Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade, you've probably heard of Maxx Crosby. Yeah, he happens to be pretty good at knocking quarterbacks to the ground, and that's, well, not good for the other team.
With the New England Patriots about to face Crobsy and the Las Vegas Raiders, the offensive line will face another tough challenge. You can't stop a player of his caliber, but you can at least hope to contain him.
Fortunately for Mike Vrabel's team, Drake Maye might have the tools to avoid taking too many hits in this one. Josh McDaniels just needs to give him some scripted runs to keep him out of the pocket.
Drake Maye's legs will be crucial against Maxx Crosby
As with any great pass-rushers, double teams and chip blocks will be crucial, but that won't be enough. Maye is an elite scrambler, and he's exceptional on bootlegs and rollouts, so that should be a big part of the game plan here.
Crosby's quick get-off and counters help him turn the corner in a blink. Maye is better when he scrambles with purpose, and while the Patriots may want to keep him out of harm's way, letting him roam free and take off this time will actually be the best way to protect him.
Crosby has gotten off to a somewhat slow start by his standards. Through four games, he has eight total tackles, one tackle for loss, 2.0 sacks, one pass defended, and one fumble forced and recovered.
Even so, the Raiders have the fifth-most sacks this season, though their 37 percent pass-rush win rate ranks 17th in the league (via ESPN). The Patriots' pass-block win rate (64 percent) ranks 13th, so something has to give here.
Maye can make every throw in the book, even when he's off-balance and hasn't planted his feet. He can make big throws on the run, and with the Patriots' wide receivers struggling to create separation, that might be the best way to make something happen in the passing game here.
He hasn't been great when he rolls out because the pocket collapses, but he's been efficient when they intentionally move the pocket to make the most of his quick twitch, whether to gain yards with his legs or to find his receivers in stride.
Crosby will get his. He's a superstar and a future Hall of Famer, and they always find ways to impact the game, even when he's not the ones putting up numbers. Even so, the Patriots have a mobile quarterback, and it's about letting him use his legs.
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