While it's hard to take a ton away from the Patriots' victory last night over the Panthers, there were some undeniable positives on both sides of the ball. You saw enough good out of the defensive starters in their limited action, as well as rookie wideouts Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, and finally, Joe Milton stealing the show through the air and on the ground in the second half.
Things weren't all sunshine and rainbows, of course, because it's...you know...the preseason, and it's fair to be skeptical about even some of the top offensive linemen (Chuks Okorafor in particular), and the overall offensive operation on the players' side of things left a bit to be desired when Bailey Zappe was in there. Speaking of whom, the Western Kentucky product got a ton of run in this one, and I mean a TON of runs, despite receiving the least amount of reps in camp up to this point. I believe fans and pundits alike are correct in questioning this decision by Mayo, who said postgame that the plan going in was to give Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye only a drive a piece before handing things off to Zappe and Milton.
For those who missed things or need a refresher, Zappe wound up with six drives to Milton's three (one being victory formation), and with the camp rep numbers being known between the four quarterbacks, I don't see the advantage of not giving Milton some more run (more on Maye in a moment. I actually didn't hate his usage last night). This is some assumption on my end, but if the logic was to get some new film out there for teams interested in trading for Zappe, was there anything he could've done on Thursday that could've shown more than anything he did down the stretch last regular season? Not that he was lights out in 2023 anyway, but to me, that answer is no. Not to mention, Milton certainly impressed me more in this one, even with Zappe essentially having three times the amount of real drives to play with and 14 more throws.
Should Patriots Fans Be Upset or Concerned over Drake Maye's Usage?
The short and relatively easy answer is no. You could've made the argument that Maye could've gotten another drive, two maximum, but with Carolina resting most of their key guys and with how the Patriots starting offensive line was being used, I didn't see the point of keeping him out there when the reps wouldn't have been all that valuable.
In theory, Maye beating up on the Panthers' second—and third-string guys doesn't tell much about his progression this summer. Next week, however, is an entirely different story. If Maye either gets some run with the top offense in the Patriots' joint practice against Philadelphia next Tuesday or Thursday's game, that would be notably more meaningful to judge his progression. The Eagles' defensive front might be in contention for the NFL's best after swapping out a disgruntled Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff, and with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell leading a revamped secondary, DC Vic Fangio should have some diabolical stuff in store for Maye next week. While the frustration around wanting to see Maye play is more than understandable, remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint with him. He'll have his chances, don't you worry.
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