As the New England Patriots split into position groups to start practice, the drill work in the quarterback area of the field typically focuses on one area: ball security.
With coaches holding padded bags
swiping at the football in the pocket, the priority remains keeping two hands on the ball as Drake Maye and his fellow QBs avoid the “rush” and deliver a pass.
After Maye fumbled nine times during his rookie season, losing six, it was an area of focus for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant, and the new Patriots coaching staff when they arrived this offseason.
“I think that was one of the things, you know, as a staff we talked about — just kind of tweaking and improving a little bit — was just his ball security, his pocket maneuvering,” Grant said. “I think he’s done a good job owning that and taking practice to the game field.”
Through seven games to start this season, Maye has put the ball on the ground just twice. The first came in Week 1 as he was hit on his blindside as he was going to throw. Two weeks later against the Steelers, the quarterback tried to do too much extending a play and lost his only fumble of the season.
But sandwiched between those two games there were signs of progress down in Miami — with the first eye-catching moment coming as Maye stepped up in the pocket with two hands on the ball before delivering a downfield strike to Rhamondre Stevenson.
“I think the first big one where it was like the ‘ah-ha’ moment was down in Miami when we hit the big one in Rhamondre where he stepped up in the pocket,” Grant said. “But I think it shows up multiple times every single weekend. We point it out every time to let him know that, hey, we’re doing these drills for a reason, and it’s cool to see them come to life on Sunday.”
Since the Week 3 fumble, Maye hasn’t put the football on the ground again (despite the box score showing a third fumble on a QB sneak in New Orleans).
As the coaching staff has pointed out, much of that success traces back to the simple ball-security drills to begin practice.
“It’s cool to see it translate. The biggest thing that coaches want to see in individual drills and in practice is things translating to the game,” Maye said. I take it really seriously to put two hands in the pocket and try not to run around with one hand. That hurt me last year.
“So, just trying to have those little things in the memory bank that, man, hurt the football team and just trying to have that in the back of my mind.”
In a Week 6 win against the Saints, the work continued to translate.
Facing a third-and-11 in the fourth quarter, Maye avoided pressure in his face by ripping the football through with two hands before finding Mack Hollins for a 16-yard gain over the middle of the field.
That play came three quarters after Maye somehow avoided a strip sack before flipping a ball to TreVeyon Henderson for a positive gain.
“I just think he has a great feel,” Grant said. “I think about the one clip that he kind of hit the floater to TreVeyon — he felt Cam Jordan climbing around his back in the pocket, and he stepped up with two hands, and he ripped it forward. Instead of bringing it back into his throwing motion, he flipped it out of there.
“Somebody asked me as a quarterback coach if that made me cringe a little bit, and if he had just stayed in his throwing base and flipped his hips to throw, I don’t think anyone would’ve been afraid that he got the ball to the check-down — it was just how he got it to the check-down that made everyone go, ‘Oh my goodness.’ But I think that just shows his feel in the pocket. He has a good sense of what’s going on around him, so that was pretty neat.”
For Maye, that feel has come with years of playing the position.
“You’ve just kind of got a sense in there. Playing quarterback for a long time, you’ve got a sense of when things are closing in and where defenders are at,” he said. “I can do even better when the pockets have been cleaned, not running out quick and getting to the backside of the field on some of the progressions. So, that’s what I’m working on. We still have some stuff, some meat left on the bone.”
After recording a 3.5 percent turnover-worthy play rate as a rookie, Maye has dropped that number 1.9 percent this season — eighth-best among qualified quarterbacks.
That growth in his game has helped Maye get off to a red-hot start, with his Patriots sitting at 5-2 as he’s entered MVP conversations.
“I think his pocket presence or his ability to transfer through the pocket,” head coach Mike Vrabel said when asked about the biggest area he’s seen Maye grow since his arrival
“[It’s] something that with young quarterbacks coming out of college you don’t see a ton of… But that’s something they’ve worked very hard on. I know Josh has done a great job and Ashton’s done a great job on the drill work and seeing it — and being able to do it when it’s there.”
