Patriots Coach Uses Critical Eye To Assess Drake Maye’s Weaknesses

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has performed better than probably most expected playing behind a porous offensive line and without any premier weapons.

But there are still plenty of aspects of Maye’s game that he needs to clean up.

Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt had no problem pointing those out when he met with the media Thursday ahead of New England’s road matchup with the Chicago Bears on Sunday, which will pit Maye against fellow rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

“We’re targeting a few things for him,” Van Pelt told reporters, per The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price. “I think the play-action passes need to improve. Just the ballhandling there, we’re not quite where we need to be to get the most out of it.

“Another thing for Drake is if we have a play set for different looks and being able to respond and react if it isn’t the look that we’re game planning against, know where to go. Those are the two biggest things.”

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Van Pelt’s right. Maye doesn’t look comfortable operating play-action passes — especially when he starts from under center — as his fakes to the running back aren’t fooling any defenses.

Maye, who completed 65.% of his passes for 770 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions in his first four games, has been critical of himself, too. He called his game-ending interception against the Tennessee Titans a “dumb decision” and even felt he misread the play when he tossed a touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson as the clock expired in overtime.

That’s all part of the growth shown by Maye as he uses each start during this rookie season as a learning experience.

“That’s been one of his qualities, not being a repeat offender,” Van Pelt said. “He’s a really intelligent guy. He learns from his mistakes. You rarely see him make (them) twice.”