Mike Reiss: The Patriots Will Go AS FAR as Drake Maye Can Take Them

Beasley Digital

On Tuesday's edition of Zolak and Bertrand, Mike Reiss who covers the Patriots for ESPN, joined the show. While discussing outlook of the team this season, Reiss explained how Maye has had a really good training camp so far, and even went on to say that the Patriots will only go as far as Drake Maye takes them.

Transcript

00:00I had a thought that maybe I missed the biggest headline where six practices

00:04through Patriots training camp. What would you have it as? Drake May, zero

00:09interceptions. Think about that. Like go back to that go back to the spring

00:14remember that day we were reporting about the four interception day in the

00:19spring. I think and I think you you guys know on Pat Kerwin and Jim Miller from

00:27Sirius XM they were here yesterday. Yeah I was talking to those guys I mean they

00:32they thought Drake looked totally different from last year. So I think

00:37sometimes it like I get so I love to get in the weeds I'm talking about you know

00:41fifth cornerback with Gonzalez and Davis not on the field like sometimes you

00:47don't want to miss the big picture and the big story like this team's gonna go

00:51as Drake goes. I think he's having a very good training camp through six practices

00:57there was and the way they've set it up when I think back off the top of my

01:00head I want to say like one day they they were like let's just do the short

01:06efficient stuff. Just get it out. Here's the film of Tom Brady hitting Kevin

01:11Falk, hitting Danny Woodhead, hitting James White, right? And I think he was 14

01:16or 15 that day. And then I think the next day they came out and said okay we did

01:20the short efficient stuff now let's see what it looks like when we push it down

01:24the field and his completion percentage went down because those are lower

01:28percentage plays but he had some really nice throws down the field and not not

01:32and I would say he probably could have two interceptions off the top of my head

01:36when I think back the first day of practice Peppers had one in his hands and

01:40couldn't bring it in if I remember right and he even had one today that I think

01:45Christian Ellis the linebacker undercut along the left sideline there that I'm

01:51like okay that could have been a pick but it wasn't and so right now in the

01:55interception column for Drake May this is zero and I know like you might say

02:00yeah come on you know I know what you're thinking like maybe what he should throw

02:03a couple. Why do you say that about me? Well because I'm too positive sometimes you

02:07know you got to balance it out. I thought he had a rough morning down there.

02:10I'm on Drake man I'm right there right there. I'm a Drake guy you know. Kind of shaky that way

02:14this morning I thought coming this way and the practice really cleaned it up. Yep. So I thought you

02:18saw two versions but that is an interesting point. I attribute that to a lot of McDaniels

02:22sort of the build of take care of the football. Take what they give you. Let's not give the

02:26defense a chance to grab something where now all of a sudden they got us. Yeah. And we got them.

02:31And that's not to say that he wasn't I mean he missed some open throws today. I'm not saying

02:36that he's like perfect all the time. A couple of things I did notice. One is the ball is coming

02:40out of his hand. So smooth right now. It is so smooth. It's live. As I said to Zoe I said man

02:47he's throwing the ball better. Yeah. Than he was at this time a year ago. Not that that's a huge deal

02:52right. It wasn't like he was coming up short and he throws a year ago but he's throwing the ball well.

02:57The other thing is we there was a question coming into this camp about Drake as to whether or not

03:02Mike Vrabel was going to force him to be a pocket passer and just continue to do those things that

03:08you're talking about. We have seen him outside the tackles making more throws through these first

03:15six days than I would have thought we'd see. We're seeing it pretty regularly right. They're not

03:20taking that out of his game. I think they're probably asking him to be a little smarter with it

03:25to protect himself a little bit better than he did a year ago but they are not forcing him to stay in

03:31and step up. They are allowing him to get outside the tackles and make throws on the move and he's done

03:36that. He's looked really good on some of them actually. And then I think back to we talked to

03:40him once so far in camp and someone asked him what are you working on this year? What's like the one

03:46or two things? And he said I want to remain a passer when I'm breaking the pocket or when I'm on the move

03:53and then a couple practices later he scrambles to his right. Maybe it would have been a sack. Maybe it

03:59wouldn't have been. And last year he's probably running but in this practice he keeps his eyes up field

04:05and he just sort of flicks his wrist. To your point Beatle about the live ball and like 50-60 yards

04:12down the field pop Douglas just right in the hands for a touchdown. And I thought about it and I'm like

04:19that play was exactly what Drake was talking about that he wants to improve on this year.

04:24You know you might take off and run but before you do give yourself every chance to make a play down

04:33the field as a passer which he felt like last year when he looked at some of his runs he left some

04:39passing plays on the field on those runs. Yeah he rolled out to his right on a play earlier today

04:44and let one fly on the move in a way that I wonder I couldn't see from here. He's running parallel to the

04:53line of scrimmage. I think he may have moved back as he was making the throw to protect himself

05:00from incoming you know rushers. And I'm thinking to myself that's a play last year where he may have

05:07gotten killed and maybe it looks a little different this year. And so but not only that he completed the

05:13pass because he could just bam flick it and the physical ability is there that some previous

05:20quarterbacks didn't have one previous quarterback in particular. He's a backup now. He'd be a better

05:25backup than Josh Jobs if it wasn't for the baggage and the history between him and the team.

05:29All that stuff. All that stuff. Mac Jobs. Hey Mike the story yesterday in the NFL was Christian

05:34Wilkins and that weird story coming out of Vegas. We heard from Rabel last week that he recruited

05:39him back. Do you think they'll kick the tires on him? So here actually I'm glad you asked him

05:43um because I was asking around on that and and what I heard is that that that's a medical thing

05:49right now. So if if because because of the foot. Yep. And so it sounds like and I I don't want to like

05:57go too far here. He likes to dance. But it sounds like it you're not talking about a player that is

06:03ready to practice right now. So I think that's what would hold it up unless that changes and that could

06:09change. But I think I think that the the people that have called on that I think the the impression

06:14they've gotten is he might need something else for the injury. So he wouldn't you know but if that

06:21changes I do I would expect them to to at least check in on it.

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