Jerod Mayo sends message to critics of Drake Maye for training camp struggles

Patriots’ Head Coach Jerod Mayo has stepped up to answer criticism of his rookie quarterback,
Drake Maye’s early camp performances in no uncertain terms. He's telling the cognoscenti to take a breath and let the young player play.

Maye has been micro-analyzed on everything from his early footwork (give us a break!) to his every pass in the mini-camps and now his training camp performances. Patriots beat reporters, and other observers provide detailed daily updates on what’s happening almost on a play-by-play basis with the third-overall pick.

Mayo, a former Patriots player himself, has now stepped in to give the micro-analyzers a history lesson of sorts. His objective, get these "experts" off Maye’s back to allow him to learn and progress. Let's take a look at what Mayo said and what it means.

Coach Mayo steps in and sets the record straight about Drake Maye's development

Head Coach Jerod Mayo, a former Patriots player and a good one (ticketed to the Pats' Hall of Fame), has had enough of the daily Drake drubbings and has now chimed in on the highly-prized rookie’s
situation early in training camp, in no uncertain terms.

In a recent article, si.com cites the Head Coach's comments on the subject,

"You know, look, people are going to have their opinions. I would say the opinions inside of the four walls matter most, and I would say the people inside the four walls know what they're talking about. So, you can take that for what it is. We all support Drake. We all know what it's like to be a rookie in this league. Not you guys, obviously, but I do. I know what it's like to be a rookie, and it's not all peaches and cream."

Mayo noted that he was benched on third downs his rookie year and that he was the NFL "Defensive Rookie of the Year" that season. In this clear rebuttal of the haphazard scuttlebutt being thrown around as carelessly as frisbees about Maye, Mayo has now stepped in forcibly to defend his prized rookie. And the thought here is, "Good on 'ya, Coach Mayo!"

Coach Mayo is acting ... "Coachly"

Jerod Mayo has taken a nice step forward in his coaching career. Rather than piling on with a distorted negative approach, Mayo has now stepped in forcibly to backstop his rookie quarterback, who's only now being exposed to the real NFL in training camp.

This demonstration of positive reinforcement, not seen around these parts in a few decades (absent Pete Carroll's brief tenure), is a welcome change from the negativity voiced by others of his predecessors. Mayo shows he's ready to defend his players from bone-headed media commentary, even though it may be at his own risk in the same pages or podcasts.

As a young, highly-touted rookie with a lofty draft status, Maye has to expect this type of scrutiny. It goes with the territory. If he can't take the heat, the old saying goes, get out of the kitchen. And an NFL kitchen, any NFL kitchen, especially one with six trophies in the cabinet, is especially torrid.

Yet, when a young player's head coach steps up and has his back, one can't expect anything but good things to emanate from the exchange. Whether Drake Maye is the Patriots' starting quarterback or not (it says here, he should be immediately), the support of his Head Coach can only be a good thing for both his confidence and his determination to make good.

Maye should be handed the reins of the offense from the first quarter of the first pre-season game and thereafter. The rash, ill-thought signing of an $8M backup journeyman quarterback shouldn't impact that situation at all. Knowing he has the full support of his head coach will help that happen.

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