Hooper broke down the play while speaking with reporters.
“I’m not going to give you the play called,” Hooper said. “It was a three-by-one set [three receivers on one side; one wideout on the other]. The defense was playing some man-to-man match coverage. We had some crossers and communication [errors] on their side — two-on-one, leaving one uncovered.
“And Drake went through his progression and found the guy in the back of the end zone. So, really good awareness on his part.”
Receiver Kendrick Bourne was similarly impressed by the play.
“It’s exciting,” Bourne said. “He has to operate different than we do at receiver. We don’t have to worry about any of that. We have to know our check, our adjustment. But his job is to see it all. He has to see the full picture. To be able to do that at a young age is definitely impressive. He gives us the best chance to get us into the end zone.
“If he can locate where the blitz is coming from, it just helps him make the right decision. And then if the play breaks down, his ability kicks in, too. It’s impressive that he can do that, and then if it doesn’t play out clear (on time), then he can get out and scramble, use his legs, use his talent, and that’s how that play worked out yesterday.”
Kendrick Bourne on Drake Maye: "The future is bright." pic.twitter.com/jq5lgb30xb
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) October 17, 2024
Maye’s worked overtime to improve his pre-snap reads — and Van Pelt’s phone is feeling the effects.
“Very impressive with his approach,” Van Pelt said. “He studies hard at night, you can tell that. When you call a new play in a Wednesday practice, he’s already digested the verbiage and can spit it out easily, so I know he’s putting the work in.
“You get texts throughout the course of the evening: ‘When there’s this look do I do this? What do I need to do in this look?’ So, I know he’s putting the time in.”
Maye will look to earn his first win this Sunday when the Patriots play the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Has Jerod Mayo’s Rhetoric on Maye Been Over the Top?
I might be overthinking this, but if I were Jacoby Brissett, I’d be ticked off over Mayo’s comments about Maye since the end of training camp.
Before naming Brissett the Week 1 starter, Mayo said Maye “outplayed” the veteran during camp. A few weeks later, he backed Brissett as the starter before saying Maye was waiting “in the wings.”
That kind of rhetoric didn’t help a limited quarterback who already had the deck stacked against him by a wretched offensive line. Nevertheless, after naming Maye the starter last week, Mayo talked with little concern about how his words would reflect on Brissett.
“I feel like there’s a renewed sense of energy throughout the team,” Mayo said after watching Maye’s first two practices as the top quarterback. ” … You can feel it before you even see anything. You can just feel the guys are locked in and ready to go. Those guys are running back to the huddle and just ready for the next rep, so it’s encouraging.”
Jerod Mayo: Renewed sense of energy as Drake Maye has had a good couple days of practice. pic.twitter.com/FzEyyfrwdX
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 11, 2024
OK, so, were players lacking energy when Brissett was the starter? Were they not locked in? Were they not ready for the next rep? Intentional or not, Mayo’s comments made it sound like Patriots players couldn’t wait for Brissett to be benched.
After last Sunday’s loss, I asked offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs a simple question: What did the “renewed” energy look like, and what did Mayo mean with the remark? Tellingly, he shifted the focus away from the quarterbacks.
“I feel like we just had high energy,” Jacobs told Pro Football Network. “I wouldn’t say it was necessarily because of the quarterback switch. I just think it was more so we were a team looking to get better this past week.
“So, I feel like that’s where [Mayo’s comment] came from. Everybody had the intention to get better. That was really where that came from, I believe.”
That non-answer had a clear undercurrent: Mayo’s remark could be construed as a shot at Brissett. You have to wonder how Brissett feels about it.
And then there was this comment during Mayo’s postgame news conference:
“It’s definitely encouraging,” Mayo said of Maye’s first start. “From a team-wide perspective right now, we let him down. It was his first game, and I feel like I let him down. I’m sure all the coaches feel like we let everyone down, and we just got to be better.”
Wait, what?
If the Patriots “let down” a quarterback who committed three bad turnovers in a blowout loss, did they also “let down” Brissett, who committed just two turnovers while taking an absolute beating in the first five weeks? Mayo didn’t speak that way about Brissett after he played well in the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Maybe none of this matters. Perhaps Mayo’s comments just seem worse than they really are because they represent such a stark contrast from Bill Belichick’s approach to talking about quarterbacks. It’s not as if Belichick’s obfuscation of the Mac Jones-Bailey Zappe controversy made life easier for either quarterback.
To that end, maybe we’re just looking at two shades of the same cooler. Regardless of where the pendulum swings, the results might be similar when dealing with two extremes. Belichick’s vagueness and Mayo’s transparency create the same problem: speculative noise.
As for Maye, you just worry about the Patriots enabling him before he accomplishes anything.
Davon Godchaux Stepping Up
New England’s front seven has been terrible against the run since Ja’Whaun Bentley suffered a torn pectoral in Week 2. Just look at the numbers from the last four games.
- Week 3 (Jets): 33 carries, 133 yards, 4.0 average, 1 TD
- Week 4 (49ers): 32 carries, 148 yards, 4.6 average, 1 TD
- Week 5 (Dolphins): 41 carries, 193 yards, 4.7 average, 1 TD
- Week 6 (Texans): 28 carries, 192 yards, 6.9 average, 2 TDs
Just don’t blame the struggles on Davon Godchaux, who’s arguably playing the best football of his career.
Godchaux played 67% of the defensive snaps in the first six weeks; his single-season high is 64% in 2019. Godchaux’s 20 total tackles are tied for first among all defensive tackles, and his 18 defensive “stops” — forcing a failure by the opposing offense — rank second, per TruMedia.
Pro Football Focus currently ranks Godchaux 31st among all defensive tackles, an impressive ranking considering his role isn’t to generate the kinds of splash plays that lead to higher PFF grades. Godchaux arguably was the best player on the field for the Patriots in last week’s loss to Houston.
Davon Godchaux is officially the NFL leader in run stops (18), racking up a season-high six in a dominant performance vs the Texans
Whether he was at NT or odd DE, no one could block Godchaux 1v1 pic.twitter.com/tMHeNUyccr
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 15, 2024
While speaking to PFN on Thursday, Godchaux, a traditional nose tackle, attributed his success to being more versatile on the defensive line.
“I’m happy to move around, it’s just different,” he said. ” … It’s not the easiest thing. When you stand at nose [tackle] a lot, you’re really just taking a lot of double teams and eating up blocks for other people. So, just having the flexibility to move around, I feel like that’s been great for me and having me playing some great football.”
Godchaux learned under then-defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington during his first three seasons with the Patriots. When Covington was promoted to defensive coordinator last offseason, New England hired Jerry Montgomery to run the D-line.
“They both speak the same [language],” Godcahux said of Covington and Montgomery. “Jerry, he just opened my eyes more to — I mean, I knew it before, but he just impacted more with recognizing formations, playing faster.”
Godchaux’s been outspoken about Patriots defenders needing to play with more pride and being less selfish. And though he’s not a team captain, he’s taking it upon himself to lead by example.
“You can’t say it if you ain’t doing it, right?” he said. “If you’re gonna talk, your actions gotta lead up to it. You know, if I’m gonna say something like that, I want my actions to lead up to it, too.
” … Try to set a great example. I’m not really a big talker; I lead with the stuff I do on the field. … Hopefully, I’m setting a great tone for them to follow.”
Ja’Lynn Polk’s ‘Mental’ Hurdle
Ja’Lynn Polk and Mayo clearly aren’t on the same page.
Mayo was critical of Polk after the rookie receiver continued his rough start by dropping two passes in the loss to Houston.
“I think he just needs to get over this mental hump,” Mayo said after I asked him about the second-round pick. “You’ve got to eliminate the dropped passes. You’ve got to be better at blocking, which he did a great job in college at that and at times throughout the season.
“He just has to continue to grow, and he has to work harder. He has to pay more attention to the details, and we fully expect him to grow into a receiver that’s dependable on run and pass downs.”
#Patriots HC Jerod Mayo on Ja’Lynn Polk:
“He needs to get over this mental hump. You gotta eliminate the dropped passes, you gotta be better blocking… He has to continue to grow, he has to work harder, he has to pay more attention to the details.” pic.twitter.com/EgAWdggvOl
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) October 14, 2024
Those comments made their way to Polk, who offered a different take during a conversation with MassLive’s Mark Daniels.
“I’m not dealing with [any] mental problems at all. No mental problems,” Polk told Daniels.
Polk also downplayed the drops that have contributed to his slide down the Patriots’ receiver depth chart.
“I believe I have the best hands in the league,” Polk told Daniels. “So, I feel like my drops, that’s not an issue at all.”
When Daniels asked whether Polk was eager to prove himself after a string of bad performances, the rookie gave a curious response.
“I feel like I’m limited to what I can really do right now,” Polk said. “I mean, just continue to keep a good mindset and getting better.”
When asked to clarify, Polk added: “I wouldn’t say anything specific. I’ll just say I’m limited on certain things right now.”
Only Polk knows what he meant by “limited.”
Maybe he believes the rest of the struggling offense is dragging him down. Maybe he isn’t being asked to run routes that cater to his strengths. Or maybe he was forecasting a Week 7 benching.
Regardless, Polk needs to turn things around if he wants to keep a prominent role in the offense.
Kayshon Boutte: WR1?
Speaking of the receiver depth chart, Kayshon Boutte suddenly sits atop it.
The second-year pro isn’t the Patriots’ most dangerous receiver — that title goes to DeMario Douglas — but he out-repped every wideout in Week 6. And Boutte made the most of his opportunity by catching three balls for 59 yards and a touchdown.
#Patriots second-year WR Kayshon Boutte has quietly become a significant factor of the New England offense.
Weeks 1 & 2: 0% of offensive snaps
Week 3: 18 (35%)
Week 4: 15 (23%)
Week 5: 40 (67%)
Week 6: 55 (83%)With Drake Maye: 3 REC, 59 YDS, 1 TDpic.twitter.com/wtpGuQh71W
— Andrew Guindon (@NestPgs) October 15, 2024
Boutte, who slipped to Round 6 in the 2023 NFL Draft partly due to maturity concerns, spent most of his rookie campaign in the doghouse and began last offseason by getting arrested on gambling charges that have since been dropped. He seemed like a long shot to make the 53-man roster.
But Boutte was consistently impressive during training camp. His route running and blocking improved, and he rarely had a bad practice. Boutte also said all the right things about his legal issues.
The LSU product earned a spot on the initial roster and has seen his role increase in the weeks since. Along the way, Boutte has won over coaches who initially had their doubts.
“He’s a guy that we were not, I wouldn’t say down on, but we didn’t see him as a starter early through camp,” Van Pelt said on Thursday. “And as he continued to work, I think the biggest thing with Boutte was the way he approached practice.
“He really put his hard hat on and went out and did great work, not just for us, but also for the scout team. His attitude was excellent. He wanted to get on the field. He earned the right to do that. I’m so proud of him for his perseverance. We were on him early, and he responded well, so it’s good to see him having some productivity.”
Bourne and Douglas both raved about Boutte during media interviews.
Bourne: “He took an energy shift. He took an attitude shift to where, ‘I’m going to be on the field this year. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to make the team.’ … He’s so locked in. He knows the playbook really well.”
Douglas: “Just to see his work ethic from last year to this year. And the character that he is, he changed. Just changing, his work ethic is different now. It shows on the field.”
On Monday, Mayo identified Douglas, Boutte, and Bourne as the top three receivers on the depth chart. I certainly didn’t have “Kayshon Boutte: WR1” on my preseason bingo card, but he’s earned it.
What’s the Deal With Maye’s Knee Injury?
Maye, surprisingly, was listed with a knee injury on the Patriots’ first two Week 7 injury reports. The rookie quarterback was a full participant in both practices, but a still-unconfirmed rumor about a post-practice MRI created confusion about the injury.
On Thursday, Van Pelt said he wasn’t concerned about the injury. Minutes later, Maye walked through the Patriots locker room without a brace or any noticeable limp. He also looked just fine during the media access portion of practice.
Drake Maye looked like he was moving fine at practice. No limp, and no visible brace on his knee. @NBC10 #NEPats https://t.co/Q7RnyWxT63 pic.twitter.com/FwgNYFSEzV
— Nicole Menner (@NicoleMenner) October 17, 2024
That said, the Patriots have been vague about the injury.
Van Pelt claimed ignorance when asked whether Maye suffered the injury during the Texans game or Wednesday’s practice. Mayo did the same thing on Friday. They obviously knew the truth but, for whatever reason, didn’t want to share it.
Maye downplayed the injury on Friday but also refused to clarify when it happened. It’s fair to assume he was told to be tight-lipped on the issue.
For now, there’s no reason to worry about Maye’s status for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars. But let’s see how he looks.
Non-Football Thought No. 1: Playoff Baseball Rules
No notes.
JHONKENSY NOEL TIES IT WITH A PINCH HIT HOME RUN! BIG CHRISTMAS!!!! pic.twitter.com/lNI52HYw0Y
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 18, 2024
Non-Football Thought No. 2: Song of the Week
This week’s pick is “Full Cobra” by Brooklyn rapper Ka, who tragically died this week at the age of 52. Criminally underappreciated in the mainstream, Ka was beloved in the underground for his minimalist beats, dense lyrics, and grassroots approach to promoting his music. He also was a full-time Brooklyn firefighter.
