Jerod Mayo’s answers for why mobile New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t allowed to run on two failed short-yardage plays at the goal-line against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15, were bizarre to the say the least.
The Pats lost 30-17 at State Farm Stadium on Sunday, December 15, but things might have been different had head coach Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called Maye’s number in a key moment. Arizona held a 16-3 late in the third quarter, but the Patriots faced 3rd-and-1 at the Cardinals four-yard line.
Two runs by running backs Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson failed to move the sticks and the Patriots turned the ball over on downs. The play-calling was curious considering Maye has been one of the better running QBs in the NFL during his first season in the pros.
When asked why the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft wasn’t allowed to trust his legs, Mayo said, “You said it, I didn’t,” per Chad Graff of The Athletic. The unusual exchange ended with Mayo admitting, “The QB obviously has a good pair of legs. We just chose not to do it.”
Jerod Mayo seemed like he wanted to see a Drake Maye run in short yardage.
“You said it, I didn’t,” he said when Maye’s mobility there was noted.
Asked for more on that, Mayo said: “The QB obviously has a good pair of legs. We just chose not to do it.”
Those are curious answers for a number of reasons. Not least because it’s unclear who Mayo was blaming for the play-calling. Also because Maye seemed to indicate he should have been allowed to keep the ball.
Jerod Mayo’s Drake Maye Answers Make No Sense
Was Mayo, as Graff indicated, expecting Maye to run it in from the four? If so, why he didn’t he overrule the alternate call made by Van Pelt? Why would Mayo acknowledge Maye’s talent with his legs and then not let the precocious signal-caller use his wheels at the business end of the field?
The coach’s post-game comments prompted more questions than answers and only added to the frustration over Maye not keeping ball when it mattered, frustration summed up well by The Boston Sports Journal’s Greg A. Bedard.
If only the Patriots had an athletic QB who could run in those situations…
That sense of frustration is compounded by Maye’s obvious ability as a runner. He’s amassed 359 yards and 8.5 yards per attempt on the ground through 10 games.
Maye was asked if he thought a QB sneak would work at the goal-line and he told reporters, including NBCS Boston’s Phil Perry, “that’s a good point. I was a good quarterback sneaker in college. I’m a big dude.”
Drake Maye asked about potentially sneaking it down at the goal line. He says “that’s a good point” as part of his reply.
“I was a good quarterback sneaker in college. I’m a big dude.”
Keeping the ball out of Maye’s hands in clutch moments is becoming a worrying trend for Mayo and his staff. There was some logic to the Patriots turning to their running backs this week, but having Maye hand off to Gibson and Stevenson represented the safe approach.
Those calls summed up a risk-averse offense in Arizona.
Patriots Too Conservative vs. Cardinals
Van Pelt was allowed to take the safe option too often against the Cardinals. The safety first approach proved costly in key moments.
As Bill Simmons of The Ringer put it, New England’s “in-game strategy is so consistently brutal that I don’t know what else to say at this point. I’ve never seen a coaching staff happier to settle for a safe 3 yard play on a 3rd and 10 to set up a 53 yard FG miss.”
The Patriots in-game strategy is so consistently brutal that I don’t know what else to say at this point. I’ve never seen a coaching staff happier to settle for a safe 3 yard play on a 3rd and 10 to set up a 53 yard FG miss.
Those are tough words, but the Patriots can’t argue when they’re keeping the training wheels on Maye. He’s a different kind of quarterback than the franchise has had in a long while, an off-script playmaker bold enough to chance his athletic talents in any situation.
Maye isn’t exactly surrounded by game-changers among his supporting cast, but he’s merited more trust and calls than he’s getting in decisive moments.
