An Honest Assessment of Drake Maye's Debut

There's been a lotttt of Drake Maye glazing this week.

Whether it be the talking heads on New England/Boston sports radio, Louis Riddick doubling down on his pre-draft take of Maye becoming one of the best QBs in football in due time, or my dad convinced we've found our prodigal son; after just one game, people are as in on Drake Maye as Kramer is in on any bad business idea ever.

This is not a "I'm out on Maye" blog. I'm not out at all. I'm just not all in yet. This is a realistic, grounded take of a terrible turned average debut from the literal child who's been given the key to my franchise. A "hold the phone" post if you will.

Don't let the whopping 21 points the Patriots put up on Sunday fool you. Or the fact he set team highs in passing yards this season, average yards per attempt/completion, and touchdowns; Maye was horrible in the first half. He was overthrowing receivers like Trevor Lawrence in the LSU National Championship game. He was jittery in the pocket (for due cause since the line is still garbage), his footwork was sloppy and he seemed unconfident. All fair for a rookie starter playing his first game against a playoff team who was up 14-0 in the blink of an eye, but not something that can be denied.

He turned the ball over three times which is too much no matter who you are and how many games you've played. He took four sacks and had a 31.3 QBR. He looked his best when we were down multiple scores in the second half, where garbage time QBs make their name. So apologies if I'm not jumping through the moon.

But it's not all bad. There are feelings I felt during that game I haven't felt in a while.

Seeing the ball fly threw the air more than 15 yards is fun. Seeing a ball thrown 40+ yards through the air for a TOUCHDOWN, the longest air pass TD the Patriots have had since rookie Mac Jones was dropping 50 burgers on the Jets and Jags, is even more fun. Seeing a QB that can escape pockets, create plays with his feet, and can run RPOs on short yardage situations effectively is fun. Having a QB that has the potential to be a good QB is fun.

Football can be fun!

I've become so pessimistic the last few years I've entered stage one of Jets fandom, where you assume the worst. Luckily most Jets fans are on stage 42 of misery so I'm not too worried about it.

I just don't want to fall into my Mac Jones love afare again unless it has wheels. I was damaged by Mac, and I'm afraid to get hurt again.

I will support Drake, root for Drake, and love Drake. But I won't crown him king after one game. We have a long way to go on this football journey to relevancy, and even if Drake is great our team still stinks.

So by no means am I telling any Patriots fan to not fall for our guy. I'm just saying I want to play hard to get this time. Show me you're worthy of my love. The second half of Sunday gave me hope. Let’s keep it going kid.