The New England Patriots will have the No. 3 overall pick out of the bubble wrap for Sunday’s game against the Texans, and the offense is expected to look a little different than it did the first five weeks of the season.
Drake Maye will make his first NFL start against Houston, one of the league’s top pass rushing units. It’s a difficult defense to play in a debut, and the Patriots’ coaching staff has given Maye the tools during practice the week he became a first-team varsity player.
Officials told CBS Sports they expect to see more play-action passes to Maye against the Texans.
New England (1-4), with Jacoby Brissett as the starter, has the second-lowest play-action rate in the league through five weeks. According to Next Gen Stats, the Patriots used play-action on 13.4% of their plays when the league average was 23.3%.
“I think the biggest thing is just playing on time, playing in rhythm and trusting the guys around you,” May told reporters this week. “I don’t think the game plan is going to change. Obviously we’re going to have a new quarterback, but at the same time, what we do on offense is what we do on offense. So, just not trying to give too much away.” We’ll have a hint of the game plan on Sunday, but we’re looking forward to it.”
No quarterback has been pressured as consistently as Brissett. His pressure rate on dropbacks so far this season is 48.3%. But while the Patriots don’t have the most talented roster from top to bottom, the coaching staff believed Brissett wasn’t living up to his promise as a veteran quarterback, especially in the past two games.
The Patriots never set a schedule, publicly or privately, as to when Maye would become the starter. That’s why the team and head coach Jerod Mayo could say it wasn’t an “urgent” move to move Mayo into the starting lineup because there was no schedule in the first place.
Maye’s hope is that his athleticism, creation and quick decision-making will improve a New England offense that ranks second from the bottom in yards (250.8) and points (12.4).
“I think early on I’m just accepting what they’re giving me and trying to find the finished product,” May said Wednesday. “I think that’s the biggest thing for any young quarterback going in there. From there, don’t try to chase down off-platform, off-play, off-scheduled throws. Just feel it out and play the football. I think so.”
“I think sometimes the biggest thing is trying to get outside the pocket when you don’t have to. Little things like that. So just playing in the pocket, trusting your feet and trying to get outside.” Just go out there and play.”
