Bill Belichick's ignorance of Patriots' plans for Drake Maye doesn't make sense

The offseason debate surrounding who would best serve as the Patriots quarterback seemed to be put to rest once Jacoby Brissett took the field in the season opener, but it's a conversation that is picking up again after the team's third straight loss in Week 4.

Despite the seemingly clear direction Jerod Mayo and Co. are taking with their treatment of Drake Maye, there has been a rise in demand to replace the veteran with the rookie as soon as the upcoming game against the Dolphins. Because they are a team possibly more depleted than the Patriots, given that they lost their starting and backup quarterbacks, there is some optimism that they might break the losing curse with their first home win this season.

However, calls for Maye have grown louder after another disappointing outing by Brissett against the 49ers, forcing Mayo to respond to it all during his weekly radio appearance.

It was another example of the new regime sticking to the original plan to keep Brissett as the starter, and there is no consideration of that changing any time soon. It seems clear why the Patriots are doing what they are with Maye, albeit overly cautious to some, but it's still not sitting right with analysts and fans who believe the rookie would give them a better chance to win.

Apparently, it's not that obvious to most, given that this continues to be a discussion heading into the second month of the season. Furthermore, when someone as respected as Bill Belichick claims to be confused by the situation, it doesn't help validate Mayo's decision to keep Maye on the bench.

Bill Belichick's confusion about the Patriots plans with Drake Maye is odd

During his weekly appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" earlier this week, Belichick was asked about his former team and the quarterback situation, which he responded to in a confusing way.

Given his long coaching history and the most infamous decision to pull Tom Brady off the bench and keep him as the starter after Drew Bledsoe got hurt, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the former tenured Patriots coach to claim ignorance about what Mayo's plans are for Maye.

But that's the direction he decided to relay with his response.

It's difficult to determine exactly why a coach who has dealt with a similar situation would claim to be confused about what's going on, but maybe it's his way of trying not to say anything negative about the Patriots or whatever they're doing on offense.

Since becoming part of the NFL media, Belichick has seemingly veered away from having to discuss the Patriots, if possible, whether intentionally or not. This was one of the limited instances when he had more to say about the team beyond surface-level criticism or praise.

Perhaps he is choosing not to speculate too much about what's going on, as that's easier to do, potentially out of respect for Mayo, who he seemed to be grooming to be his successor when the time came.

Time will tell, and it would make more sense if that were the truth, but at the end of the day, it's still a confusing take from the respected head coach.

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